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Title: Sorry to Bother You (2018)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Lakeith Stanfield | ... | Cassius Green | |
| 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 | |
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. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
I would definitely classify this movie as artsy. By that I mean that the writer tried to convey a message in an indirect and flamboyant manner.
The appropriately named Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) is a struggling, unemployed young man who wants to do something big with his life. He gets the opportunity when he's hired on at a telemarketing company. As he makes one sale after another he is offered the dream gig of being a PC (power caller). As a power caller he can change his life for the better but at what moral cost?
The first half of the movie was really good. It had a good flow to it, the humor was funny, and the plot was clear. The last half of the movie was different, almost like two different people wrote and directed the first and second half. The flow of it seemed to taper off, the humor waned, and the message became almost abstract. As it was I was trying to fully understand all of the visual and verbal non sequiturs but then I became a bit bewildered with the direction the film went. It sort of devolved into something crude and crass. I'm sure there was a point in that but I didn't see a need.
This was Boots Riley's writing and directorial debut. There was some promise here but I think it missed the mark. I hope he gets another shot to do another project and--whereas I don't want him to dumb it down or make it commercial--I'd like to see a more palatable movie.