Kinky Boots

Year: 2005
Genre: Comedy
Directed: Julian Jarrold
Stars: Joel Edgerton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sarah-Jane Potts, Nick Frost, Linda Bassett, Jemima Rooper, Robert Pugh, Ewan Hooper, Stephen Marcus, Mona Hammond, Kellie Bright, Joanna Scanlan
Production: Miramax

Kinky Boots's narrative is deceptively and remarkably pedestrian. That's not meant as an insult. While delving into the splashy world of England's trans-gendered community, this film is comfortably predictable; courageously lucid and effortlessly absorbing. It's a film that conjures comparison to the safe and simple moralistic fables and old-wives tales that color our youth. It's a Grimm fairy-tale wrapped in a frock.

Much like the Grimm's most famous tale, Kinky Boots concerns the travails of an insolvent shoemaker. As heir to the Price & Sons men's shoe factory, Charlie (Edgerton) has his work cut out for him. His father left the business with outdated orders and no prospects for continuation. While trying unsuccessfully to put things back together, Charlie meets the sultry and vivacious Lola (Ejiofor) a drag queen with a fledgling night club in downtown London. Inspired by Lola and longtime employee Lauren (Potts), Charlie devises a plan to sell niche market pumps to cross-dressing men and trans-gendered women thus saving the shoe-factory from bankruptcy. The question is will the rest of his provincial staff go along with the plan?

As our embattled hero, Joel Edgerton is serviceable. His ability to portray glints of inspiration halts his character from pulling apart at the seems yet with such a commanding physical presence he's really not the kind of guy who should be playing this kind of role. A brief rundown of the character's resume which includes a major in marketing and a lack of fortitude around his fiancee Nicola (Rooper) conjures images of a nebbish prig, not Brendan from Warrior (2011). Yet if anything holds this film together it's Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lola. The man is a stunningly beautiful vision of femininity and a sensitive portrayal of a self-proclaimed drag queen. When he enters the room, everyone perks up and when he doesn't we feel the void. In addition his resounding baritone is put to excellent use in a host of Cabaret (1972)-like club performances.

Part of the film's charm lays with its wholesome rumination on manhood. A portion of the story is centered on Lola becoming an accepted member of Price & Sons' business as a shoe designer. Opposition at first is fierce with Nick Frost's Don being the most stringent sectarian. Lola and Don connect through a round of competitive challenges meant to put in question each other's masculinity. Charlie, who lives in the shadow of is father, likewise faces challenges to his manhood, questioning everything from his relationship with fiancee to his decision to make women's shoes for "blokes". In the end, the film concludes that the traditional views of masculinity aren't incongruous with modern mores but rather enhanced by themes of bravery, tenacity and sensitivity.

Kinky Boots is based on the true-ish story of the Divine Footwear brand released by WJ Brookes. The real story is a little more bittersweet but why ruminate on the slow demise of Britain's shoe industry or the slightly troubling realization that if the film took place in a hat factory it wouldn't change the film one iota. Yet Kinky Boot's embrace of the true-life hit job cliches that made Dangerous Minds (1995) so disposable is ironically its best feature. By resting on tried and true story beats and bending over backwards to create safe PG-13 fanfare Kinky Boots is not simply cashing in on LGBTQ shock-value but normalizing the LGBTQ community; or at the very least normalizing transvestism.

In today's political climate where otherwise fully functioning adults aren't allowed to use the potty anymore, Kinky Boots the film, and its recent adaptation to the stage is not just a triumph but a much needed piece of entertainment. Sure it doesn't have the gutter realism of Tangerine (2015) or the emotional complexity of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) but it really doesn't have to. It's light, it's airy, it's fluff but by being so charming it's also good, wholesome entertainment about the value of being different.

Perhaps it's the reductive hysteria surrounding contemporary politics, or perhaps it's the stupor of having to sit through films that casually link transvestism to perversion, pedophilia, sex trafficking and/or cold-blooded killing. I'm just glad there's a movie out there about a vibrant songbird who design stylish shoes that become the toast of Britain's fashion world. Plus the movie has some catchy tunes to boot.

Final Grade: B