Last night I headed to SIFF Cinema Uptown for Art House Theater Day, where they screened Sorry to Bother You. Even though I’d seen it before, watching it with a packed theater reminded me why it’s become one of my favorite films of the past decade. Boots Riley doesn’t just make a movie, he creates an experience. What starts as an offbeat workplace comedy about a struggling telemarketer quickly transforms into something wildly unpredictable, hilarious, unsettling, and surprisingly emotional. Every time you think you’ve figured out where the story is going, it confidently veers somewhere else.
LaKeith Stanfield is phenomenal as Cassius Green. His performance grounds the film’s increasingly surreal world, making every bizarre twist feel emotionally believable. Tessa Thompson is equally unforgettable as Detroit, bringing intelligence, confidence, and warmth to a character who refuses to be anyone other than herself. What continues to amaze me is how fearless the film is. It skewers corporate culture, consumerism, performative success, and systemic inequality without ever feeling preachy. Instead, it wraps those ideas inside razor-sharp comedy and some of the most inventive filmmaking I’ve seen.
Watching it in a theater full of people was a completely different experience from watching it at home. The laughter came in waves, followed by moments of stunned silence as the film became stranger and more daring. It’s exactly the kind of movie that reminds me why independent cinemas matter. After seeing I Love Boosters earlier this summer, it was also fun revisiting Boots Riley’s first feature. You can see the same fearless creativity and willingness to challenge audiences while still delivering something wildly entertaining. If you’ve somehow never seen Sorry to Bother You, fix that. And if you have, it’s absolutely worth revisiting on the big screen.
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