Review of Sorry to Bother You (2018) by Mmadnessgames — 06 Jan 2019

This is a film were black guys voices are dubbed by white actors. The dubbing for the main character is really badly done. It doesn't look like the words are coming out of his mouth. I've seen better dubbing in English translations of Japanese films. I've done better dubbing (had to re-record all the audio for a short film I was in years ago)... Maybe this is part of the joke? I don't think it's funny.

I don't find the premise funny, at all, either. In fact, it comes across - to me - as racist.

There are some good moments, but there's a lot of experimental artsy crap that doesn't work.

This isn't a cleverly structured film. It's not nuanced. The characters don't develop... It's a film - like Get Out - that plays the race card for it's entire running time.

Black people are disadvantaged. White people have it easy.

The main character in this film has the body language of a slave at the beginning of the film. He's always looking at the ground. He's hunched over and softly spoken... Also, he wears Cosby sweaters throughout the first half of the film. He's a sensitive young black man who has been beaten down by the white world... Until he starts pretending to be white, then - viola! - his life changes dramatically. He moves out of his uncle's garage. He is confident and successful. He wears a suit.

Personally, I'm sick of people preaching about how hard it is to be black.

What's a white voice? Do African-British people have different voices than (Caucasian) British people?

If I was working as a telemarketer (or in any customer service position) I'd have to do a "job voice". Everybody is expected to do that. Right?

Do all black people speak in Ebonics? What about university educated black people that grew up in good neighbourhoods? Do they have "white voices"?

I'm tired of this BS that you get shot on the street if you're black or people don't hire you because you're black. It's not all about skin colour. Is it? If you're black and you are qualified and have a good work history, you will get a job. I don't know anybody who hires based on skin colour. If you're black and uneducated and your language skills aren't up to scratch, you will struggle against more qualified applicants. But the same applies to any race.

This film just widens the gap and contributes towards the false idea that you need to be white to be successful.

I'm only half way through the film, but I can't convince myself to keep watching it.

If the dubbing was half-decent I'd probably keep going, because I have nothing else to watch today, but I'd rather watch nothing.

I gave it 4/10 because there are some funny moments and - at least - it is trying to be clever, I guess. While I disagree with it, it is less mindless than a lot of genre films.

It feels like it's trying to be art. Like it's trying to imitate Terry Gilliam, or something. But it ends up being much closer to Southland Tales.

Sorry to Bother You is a mess. Some bits work and some bits don't, at all. The plot doesn't make sense. The TV show that keeps playing in the background "Beat the **** out of me" or whatever it's called, it wasn't funny the first time.

They keep doing the same jokes, over and over.

Black guy with white voice. Violent reality television. Black guy with white voice. Violent reality television. Black guy with white voice. Violent reality television.

A teenager could have written this film.