Sorry to Bother Mickey 17
maximizing Boots Riley and Bong Joon Ho's anti-capitalist joint slay
Welcome back to the late night double feature picture show! I’m seven years late to the party with Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You and two weeks late to the party with Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17, but I managed to craft the perfect double feature and hopefully a worthy joint review in return.
Both films star Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun in a supporting role, both directors have worked with Naomi Ackie, and both screenplays revolve around capitalism and feature very weird creatures. I promise I didn’t pull this double feature out of nowhere.
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
I’m going to avoid spoiling this film because I think everyone deserves to go in as completely blind as I did. Of course, that logic requires assuming you haven’t already seen this film so if that is the case, please go see it as soon as possible. See it right now and come back if you have to. If you have seen the film, I suppose this is an “if you know, you know” situation.
Sorry to Bother You admittedly hasn’t been on my radar. I knew the film existed, but it wasn’t even in my watchlist up until Sunday afternoon. I had only ever received middling reviews from those who had seen it, but I probably should have listened to the critics on this one. 78 on Metacritic and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes yet was given a January “here, damn” release. I swear waiting this long to get around to it wasn’t my fault. I’ve never gotten anything but mixed signals from this film.
I finally pulled the plug and pressed play on Sunday night because I figured a Steven Yeun satire would be adequate prep for Mickey 17. I really only went into this knowing the star-studded cast, but nothing could have prepared me for what is actually going on here. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything because this really only works if you’re going in blind.
You can tell within the first five minutes if this movie is going to be for you. You’ll either love it or hate it, but you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly which of those describes you. Then again, it will only get weirder and weirder with each minute that passes by and whether it keeps you on the edge of your seat or loses you completely is a case-by-case situation in the wackiest way possible. The best way I could describe Sorry to Bother You is like if Jordan Peele, Bong Joon Ho, and The Daniels made Severance. Given that, this was obviously right up my alley and if that pitch sounds anywhere appealing to you, it will probably be up your alley too.
Sorry to Bother You is a phenomenal directorial debut, innovative and imaginative on every level. I felt the same way about this as I did RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys. They’re very clearly different films tonally and thematically, but they both made me realize how we’ve just barely scratched the surface of what cinema is capable of. There’s really not a single film out there that this could be compared to. I suppose it lies at some intersection between Get Out, Okja, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Severance, but it’s also in its own indescribable lane entirely. It’s packed with biting, fearless, and absurdist satirical commentary on unions, protests, capitalism, class, and race in a Trump-era America. Even with all that information, you will never be able to guess the plot of the third act, if not the entire film. It’s that balls to the wall bonkers, but trust me, by some miracle, it works. David Cross’ voice comes out of LaKeith Stanfield’s mouth. That should be all the convincing you need.
Riley knows how to start a movie, how to end it, and how to sandwich every other imaginable idea in between and somehow make it all come together which is an insane feat to pull off with a directorial debut. What a way to stick the weirdest landing possible. I sat through the credits just screaming “What the fuck!” to myself and trying to pinch my way out of this coke-fueled fever dream of a movie. I'm genuinely furious that it took me this long to watch this. I should not have listened to the haters. I was immediately locked in and not once did this movie lose my investment. I can’t believe this was made, but I’m also so glad it was because it’s one of those films that reminds me why I love cinema so much and why I dedicate so much of my precious time on this Earth soaking it all up. Sorry to Bother You proves maximalist filmmaking is what cinema was made for. The revolution ‘bout to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy, indeed.
Mickey 17 (2025)
I was unfortunately in the middle of finals when Mickey 17 was released, but I finally got around to seeing it in theaters this week. I’ve had high expectations for this film for a while, but those started to dwindle as release dates kept shifting and more and more people started to see it with not a whole lot of glowing reviews to report back. Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me either.
I watched Snowpiercer for the first time the day before this. I thought there were hints of a great movie, but it overall felt a bit like a first draft at times with too many ideas that don't quite fit together and a first act that really drags when tasked with setting up all the complex world-building. I assumed these elements would be improved upon by Mickey 17. While not totally on board with Okja, I thought it was a step in the right direction and Parasite is obviously one of the greatest movies of all time. Mickey 17 feels like a step backwards, however. I have nearly identical criticisms for this as I do with Snowpiercer.
A lot of this should have been revised or left on the cutting room floor completely. There are so many surface level characters who we’re suddenly expected to understand the ins and outs of when they happen to become central to the plot. For example, Kai only had one very brief scene hinting at an attraction to Mickey before her role in this ordeal suddenly became important when she was the one to discover the two Mickeys with Natasha. The editing is also quite clunky. There are a bizarre number of fades to black that start to feel lazy at a certain point. There’s no impact in a fade to black if it’s happening for the third time within thirty minutes. So many scenes are either unnecessary or go on for far too long which makes the pacing unworthy of the 2h 17min runtime.
I also found myself constantly wishing for a more prominent score. There are hints of a score, but they play once in a blue moon here and tend to be pretty muted. There are so many moments of silence that stick out like a sore thumb when surrounded by segments containing such heavy dialogue that a score could have helped with that. Dialogue in general here is not only heavy-handed, but extremely expositional. It’s all an exposition overload that doesn’t get space to breathe because the silence is just preparing you for the next exposition dump. I imagine this works much better as a novel. I don’t see how anyone could have thought this would have an equal impact as a film.
The acting is certainly interesting and is probably what makes this worth a watch. Robert Pattinson is doing his best Steve Buscemi impression (as a Steve Buscemi enthusiast, I’d very much like to see the version of this movie starring two Steve Buscemis). Mark Ruffalo is doing his best Donald Trump impression. Naomi Ackie is stealing the show and running away with it. Great performances individually, but nobody is in the same movie.
I don’t hate this. I love seeing big-budget sci-fi on the big screen when the production (and creature!) design is as delightful as it is here. It feels like a rarity given how noncommittal Lucasfilm is being these days. I’d say I’d like to see his take on Star Wars, but I wouldn’t wish that on any director at this point (though I will take this opportunity to beg everyone to go watch Skeleton Crew). Bong Joon Ho has also mentioned his interest in making an Alien musical, and honestly, after seeing this, I think he could pull it off.
I mainly respect how much of a swing this is, like all of his films. I just wish this got a little more time in the oven. Obviously, I’m not speaking literally because it very well did get an extra year, but it’s just frustrating to see hints of a great movie hindered by a bloated, unfocused screenplay. I wonder if this would have worked better and been better received if it was released this time last year like it was supposed to. Now that we’re essentially back in the very era this film is spoofing, the tonal shifts come off as quite bizarre. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to laugh, cry, or fear. That’s also how I feel just living in America these days so maybe in that sense, it did its job. I’m still working that out.
At first, I left the theater questioning how this movie was even allowed to be released, but then I remembered Republicans don’t watch movies. They’re too busy complaining about “woke” and taking away our rights. If Republicans did watch movies, they’d be so mad right now. Bong Joon Ho straight up blows up Donald Trump in this! That’s crazy!
Mickey 17 was released on March 7th and will be on VOD by the 25th. If you haven’t seen it already and you have the means to see it in theaters, please catch in theaters regardless of whether you think you’ll like it or not. These major studios are getting way too comfortable stripping films of their theatrical platforms before they have the chance to find their audience just because VOD will put more money directly in exec’s pockets. Support your local theaters and take notes from Riley himself.
