I Love Boosters

You’ve got to respect the hustle of the immaculately dressed antiheroines in I Love Boosters, even if their motives are a bit shady and their methods are somewhat unscrupulous.

This incisive yet outrageous satire from director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) is a surreal science-fiction satire about race, capitalism, and socioeconomic class inequities with a muddled subtext meant to expose the layers of ugliness beneath the material beauty in the trendy world of high fashion.

Still, the freewheeling comedy offers a visually inventive and consistently amusing collection of sight gags and one-liners to supplement its go-for-broke stylistic zeal.

In a heightened reality version of San Francisco, Corvette (Keke Palmer) rationalizes shoplifting trendy fashion pieces and reselling them for a quick profit as an act of philanthropy rather than thievery.

Regardless, she’s joined in her scheme, and her philosophy, by Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige), who at least seem to appreciate the artistic value of the products they’re pilfering.

The target of their latest heist is Christie (Demi Moore), an obnoxious billionaire maven with a habit of ripping off aspiring designers and claiming their inspiration as her own.

Corvette and her crew operate from the inside by securing jobs at one of Christie’s meticulously decorated retail outlets. However, the conflicting intentions of a cashier (Eiza Gonzalez) and a vengeful Chinese immigrant (Poppy Liu) complicate their plan and change their perspective.

A magnetic performance by Palmer (One of Them Days) conveys a sympathetic mix of strength and vulnerability for a woman trying to reset her moral compass while chasing the elusive American Dream.

Riley’s audacious vision is offbeat but playful with its streetwise vibe and dazzling array of flashy set designs and vibrant imagery. There’s heart alongside the acerbic barbs, despite a mildly derivative storytelling foundation.

The uneven screenplay tends to spin its wheels while skewering couture opportunism, as it becomes overwhelmed with narrative tangents and superfluous eccentrics — played by Will Poulter, Lakeith Stanfield, and Don Cheadle, among others. It loses its way in the second half with elements of teleportation and body horror thrown into the mix.

The wild swings don’t always land, but I Love Boosters is an exercise in bold, original filmmaking that isn’t confined by its artsy quirks. Rather, it remains grounded in real-world ambition and ingenuity that should resonate beyond the color-coded glitz and glamour.

Rated R, 104 minutes.