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KINKY BOOTS
Directed by: Julian Jarrold.
Produced by: Nicholas Barton, Suzanne Mackie & Peter Ettedgui.
Written by: Geoff Deane & Tim Firth.
Director of Photography: Eigil Bryld.
Edited by: Emma E. Hickox.
Music by: Adrian by Johnston.
Released by: Miramax.
Country of Origin: USA/UK. 106 min. Rated: PG-13.
With: Joel Edgerton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sarah-Jane Potts, Jemima Roopers, Linda Bassett, Nick Frost & Robert Pugh.

This British comedy from the team behind Calendar Girls is yet another uplifting tale of pluck, inspired by the true story of a young man who inherited his deceased father's struggling shoe factory. Set in the Midlands, the factory, Price & Sons, comes complete with a staff of loyal workers who all adhered to their boss's idea that quality always trumps trends. But because it is loosing money, Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) has the unpleasant task of making some employees redundant – laying them off.

While in London, Charlie heads to a bar to drown his newfound sorrows. On his way home, he encounters Lola, a 6-foot-something black drag queen being harassed by a group of drunkards in an alley. Not really needing any protection, Lola née Simon (Dirty Pretty Things's Chiwetel Ejiofor) ends up accidentally clocking Charlie in the head with the heel of her enormous patent leather stiletto boot. When Charlie comes to, he's inaugurated into a magical world of feathers, wigs, false eyelashes and bust enhancing bras that is Lola's dressing room for her lounge act.

Stuck between placating his demanding fiancé who's eager to leave the industrial north for London, Charlie has to eventually choose whether to follow tradition or abandon what his father had worked so hard to keep afloat. Then the figurative light bulb goes on above Charlie's head: Lola's really a man forced to wear women's boots, so what if Price & Sons began making footwear specifically for drag queens? Ah-Ha! But Lola is not too sure about the plan at first, especially when Charlie shows her a prototype pair of low-heeled burgundy suede boots. ("THEY SHOULD BE RED! RED, IS THE COLOR OF SEX!" she bellows at Charlie.) But Lola begins to come around when he lets her take over as head designer. She is – no surprise – the catalyst through which Charlie is able to make important personal decisions. Lola’s even influences one rather insufferable (and slightly repugnant) coworker to become a more tolerant human being.

Fortunately, the touching and funny Ejiofor does a great job humanizing his stereotypical role. Overall the cast, which also includes a delightful Sarah-Jane Potts as Charlie’s not-so-secret crush Lauren, has good chemistry, but it’s hard to tell if they actually enjoyed making the film. All seem a bit reserved, even Lola.

Kinky Boots has all the ingredients to make audiences cheer in The Full Monty sort of way – working-class blokes do good, become successful and gain respect and insight. And like Billy Elliot, tradition clashes with the changing times. (Here the climax is a footwear fashion show in Milan.) But it’s not as much fun as these other films. Maybe if there was a bit more “kink” in the kinky, and it wasn’t rated PG-13, the film would be more memorable. However, the fashion show is lively enough to make you want to strut your stuff (and maybe see The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert again.) Tanya Chesterfield
April 14, 2006