"Sorry to Bother You" Review | Delightfully and Thoughtfully Weird
What makes cinema such an amazing medium for storytelling? Many would answer that question by saying that film allows for stories that can exist as entertainment while simultaneously providing commentary on real-life matters in a way that feels natural, enjoyable, and immersive.
Of course, films that manages to both entertain and intellectually engage the audience aren't incredibly common. Some films create a fun, if fleeting and sometimes forgettable cinematic experience (see Ant-Man and the Wasp from a few weeks ago). Other films try to philosophize through its story, but do so in a way that risks many audience members getting bored and/or confused (see last year's A Ghost Story).
But every now and then, a film manages to do both, and it's truly a magical experience when it happens. Through its marketing, Sorry to Bother You gave me the expectation that I would be walking into a comedic adventure about telemarketing and little else. What I ended up getting was a film that brilliantly uses absurdist humor as a backdrop for a delightful and thoughtful commentary on how power affects people and the consequences of valuing money and oneself over the well-being of others.
Sorry to Bother You thrives off of the synergy of its absurd, quick-paced humor and its intelligent, if not-so-subtle criticisms of modern society. Despite its flaws, this film surprised me by being one of the most bizarre, yet effective pieces of satire that I've seen in a long time, making it a film well worth seeing.
One thing that I think is especially noteworthy about Sorry to Bother You is that it very well may have one of the greatest first acts I've ever seen. We're immediately introduced to Cassius Green (played by Lakeith Stanfield) in an interview for Regalview, a telemarketing company. Cassius immediately strikes us by being so desperate for a job that he's forged awards and trophies just to make him look more appealing. Later, we see the immediate conflict of him needing to pay his overdue rent if he wants to continue living with his girlfriend, Detroit. As Cassius begins going to work, we become sympathetic with his struggles with his job at first.
This is until he receives advice from a fellow coworker to adopt a "white accent" to become more successful at making sales. Meanwhile, another coworker by the name of Squeeze (played by Steven Yeun) mentions to Cassius that he is organizing an employee strike to demand better pay and benefits. Cassius befriends Squeeze as they follow through with the employee strike.
This first act greatly establishes a connection between the audience and Cassius. We become sympathetic for Cassius and his financial struggles. Moreover, his initial struggles with his job and his relationship with Detroit made Cassius feel like a believable center piece in a film revolving around absurdity and chaos. The first act serves as an effective way of giving the audience breathing room and familiarity with a more grounded story before the film gradually becomes otherworldly and weird, for lack of a better term.
What follows this first act is a story about Cassius and his rise in success at the expense of neutrally watching his fellow coworkers continue to fight for better treatment. As Cassius becomes more successful, we're introduced to increasingly bizarre circumstances that make Cassius question the path he's taken.
If there's anything to know about Sorry to Bother You, it's that this movie is dense. This film is brimming, almost overwhelming with attention to detail. It actually reminded me of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in that this film throws so much at you that it's impossible to catch all of it. There will be plot elements, visual humor, or details that will inevitably go over your head, due to the sheer fact that there's so much to absorb with this film.
As such, Sorry to Bother You is a film that truly demands to be seen multiple times. Since there's so much to take in, I can easily imagine every viewing of this film to be completely different from the last. Personally, I love films like this - films that have so much thought and energy packed into it that it practically necessitates multiple viewings.
Director and screenwriter Boots Riley has created a story that has a lightning-fast pace to it. However, this makes moments where the film slows down to be all the more noticeable. While this is necessary and well-executed for the film's more important and/or comedic moments, there are also unnecessary instances where the film slows down.
There are numerous occasions where a character will say "Hey, cool earrings" or "Hey, nice shirt", none of which feel like they serve any important role to the story. Drawing to attention to unimportant details was bizarre to me, as Sorry to Bother You has many plot-relevant details such as signs in the background, names of politicians, and so on that the film doesn't draw attention to. The fact that the film doesn't stop and say "Hey, look at this detail" is what make these more subtle details feel more effective, important, and at times, humorous. For the most part, the film does a phenomenal jobs of using background props and details to enhance the story, but instances where the film vividly draws attention to these details makes Sorry to Bother You feel a bit showoff-y at times.
Another time in which the film stumbles is in the third act. Without spoiling anything, the final ten minutes or so of the film feel oddly rushed. Conflicts seem to be concluded a bit too quickly, making the third act as a whole feel awkward and unfinished.
Overall, though, these issues are mitigated by the aforementioned pacing, humor, and intelligence of the film. There were many instances in my theater where the whole audience was laughing. Sorry to Bother You, while primarily having an absurdist sense of humor, has a charm to it that I feel makes it approachable for most moviegoers.
As previously mentioned, the film poises a lot of intelligent, thoughtful questions to its audience through its absurdist satire. However, with this comes dialogue that feels really on-the-nose, to the point where it almost feels like the film is stopping in place to quickly make a critique on society. At times, this may also feel like the characters aren't actually talking about the conflict in the film, and are directly talking about real-world issues. This personally didn't bother me much, since I think stories that dare to talk about issues that the authors care about are more admirable than stories that don't talk about any issues. However, I do think that this will come off as jarring to a few viewers, so keep that in mind.
Sorry to Bother You was an extremely pleasant surprise. Very rarely do comedy films every leave a profound impact on me, and yet Sorry to Bother You has managed to do just that. Through its plethora of details, fast pace, excellent writing, and great performances around the board, it's clear to see that Sorry to Bother You was a passion project from beginning to end, and that energy radiates off the screen. It's a film that will make you laugh and also make you think about its themes of power, money, and success.
I'm certain that this won't be the last time I write about Sorry to Bother You. There's simply so much with this movie that seeing and talking about it only once seems like a disservice to the film. I want to see this film more times and I want to talk about it more times. It's for that reason alone that I think this film is worth watching.
While it's slightly flawed in its execution at times, Sorry to Bother You demands your attention to uncover its details, its comedy, and its messages. And quite frankly, I think this film deserves that attention.
Final Grade: A-
Thank you so much for reading! What did you think about Sorry to Bother You? As always, join the conversation, and let me know what you think!
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