Sorry to Bother You (2018)

rating: ****

the story: A black man encounters the full absurdity of the workforce.

review: Director Boots Riley was worried about comparisons to other black filmmakers, but I think Sorry to Bother You will enjoy its greater legacy in comparison to other workplace comedies, chiefly Mike Judge's Office Space (1999).

Riley's perspective stems from the fact that on its surface, Sorry to Bother You comes from the same recent surge of black filmmaking as Get Out (2017).  On the surface, its story arc is chiefly concerned with the role of black people in white society.  But it can be a universal message, too.  By the time the movie reaches the concept of equisapiens, I think my point has been proven.

I mean, equisapiens, right? 

Maybe my greater point is that you don't need to be black to enjoy the movie itself?  That seems needlessly reductive.  You don't need to be black to understand it, either, you don't need to be black to enjoy it, and you don't need to be black to get something meaningful from it.  I mean, on the one hand it seems to be satire from a black perspective, but it's also...just satire.  Hilarious satire.  I mean, equisapiens.  That's an iconic movie image regardless of context, but the context grounds it, too, even while it's so absurd that the whole movie might end up being remembered for it.

The cast is impeccable.  I caught Lakeith Stanfield in a supporting role in Girl in the Spider's Web (2018), and he was compelling even in a fairly limited capacity.  Here, in the lead role, he remains so.  Tessa Thompson is fast becoming one of my favorites.  She stands out in everything.  Armie Hammer has found new life as a supporting actor.  Danny Glover and Steve Yeun are among a strong supporting cast.  Patton Oswalt and David Cross are hilarious as a few of the "white voices" in another of the film's hilarious digs at society at large.

Basically, a movie that succeeds well past its initial goals.