Review of Sorry to Bother You (2018) by Stjude_Bruh — 15 Jul 2018

Many times, movies that don't deserve to be critically lambasted (i.e. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) end up being critically lambasted. Simultaneously, movies that don't deserve critical praise (i.e. Wonder Woman)  end up receiving a heap of critical praise. When I see movies receive critical praise, I become more interested in seeing them. I know I said that I don't check reviews, but every time I get on the internet its hard to avoid seeing such content.

I unfortunately saw reviews and commercials that raved about how good and true Sorry To Bother You was. It was described as a fresh, relevant, and hilarious take on the sci-fi/comedy genre that meant so much to what events are transpiring in our world today. I'm guessing that, based on the director, actors involved, and just just watching the commercials seeing Lakeith Stanfield doing a "white voice", it had something to do about race. Whatever it's hidden message about racial equality was, it got lost behind direction that was non-parralel almost on a Gotti level and a crazy twist that was a major WTF. I don't think the twist had anything to do with our modern world; if it did, then I missed it completely.

I will first begin with good things since this is a negative review that should end with the bad. The good aspects included Lakeith Stanfield's standout performance as the main character Cassius "Cash" Green. He was able to transition from a non-social loser who carries himself as a timid individual to an entitled selfish prick when he earns the promotion. That is not a spoiler; it is explicitly in the trailers that he moves up the ladder in his job. He does a great job in creating a character that makes us think about how we would become if we were to leave behind our friends and beliefs in pursuit of wealth and personal gain. It made me beg the question as well, even though the situation Cash was in is definitely unrealistic. It is a movie after all. Stanfield's performance along with the rest of the cast is the main standout moment in the movie. That about does it. Time to move on to the bad stuff.

In my opinion, just about everything else with this movie is bad. The directing is misguided and all over the place, which is also bad credit towards the editing. The  transitions between each scene make the film feel that it was made using Microsoft PowerPoint slides. All these different fades and transition effects are misplaced, which is distracting and harms the focus that viewers should be placing on the movie. The directing isn't the only bad thing; the overall message and plot of the film is unknown. I have no idea what the movie is trying to say about "white voice" and "black voice". As established in the trailers, Cash is able to move up the echelon of importance in his workplace by using his "white voice" to have his phone clients pay attention to him. He seems to move up the ladder very fast, but the film loses whatever message it was trying to parlay from there. Many of these films that criticize race relations in our nations only point out issues with African-Americans, and they seem to be exaggerated. It can get annoying when people continue to complain about issues by being preachy in entertainment only; it takes away from the joy of entertainment.

After I walked out of the theatre, I was very disappointed with the film. There was so much hype surrounding it that I could not avoid any press or reviews. I tried to, as they have altered my expectations in the past, but I could not avoid it. I myself had been interested in seeing the movie after watching the trailers; the premise looked interesting, and I am a big fan of Lakeith. However, the message of the film was not clear to me. It got lost within a large array of unnecessary content that did not push the film forward. There is one major shocking and disturbing twist at the end, and all I have to say about that is WTF.

Overall, I would say that this movie is not worth your $20, $12, $2, or your time. If you never watch it, you won't miss a thing. .

Rating wise, I would give Sorry To Bother You 5 stars out of 10. Just don't.