- Title: Kinky Boots
- IMDb: link
Okay you’ve seen this one before. This light-hearted English comedy where people learn to accept people and ideas that are thrust into their lives and everyone, despite the troubles they go through during the film, lives happily ever after. To this much overused mix we add RazorFine favorite Chiwetel Ejiofor in drag and a conservative shoe factory producing shoes for women who are men who dress like women. The odd mix creates some enjoyable, if sometimes unoriginal, fun.
When Harold Price (Robert Pugh) dies his shoe factory is passed down to his son Charlie (Joel Edgerton) who wants nothing to do with the business or the responsibility of the factory which keeps the town of North Hampton afloat. Things only go from bad to worse as he is forced to layoff employees including the fiery Lauren (Sarah-Jane Potts) who scolds Charlie for his lack of vision. Then with her words still fresh in his mind a chance meeting with a drag queen named Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor) gives Charlie an unconventional idea of how to save the family business and the jobs of the townspeople.
Charlie decides to make women’s shoes for men who dress as women. And so with Lola hired as a designer Charlie puts everything into turning the factory away from producing men’s footwear and into producing “kinky boots.” Of course Charlie’s idea seems ludicrous to the workers who have a hard time accepting Charlie as their new boss. And of course Lola rubs many of the “real men” of the factory the wrong way.
Add to that Charlie’s disapproving fiance (Jemima Rooper) that wants Charlie to sell the factory so they can live the good life and you can see there is quite a bit on his plate. Of course you know this is the type of film where everything is going to workout all right in the end. Charlie decides to premiere the new footwear at Milan and earns the respect of the workers, the friendship of Lola, and the admiration of Lauren.
My biggest issue with the film is despite the rather unique circumstances of the story it plays everything towards the middle. For example the love story of the simple guy with the girl only interested in his money while the girl of his dreams who understands him is right under his nose is so played out it comes off almost cliche. Or the most talented person of the bunch is the outcast who only finds acceptance late in the film. Or…well you get the idea. Compared to the main idea behind the film the structure is actually quite ordinary and far from kinky.
Still the performances are worth seeing especially Ejiofor who puts on a terrific show as Lola from “her” wild club numbers and the moments when she tries to act more mainly to fit in. He brings a dry wit and a perfect sense of timing that create some of the funniest moments in the film. Edgerton works well in the role of the uncomfortable son not ready to take on the responsibilities given to him. The ladies are fine though the script makes them rather stock characters they do their best with what they are given.
It’s an enjoyable little art house film that isn’t anywhere near as daring as the title implies, but the level of the performances and the balance of humor and drama create a film that while not quite as good as it should be is still better than many films you’ll find at your theater this time of year. The film has been out in seleted cities for a couple weeks and today opens its wide release. Check your local listings if you want to see if Lola actually gets what she wants.