It\u2019s been five years since director Boots Riley\u2019s riot of a debut, \u201cSorry to Bother You,\u201d dominated conversations. With a deft hand that crafted\u00a0comedy with punchy social critique, \u201cSorry to Bother You\u201d put Riley\u2019s creativity and contributions to Afro-Surrealism on the map. The style he implemented in that film proves to be not a one-and-done, but a jumping-off point, as he reaches into his toolbox of absurdism and humor yet again in his new Prime Video series, \u201cI\u2019m a Virgo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The show follows Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), a 13-foot-tall, 19-year-old Black man raised in Oakland. Jerome, noted most for his dramatic work as Kevin in Barry Jenkins\u2019 \u201cMoonlight\u201d and Korey Wise in Ava Duvernay\u2019s \u201cWhen They See Us,\u201d stretches his legs (quite literally) into funky new territory with this series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cootie is sheltered. His adoptive parents (Mike Epps and Carmen Ejogo) keep him cooped up in the house for fear that when people discover him, he will be ogled, tokenized, and eventually disposed of. They keep him fearful with headlines of the giants who came before him, who now exist only in graveyards, science labs, or museums. So when Cootie decides to venture out of their home against their wishes, we\u2019re equally skeptical but intrigued of how the world will receive him. What ensues is an absolute romp of a coming-of-age story, chock full of Cali culture, first love, friendship, and biting social examination.<\/p>\n
The 13-foot-tall gimmick runs the gamut of physical comedy and day-to-day hilarity. Cootie\u2019s size is accomplished through CGI, forced perspectives, and practical doll-size props, all of which\u00a0work extremely well in Riley\u2019s world. It\u2019s incredibly kitschy, and the fun of it remains intact even when it isn’t believable. Through tickling sequences, we learn how he eats, uses the bathroom, and eventually, in one of the series\u2019 most memorable moments, has sex.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jerome embodies Cootie\u2019s physical and social awkwardness with fun-loving empathy. His naivety causes us to view him much like his parents do, with protective care. Jerome manages the clumsiness and curiosity of Cootie without infantilizing him and, in the funnier moments, shows his comedic edge. Whether it\u2019s\u00a0testing the romantic waters with the shows other \u201cspecial\u201d character, the superspeed Bing Bang Burger worker Flora (Olivia Washington), downing a plate of tacos like it’s nothing, or assisting his friends in doing two-wheel donuts in their convertible, Jerome\u2019s Cootie is a joy to watch.<\/p>\n
Absurdity is the series\u2019 truest commitment, and it functions not only for laughs but thematic support as well. A perfectly cast Walton Goggins plays \u201cThe Hero,\u201d a millionaire with a super-suit \u00e1 la Iron Man (but in the worst of ways). He\u2019s basically a supercop on steroids, flying over Oakland, lauding the importance of law and order, and alerting Black teens that \u201cthree or more people dressed in similar clothing may be prosecuted as a gang.\u201d Goggins is absolutely insane in his portrayal, but it\u2019s exactly what the show needs in a ludicrous antagonist.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s been five years since director Boots Riley\u2019s riot of a debut, \u201cSorry to Bother You,\u201d dominated conversations. With a deft hand that crafted\u00a0comedy with punchy social critique, \u201cSorry to Bother You\u201d put Riley\u2019s creativity and contributions to Afro-Surrealism on the map. The style he implemented in that film proves to be not a one-and-done, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[38,33],"class_list":["post-1240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comedy-movies","tag-amazon-prime","tag-comedy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}