It's been five years since Boots Riley made a tremendous first impression on the filmmaking scene with "Sorry To Bother You," but the writer, director, producer, musician, and activist is finally back with "I'm A Virgo." A trailer for the new Prime Video series just dropped, and as expected, it looks both wild as hell and like an absurdly good time.
Press materials for the highly-anticipated series call it a "mythical coming-of-age comedy," while the trailer tagline claims it's the "biggest coming-of-age story of all time." The latter is definitely true on one level, as the story revolves around a 13-foot-tall young Black man (Jharrel Jerome, "When They See Us") who discovers the world after hiding away throughout his formative years. In the trailer, we see Jerome's character, Cootie, encounter some typical adolescent problems -- like figuring out how to flirt with a girl -- and some not-so-typical ones, like being observed by a cult-y group of white guys in turtlenecks and assessed as a threat by a superhero (Walton Goggins).
Given Riley's track record, "I'm A Virgo" is likely to be as insightful as it is off the wall. His acclaimed feature directorial debut, "Sorry To Bother You," was a bizarre but singular take on capitalism and race, following LaKeith Stanfield as a telemarketer who gains success by adopting a "white voice," only to discover a plot to turn him and his coworkers into literal workhorses. The trailer for "I'm A Virgo" is upbeat, but there's obviously inherent social commentary in a story about the way the world (especially white authority figures) perceive a tall Black boy as a threat.
Watch The I'm A Virgo Trailer
As thrilled as I am to see a new project from Boots Riley, I'm equally excited to see Jharrel Jerome in the lead role. The actor made a strong impression in Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight," then stunned in an Emmy-winning turn in Ava DuVernay's "When They See Us" in 2019. Since then, he's appeared in indies like "Selah and the Spades" and "First Match," but hasn't taken on a major role to match his talents yet. "I'm A Virgo" could be just that, as Jerome's fun-loving Cootie is a highlight of this stylish, zany trailer.
"Sorry To Bother You" fans and TV-lovers who plan to watch "I'm A Virgo" would do well to tell some friends about the show, given that Riley is a WGA and DGA member who has been open about the fact that he will only promote the series as much as is appropriate to do during the ongoing WGA strike. In a guest column for Deadline, the filmmaker and activist spoke about the importance of the current Hollywood strike on a larger national level, saying, "What we do right now will be part of the story that tens of millions tell themselves about how the world works and what tools we have with which to change it." Spoken like a great writer.
"I'm A Virgo' premieres on Prime Video on June 23, 2023.
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The post I'm a Virgo Trailer: The New Series From Sorry To Bother You Director Boots Riley appeared first on /Film.
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