Has anyone else seen Sorry to Bother You and if so, did anyone want to share their thoughts and reactions?
I’m mentioning it here mainly because it felt like the kind of movie that the Waypoint staff would really dig. It is perhaps one of the most dead-on critiques of life under late capitalism that I’ve seen in recent media, but it’s also delightfully surrealistic. I feel like people often use the term Kafka-esqe to describe media that is just surreal and weird, but this movie really does remind me of Kafka in its dream-like logic and anxiety surrounding punishment and abuse of power.
There’s a really good write up in The Atlantic that highlights some aspects of the movie I found most interesting. I especially like what the article says about the movie seeming to touch on too many ideas, but that the excess actually fits its tone. It doesn’t give away too much, but I would suggest seeing the movie first.
It’s been over a year since I moved from the big city, and not having Sorry to Bother You playing anywhere near me is the first time I’ve felt like I’m missing out. The trailer looks so good! I’m getting Office Space vibes mixed with Charlie Kaufman-esque sensibilities, so I can’t wait to see it.
I absolutely loved it. It’s rare that movies make me feel inspired to go out and shout SCREW THE MAN but also make me realize that I’m a cog and that’s all I’m ever going to be. Bong Joon-Ho’s movies also make me feel that way, especially stuff like Snowpiercer or Okja.
It can also be compared to Get Out in that they’re both deeply political first features from dudes that are already established in their fields. The only thing is that I feel like Sorry to Bother You is somewhat less polished. There were some loose ends left here and there but I was ready to forgive those because of how great everything else was.
The only place that’s showing it in Vancouver is a 19+ theatre in a fancy neighbourhood, so the 4 pm Wednesday screening was me, one other guy in his mid 20s, a couple of people in their 30s, and then a bunch of real old white people. It was just me and the other guy laughing during the movie. The whole thing was quite an experience.
P.s. I strongly believe Armie Hammer should legally not be allowed to play any characters other than the guy he plays in this movie. It just suits him far too well.
I’m really excited to see it. I used to really be into movies but recently I’ve been busy, not interested and in a town without compelling theaters. But honestly, Sorry to Bother You might compel me to go anyways.
I also heard it compared to Putney Swope and was super intrigued. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but I enjoyed it a bit and found it quite interesting.
Snowpiercer is an interesting comparison! I can definitely see it in terms of the hyperbolic depiction of classes and the uplifting “F the man” attitude. It was nice to see a dystopian movie that was as interested in resistance as it was in oppression.
Armie Hammer was definitely well suited to the role. He seemed quite natural in it. I always think of his role in Free Fire when I picture him, but perhaps this one will replace it in my mind.
I’m also thinking specifically of the ending of Snowpiercer in that “We won! Oh wait, we actually didn’t” context. They get out of the train and break the social constructs, both literally and figuratively, but at the very end they’re just two kids in an ocean of snow with a predatory animal nearby. Definitely thought that Sorry to Bother You had a similar vibe.
I really gotta watch Free Fire. A good friend has been telling me about it for a while.
I go to the movies so rarely these days, but Sorry to Bother You felt like an appointment I couldn’t miss so I managed to catch it last weekend. Absolutely loved it. Such a smart, confident and enjoyable piece of film making. The way it works in brutal social critiques in between layers and layers of visual gags and references is so fantastic. There was a pretty small audience when I saw it on a Sunday afternoon, and two people walked out, which I thought was hilarious. I don’t know how something like that even got made but I think it has cult status written all over it. It’s a movie I would rewatch multiple times at home, as I’m sure there’s stuff I missed the first go around. But if you have a chance to catch it in a theater you absolutely should, Boots Riley & Co. deserve all your money.
I also had a fairly small crowd (maybe two dozen) and at least one person got up and left.
Totally agree with you about the confidence of the movie and the layering. I think that’s one of the things that really stands out for me. It isn’t afraid to be dead serious and completely ludicrous, to raise critiques on all these different issues while bombarding you with jokes.
It’s a movie begging for multiple viewings.
On a separate note, I would be curious to hear what people, but especially women, thought of the gender dynamics. I thought Tessa Thompson was great in it, but it also seemed that, because she was the only major female character, she got saddled with a lot of tropes.
If you didn’t hear the director in an interview about this movie, you should definitely go find it (I can’t remember the name)
I watched a trailer wondering if I should watch a movie last weekend, saw the trailer and immediately had to watch this. I was in for some shit and I regret nothing
This movie is incredible. I honestly had no idea what direction it was going to go in and I was definitely not expecting…like…anything about this movie. I loved it.
I saw it on Friday and definitely liked it, and it’s grown a bit more on me over the weekend. I definitely feel like its strongest moments were the ones without anything fantastical added in—the gallery show, the “rap” at the party, the strikes. Not that I didn’t like the magical realism-y stuff or the twist with the equisapiens—I think it was effective in what it was trying to do—but at that point it felt like the film was going a bit beyond the image of the world it had constructed. At the same time though it seemed committed to the ride it had set up, which is definitely a good thing.
I did think the ending was really abrupt. Which hey, maybe that serves as a point to the late-capitalist satire, but that still feels a bit like a cop out.
Ok so I can’t actually say what I need to get off my chest without it being a spoiler but,
Its so fucked yet realistic that the evil CEO developed cocaine that lets you be a furry and used it to bolster his slavery startup. Like…that’s all he could think to do.
Just waiting for a UK release for this… It’s one of these movies that is blowing up on my social media and everybody’s saying how people should go out and support it. Just gotta release it first…
Also happy to see the love for Free Fire. That movie is like the anti-John Woo movie, just a bunch of naerdowells incapacitated on the ground shouting at each other as they take pot shots at one another. It was the first movie I saw after John Wick 2, which was also good, but the contrast was interesting. Excellent use of John Denver as well.
I was about to write Armie Hammer off after the Lone Ranger. But he’s become hands down one of my favourite tall people in movies.
Saw it over the weekend and absolutely adored it. There’s a scene towards the end where Cash meets up with Squeeze and Salvador to make amends in which Riley really manages to distill the difficulty and frustration of living as a leftist in the Trump era in a way that I haven’t seen before.
There are so damn many brilliant touches here that it’s hard to believe this thing is real and I can’t wait to see it again. Tessa Thompson is a goddess (although I think her character should’ve stuck to her guns in the end re: not getting back with Cash especially given where the story was headed).
I feel like the ultimate question at the end of the film is: how do we really make a difference in a society that openly encourages and rewards people for being disgusting wealth-obsessed garbage humans? And for me, the film’s answer was: you empower the ultra-marginalized to take hold of their own fates and follow them into a sunset filled with the ass-kicking of capitalist overlords. I’m fully down with that, y’all.
Boots Riley for president.
P.S. Also holy shit I just saw that David Cross and Patton Oswalt did the “white voices.” They were so bad-good.
I really want to see it because I both currently am working in a call center and have worked at an even more oppressive one in the past. It seems cool. My coworker saw it and said it’s not that great but I refuse to believe that!
