Ambitious to a fault, and structurally messy, Sorry to Bother You is nonetheless a biting and relevant social satire about a down-on-his-luck man, who experiences success–at a price.
Thoroughly original, Sorry to Bother You, which blends conventional comedy with political satire, heralded the arrival of writer-director Boots Riley as a fresh filmmaking voice.
The film’s title has a double meaning, referencing both telemarketers’ phrase and its general usage when telling a person something they do not like to hear.
The protagonist’s name, Cassius Green, is obvious reference to monetary value but can also be connected to Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, where Cassius prioritizes his personal wellbeing over others and brands himself a “conniving sellout.
Riley has said that the film offers a radical class analysis of capitalism, rather than a specific analysis of the U.S. under Trump’s presidency.
He wrote the initial screenplay during Obama’s presidency, and the target was never any specific elected official, but “the puppetmasters behind the puppets.”
Some minimal changes were made to avoid appearing as critique of Trump specifically, including removing a line where a character says “WorryFree is making America great again,” which was written before Trump used the line in his 2016 campaign.
Riley said, “When you’re telling someone something that is different from how they view things, different from how they view the world, it feels like annoyance or a bother, that’s where that comes from.”
The plot of a strike was used to reflect the need to “organize people in the workplace,” and for unaware workers to recognize their power.
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Fest, before Annapurna acquired distribution rights. (It also screened at the South by Southwest Fest).
Sorry to Bother You grossed $17.5 million in U.S., and $792,464 in other territories, for a worldwide figure of $18.3 million, against production budget of $3.2 million.
