"Kinky Boots" is not quite the latest update on "The Full Monty," nor is it another English film about sexuality, but it is a movie about people that push the limits of acceptability.
As an American viewer, it is hard to see past the cultural differences in British films, especially when the story relies on British values and tolerance. Both male leads, one being a drag queen, the other a leader of his family's shoe factory, search for acceptance in their lines of work.
Third-generation shoe factory owner Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton of "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith) is a classy white businessman that worries too much about how people see him, and Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor of "Dirty Pretty Things") is a tall, black drag queen. When they meet, they make for a match made in British comedy heaven.
The sexuality is not as "kinky" as the title might have suggested. The sex is more about being true to oneself. The humor is fantastically cheeky and sometimes a bit naughty.
"You are making two-and-a-half feet of irresistible, tubular sex," Price says in an attempt to motivate his factory workers about the new line of shoes for transvestites.
There is an overall feeling of awkwardness in the film. None of the characters are comfortable with who they are and how they feel on the inside. Even the flamboyant drag queen is hiding behind her dresses, wigs, and makeup.
"Sex shouldn't be comfy," Lola blurts out over the factory's loudspeaker.
Lola's dominance of transvestite fashion is a fa?\0xA4ade, covering her father's disappointment in her for dressing like a woman. Her father, who was a boxer, is the stereotypical macho man.
Ejiofor is very convincing as a drag queen showgirl that becomes a shoe designer. The sexuality in the film lays mostly on Ejiofor and his ability to work a pair of kinky boots.
Edgerton's portrayal of Price is remarkable. Playing an awkward shoe factory owner and bumbling boyfriend is not easy. He creates a very believable and likable character.
Lola causes such a stir in the proper lives of the Northampton factory workers that when she comes back to help with the production of women's shoes for men, it is as Simon.
The film's message is one of acceptance. However, the idea is portrayed so emotionally that it becomes corny. The moments of ridiculousness are magnified by the cultural gap. The unfamiliarity of the streets shown in the movie hinder the story's effect.
"Kinky Boots" is from the makers of "Calendar Girls" and addresses the same issue of being accepted in upper-class British society for the person you are inside.
First-time director Julian Jarrold did a brilliant job filming a beautiful English movie. It is not easy to make a cross-continental film that will completely appease English and American cultures simultaneously, but he manages to pull this off, seemingly with ease.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
