Kinky Boots Review

Kinky Boots
After inheriting his father’s ailing shoe factory, Charlie (Edgerton) meets a London transvestite, Lola (Ejiofor), who inspires him to make glamorous boots for cross-dressing men. But Lola is met with some hostility in the Northampton factory — will the s

by Anna Smith |
Published on
Release Date:

07 Oct 2005

Running Time:

107 minutes

Certificate:

12A

Original Title:

Kinky Boots

Following a path well-trodden by the likes of The Full Monty, Kinky Boots depends upon financial strife to elicit out-of-character enterprise from its protagonists. And of course it’s always useful to have a helping of sauce on the side: in this case, sexy tranny footwear. It’s an immediately engaging set-up and, like Calendar Girls, is boosted by its ‘true story’ basis.

Amusing culture clashes emerge as Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor) teeters into the old-fashioned shoe factory to challenge the preconceptions of the workers, especially comically macho Don (Shaun Of The Dead’s Nick Frost). But while Ejiofor strikes the right note as the flamboyant-yet-fragile transvestite, Joel Edgerton proves almost too good at being mild-mannered Charlie, failing to convince as a romantic hero.

Attempts to draw parallels between the pair’s parental problems appear contrived, too; this is stronger on good-natured humour than character and plot. While the London drag-club scenes bring colour and comedy, later factory sequences suffer through self-conscious plotting. So while Kinky Boots is a pleasant comedy, it’s not a contender for the ‘next Brit hit’ crown.

While a little too deliberate and reliant on its familiar formula, this still has its amusing, uplifting moments.
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