This weird and wonderful story of a 13ft teen is vigorous, clever and fun. It’s as fresh and invigorating as a cold shower
I’m a Virgo is a deeply weird and quite wonderful tale of a giant baby, Cootie, born to unseen parents and raised by his aunt and uncle as he grows to be a 13ft tall young man. From such a premise, you can go anywhere and creator Boots Riley – in only his second ever screen outing, since his film Sorry to Bother You debuted in 2018 – does.
Cootie (Jharrel Jerome, who played Korey Wise – one of the wrongly convicted Central Park Five – in the fiercely heartbreaking When They See Us by Ava DuVernay) is raised in secret, seeing the world only through television, comic books and occasional glimpses over neighbours’ hedges. Eventually, his yearning for friendship – and fast food – overwhelms him and out he steps, to the horror of his aunt and uncle (Carmen Ejogo and Mark Epps) who know what the dangers outside are for young Black men, let alone those in giant form.
I’m a Virgo is on Prime Video.
