Sorry to Bother You (2018)

In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed.

Director:

Boots Riley

Writer:

Boots Riley

Stars:

LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler

16 wins & 39 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
LaKeith Stanfield	...	Cassius Green (as Lakeith Stanfield)
Tessa Thompson	...	Detroit
Jermaine Fowler	...	Salvador
Omari Hardwick	...	Mr. _______
Terry Crews	...	Sergio
Kate Berlant	...	Diana DeBauchery
Michael X. Sommers	...	Johnny
Danny Glover	...	Langston
Steven Yeun	...	Squeeze
Armie Hammer	...	Steve Lift
Robert Longstreet	...	Anderson
David Cross	...	Cassius's White Voice (voice)
Patton Oswalt	...	Mr. _______'s White Voice (voice)
Lily James	...	Detroit's White British Voice (voice)
Forest Whitaker	...	First Equisapien / Demarius

Storyline

In an alternate version of Oakland, Cassius Green gets a telemarketing job and finds the commission paid job a dispiriting struggle as a black man selling to predominately white people over the phone. That changes when a veteran advises him to use his "white voice," and the attitude behind it to make himself more appealing to customers. With a bizarrely high-pitched accent, Cassius becomes a success even as his colleagues form a union to improve their miserable jobs. Regardless, Cassius finds himself promoted a "Power Caller" selling the most morally abhorrent but lucrative products and services as his connection to his girlfriend and colleagues fades away. However, Cassius' conscience arises anew as he finds himself in the midst of his boss' bizarre world of condescending bigoted decadence and his sinister plans to create the perfect subservient work force with Cassius' help.

---

Plot Keywords:

absurdism | oakland california | telemarketing | slave labor | social satire | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some strong sexual content, graphic nudity, and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sorry to Bother You

Filming Locations:

Oakland, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$727,266, 8 July 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,493,096, 1 November 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinereach, Forest Whitaker's Significant Productions, MACRO

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mistah F.A.B.: Bay Area rap legend Mistah F.A.B. makes a cameo as the passenger that drives by laughing at Cassius Green.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Anderson: So it says here that you were manager of the Rusty Scupper restaurant for five years. And then a bank teller at Bank of Oakland between 2014 to 2016. Oh, and you were employee of the month! What's that trophy in the bag there?
Cassius Green: Oh, Oakland High moot court champion. I'm a salesman at heart.
Anderson: *That* is intriguing. Mainly because I was the branch manager at the Bank of Oakland between 2014 and 2016, and you, Mr. Green, you never fucking worked there.

---

Connections

Referenced in PWN: Summer of '18 - PWN #22 (2018)

---

Soundtracks

Hey Saturday Night
Written by Boots Riley and Damion Gallegos
Performed by The Coup

User Reviews

Not everybody's cuppa

Wow, there are a lot of people who don't like this movie, and moreover, seem to mad that others like it. Some samples:

"I think people who are giving it high praise believe that's just what their supposed to do but the fact is it's just a dumpster fire of a movie."

" I RARELY write movie reviews but had to inform people of the facts on this one."

"The positive reviews are from movie snobs who think they are smarter than everyone else and recognize brilliance in pure garbage."

You get the point. It's almost like we're all supposed to like all the same things now. (In fairness, there were plenty of other reviewers who didn't like it, but said they're glad others enjoyed it.

I'm not a movie snob. I'm not a film executive and I have nothing to do with the film except I paid 6 bucks to see it last Tuesday. This is a very surreal satire. It won't be to everyone's liking, but it seems to me that we are getting more and more confused about the difference between fact and opinion. It's not a fact that this movie sucks, any more than it's a fact that this movie is great. These are classically opinions.

Me, I like movies that start sort of pseudo-normal and go into bizarre. This is right up my alley. It's a Repo Man for our generation. Genetic engineering, dead end call center jobs, megalomaniacal Bay Area billionaires trying to save the world, race relations and post-postmodern art commentary. It's all painted in a crazy, bigger-than-life science fiction brush. Yeah, it's weird as hell, and maybe ends a little weakly (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, anyone?) but has a method in its madness.

If you don't like absurdist humor, or if you don't like movies that are at least semi-overt political statements (especially if the political statement is opposed to yours. Anti-union, pro-business capitalists with short fuses be warned! You should give it a miss and just read the National Review's Ross Douthat's review. He saved you a lot of time worrying your beautiful mind about it.), and if you don't like a dollop of science fiction every now and then, yeah, you're going to probably hate it.

But your opinion is still not fact. I liked it. That's my OPINION. Get over it.