“Boots’ Not ‘Kinky’ Enough
A sweet, but unremarkable romp about conquering homophobia and taking paths less traveled, “Kinky Boots” has a universal storyline and stellar performances, particularly from Chiwetel Ejiofor as a drag queen with a flair for shoe design.
Price & Sons has been developing quality men’s shoes for generations. Harold Price sadly accepts that his only son Charlie (Joel Edgerton, “Star Wars II” and “III”) wants a life away from the factory and the small British town. Harold toasts his son’s impending marriage and transfer to London.
Charlie’s plans hit a detour when Harold dies suddenly. The next in line, Charlie feels honor bound to return to the shoe store. The employees have worked with him since his youth, and know his heart is not in the family business. They disrespect his lack of business sense and give him little leeway when the business falters even though its inherited money problems are left over from Harold’s reign.
While in London, Charlie saves a large woman from three drunken thugs. The woman, capable of protecting herself, accidentally knocks Charlie out with a boot. Charlie awakes the next morning in the woman’s flat only to discover the woman, Lola, to be a drag queen (Ejiofor, “Love Actually”). Lola sings at a nightclub and suffers daily due to uncomfortable shoes.
Desperate for a money-making venture, Charlie realizes his niche can be creating snazzy but appropriate boots for drag queens, men with more heft and muscle than women, who have in the past been forced to wear boots made for the female frame.
Directed by British television veteran Julian Jarrold, "Boots" contains some clever directorial transitions and montages, particularly in a series of scenes where Charlie unwillingly has to fire some of his long-term employees. Where Jarrold strays, unfortunately, is during the musical sequences. In a musical comedy containing several drag queen numbers, the scenes must enliven the movie, not bring it to a halt. As I’ve highlighted in past reviews, film techniques must have the rhythm of a musical instrument. Your camera must glide like the string section; your editing must pop like percussion. The big number, “These Boots Were Made for Walking”, includes some fabulous choreography, and a cast of campy chorus “girls”, however, Jarrold’s stagnant camera work and editing lacks the precision necessary to stir up the audience.
The script by Geoff Deane (BBC’s “Chef”) and Tim Firth (“Calendar Girls”) is the biggest source of trouble. It lacks any surprises. Each path leads the audience exactly where you’d expect. The dialogue is fine and naturalistic but even a true story needs some surprises. The homophobia in the town also seemed a bit too forced for 2005. Drag queens still get squawks at times, but not by everyone and not so openly. Plus in 2005, I doubt that even in a small UK town, no one knows of the concept of a drag queen.
What does work are the performances. Edgerton, a charming presence, brings heart to his downtrodden, but ambitious and humanistic character. Ejiofor gives a tour-de-force performance as Lola. Usually playing machismo roles like Kira Knightly’s husband in “Love Actually” or Denzel Washington’s partner in Spike Lee’s “Inside Man”, Ejiofor would not be central casting’s first choice as a drag queen, yet he personifies the femininity, vulnerability and stalwartness of a singer in a drag club. With his gravel voice and muscular frame, his snappy comebacks and musical numbers are fabulous. For these two alone, “Kinky Boots” makes a diverting afternoon at the movies. Grade: B-
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