Sorry to Bother You

There are no apologies in the harsh “Sorry to Bother You,” but you’ll be sorry if you didn’t see it.

“Sorry to Bother You,” the 2018 directorial debut of musician Boots Riley, is a black comedy that’s real, a fantasy about a future dystopia that’s really familiar, and a satire so vicious it’ll really cut at your person.

However, it’s really great.

Lakeith Stainfield, of “Atlanta” and a real highlight for “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” fame, plays “Cash” Green, a person who doesn’t have a future and living out of his uncle’s (Terry Crews) garage in Oakland.

(Simon Miraudo said in his review, “The first clue that this isn’t your typical flick is the fact they got Stanfield to play an everyman. He’s an exceptional actor, from Short Term 12 to Get Out and again so here. Still, when he’s playing your beacon of sanity, you know you’re in for a strange trip.”)

Cash gets a job as a telemarketer, which is really great for him, but he needs to make some sales if he wants get paid with commission. (Sadly, there’s no salary.) A fellow black coworker, played by Danny Glover, tells Cash to use his “white voice” to make confidence in customers on the other end of the phone, and suddenly, the nasal, sycophantic sound of David Cross comes out of him, helping him close deals and get promoted – or, literally, golden elevator – up to “Power Caller” status.

Now he can sell the expensive items. He finds out what those items are, and the film approaches the climax.

Miraudo said, “The trailers for Sorry to Bother You focus on the "white voice" stuff, and not what comes next. Be thankful. Seeing Stanfield lip-sync to David Cross is hilarious, and it becomes a cutting recurring joke. However, it’s the swirling, roiling drama on the sidelines that becomes central—and truly significant—as we near the, ahem, inventive climax. No spoilers.”

A promoted Cash ends up on the bad side of his protesting colleagues (Steven Yeun, Jermaine Fowler) and ends up on the good side of WorryFree CEO Steve Lift (Armie Hammer, up to 11). WorryFree gives people free food and housing in exchange for a lifetime work contract and something extra that is a little worrisome. Miraudo said, “When Cash first sees a cheery WorryFree ad on TV, you’d think writer-director Riley was only gently nudging America satirically for using imprisonment as a new form of slavery. But this ain’t Ava DuVernay’s The 13th, and Riley’s not doing anything gently.”

Miraudo continued, “Without ruining and also not underselling the movie’s wild transformation into something entirely unexpected, Sorry to Bother You goes HAM with an inspired and absurd finale. Provocative points are made, and then some, and then some.” You’ll always remember this movie after seeing it.

Miraudo noted, “Riley’s script articulates abstract arguments with verve, and it repackages debates about race, revolution and workers’ rights in a container you wouldn’t have ever imagined.” It’s infuriating and also really funny, in smart and juvenile ways, and has a great cast of appealing actors, including Tessa Thompson, as Cash’s performance artist – and performative protestor – girlfriend Detroit. Miraudo mentioned, “Riley, whose political hip-hop group The Coup told a version of this story on their 2012 concept album Sorry to Bother You, supplies the propulsive soundtrack with tUnE-yArDs. I can keep listing amazing things if you need me to?”

Or, you can watch the movie, and have the great look and sounds unfolded more perfectly by Riley. Miraudo said, “All you need to know going in is that it’s a trenchant commentary on blackness, whiteness and moral greyness, told in living colour by an artist who nonetheless draws a definitive line and makes you pick a side.” Sorry not sorry.

This is a funny movie, but once you reach the climax, you’re going to be constantly saying, “What in the world am I watching!?” That’s exactly what I said when I saw it. But that’s not to say that this film is in anyway bad. You will still like this movie for the comedy and the realism it portrays on corporate America and anywhere else in the world this happens in. Check it out and see for yourself.

Alright, that ends this year’s “Black History Movie Month.” I hope everyone enjoyed this month and I will see everyone next month on a next series of movie reviews.