The
predictably enjoyable story of the drag queen (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who
resuscitates a shoe factory in working-class Northampton.
Kinky Boots falls into
what seems to be a particularly English subgenre about groups of working-class
folks who get involved with some vaguely prurient activities, in this case
making boots for drag queens. It’s not as funny as The Full Monty, and
not quite as touching as Calendar Girls, but it should appeal to the
same audience. (Among non-documentaries, it had the second highest audience
rating at the recent Philadelphia Film Festival.) Joel Edgerton is the new owner
of his family’s financially strapped shoe factory who finds an unlikely savior
called Lola, or Simon. Lola is played by the ever-versatile Chiwetel Ejiofor,
who has, in the space of under four years, convincing essayed an illegal
Nigerian immigrant in Dirty Pretty Things, a space villain in Serenity,
a New York cop in Inside Man, and a London drag queen here. He sings
well, too, in the several brief musical numbers, which include, of course, both
“Whatever Lola Wants” and Kirsty MacColl’s “In These Shoes.” This movie was
exactly what I thought it would be, the ending entirely clear within 15
minutes, but that was okay.
posted 9/3/13
