Five years after ‘Sorry to Bother You’ won quite a lot of criticism, Boots Riley is once again at the controls of an audiovisual fiction. This time with a series: ‘i’m a virgo‘ (I’m A Virgo), a seven-episode youth comedy that premieres today, Friday Prime Video.
Starring Jharrel Jerome (‘This is how they see us’), the series follows a young man who has lived his entire life in seclusion and hiding. The reason: He is a giant four meter tall boy. One fine day, after being discovered accidentally, he decides to come out with a group of new friends in which he faces the difficulties of the “real world”.
Without going much further into the plot, we can easily describe the series as an example of “weird fiction”. In what at first glance is still a coming-of-age, of personal maturation of our gigantic protagonist, fiction It moves through the field of the strange, with touches of the fantastic and an aroma of superheroes. something curious.
A very tasty mix
A mix that, as a fan of “bizarradas”, already had my full attention. Since what I have found has not completely excited me (and here I admit that I am going a bit against the current), it is another matter. Since, although there is no particularly negative aspect to highlight —although we can talk about the fact that sometimes the practical effects they use do not always give the desired result— nor are the virtues (which has them) really forcefuls.
Here I already consider that it is up to each viewer to get into the world proposed by Riley well, but I think that it is not entirely fine when it comes to introducing us to the protagonist, his family (his uncles, played by Carmen Ejogo and Mike Epps, raise him). and those bizarre conspiracy clues That surrounds them.
It is true that, at least in those first episodes, it is not vital to talk about Cootie as a character, being more of an ornament. But as the story is conceived (or structured), It is a strange addition that hinders more than intrigues. It does not exceed but it does not contribute either. It is context, but it is not urgent to know it.
‘I’m a Virgo’ works much better when exploring its protagonist, their concerns and needs. The script doesn’t take long to move (and does it very fluently) between a youth comedy and a superheroic satire (in fact, of superhero origins) with a lot of heart with the surreal stamp that Riley already showed in his feature film.
Riley’s ideas are heard throughout the ‘I’m a Virgo’ footage, giving him his touch of political protest and a spirit of “fuck you, capitalism” in which the four-meter young man is getting to know the world in which he is living. By settling into the realm of satire, he sometimes walks the fine line between social criticism and the cautionary tale. Sure, the rapper-turned-director isn’t exactly someone who likes to be subtle in his messages.
Despite the fact that sometimes he does not hit the key when it comes to handling his subplots, it must be recognized that ‘I am a Virgo’ It is a remarkable comedy, with a cast devoted and quite charming.. A satirical fable made with heart in what is immersed in this surreal world.