LogFAQs > #972472730

5. Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Directed by Boots Riley
Score: 111

Tangy: 1
Karo: 2
John: 3
Mythiot: 4
Plasma: 7
GavsEvans: 14
Forty: 16
Suprak: 17
Poke: 21
Vis: 26

1. Tangy
I first watched STBY about a year ago, I found it relatively interesting at the time and was in no way expecting it to be my number 1 for the list and yet here we are. Maybe the fact that I watched it while I was at work has something to do with it.

I think what makes this film so good for me is our protagonist, Cassius Green. Hes a great representation of how America not only treats POC, but the general workforce as well. No matter how hard you work, no matter how you degrade yourself for others, theres always going to be someone above you pulling your strings.

I also find the brand of comedy to be remarkably unique, its not as in your face as something like Popstar or Monty Python, but it more so focusing on taking everyday situations and exaggerating them to the point of extremity. This movie fully takes advantage of the medium and shows it. Most other filmmakers would take the easy route. Seeing things like the calls Cassius makes or the horse people or the humiliating reality tv shows. All of it is played up in a way that shows exactly how ridiculous this country is and Im not going to deny the impact this movie had on me.

Biggest Laugh: Nothing really got me to burst into laughter, although Tessa putting on the helmet for her second performance caused a solid chuckle during both of my viewings.

2. Karo
In the near future, a young telemarketer's rises through the ranks to become a legendary 'power caller', and his bizarre journey challenges his own greed and morality. It also features horse cocks.
The whole WorryFree angle was especially brilliant, the logical next step of corporate america maximizing profits at the expense of workers is of course just straight up fucking slavery. Its funny because its true.
It is an impressive and excellent outing from a newbie director, and I can think of few parts of the film that are not both engrossing and hilarious. It's very good.

3. John
I absolutely adore magical realism. So much so I plan for a list entirely for that at some point down the line, and may or may not include this one at that point, as it's definitely been a standout of the last few years. Lakeith Stanfield has been one of my favorite actors of the last decade, between this and Atlanta and Get Out and Judas and the Black Messiah. David Cross as his "white voice" is a stroke of genius casting. The callers appearing directly in the homes of the people being called never failed to crack me up, and the film is shockingly good at balancing being hilarious and dark with actually making really powerful points

7. Plasma
Brilliant, stupid, and everything in between. STBY probably wouldve worked better as a TV miniseries because theres a TON going on here. It starts off looking like a sequel to Office Space, then it turns into Eyes Wide Shut before morphing into Animal Farm and concluding with a final act that is a flaming mess. So, yeah, its all over the place, but Im not complaining because I was hooked the entire time.

These days, a lot of anti-capitalism movies come off as ham-fisted, but this one oozes with enough creativity to keep things from feeling preachy. The intro scene won me over with Cassius embellishing the hell out of his resume to obtain the pettiest of jobs, and then we see him waking up in a garage, getting nagged by his landlord/uncle about the rent, etc. Lots of fun stuff early on, but what really dazzled me were those trippy in-house phone calls scenes. And although White Voice is nothing new, it worked well here (shame we didnt get more of Danny Glover btw).

My biggest problemother than the sloppy final actwas Cassius lack of agency. This guy feels like a generic WRPG protagonist who does whatever the supporting cast tells him to do (Use your White Voice. Join our union. Become a Power Caller. Rap for us. Snort this coke.). I get that hes supposed to represent the average American worker who gets caught in the rat race, but there was never a moment when it felt like the guy was driving the plot. Instead, he basically gets passed around like a soccer ball for ninety minutes until he hits rock bottom and has no choice but to fight back against the Power Callers. And when a guy spends the entire movie reacting rather than acting, its hard for me to buy into the idea of him becoming a rebellious MLK-figure toward the end. He needed more character growth.

And that final actyikes. Theres the battleground scene, then Cassius gets captured, then hes rescued by horse-people, and theneverything kinda sorta goes back to normal? Really? I suppose that reflects reality, but given the explosiveness of the climactic scenes, I expected things to change more significantly. That said, I did like the ending when Cassius moves back into his garage with his newfound luxuries before turning into a horse-man. Great way to hammer home the fact that his earlier choices corrupted him.

I could probably ramble on for a dozen more paragraphs about this one. It has plenty to offer, and even as I criticize parts of it, I find myself liking those weak spots more because they do reflect issues in our world. I love this movie for being ambitious and creative, but I also wish it were more polished. B+