Kinky Boots (2005)

Director:

Julian Jarrold

Writers:

Geoff Deane (written by) &
Tim Firth (written by)

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

How Far Would You Go To Save The Family Business?

Plot:

A drag queen comes to the rescue of a man who, after inheriting his father's shoe factory, needs to diversify his product if he wants to keep the business afloat.

Plot Keywords:

Shoe | Drag Queen | Small Town | Factory | Cabaret

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Joel Edgerton	...	Charlie
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Lola
Sarah-Jane Potts	...	Lauren
Nick Frost	...	Don
Linda Bassett	...	Melanie
Jemima Rooper	...	Nicola
Robert Pugh	...	Harold Price
Ewan Hooper	...	George
Stephen Marcus	...	Big Mike
Mona Hammond	...	Pat
Kellie Bright	...	Jeannie
Joanna Scanlan	...	Trish
Geoffrey Streatfield	...	Richard Bailey (as Geoffrey Streatfeild)
Leo Bill	...	Harry Sampson
Gwenllian Davies	...	Mrs. Cobb

Also Known As:

The Kinky Boot Factory (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving sexuality, and for language.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:12A | Australia:M | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-11 | Iceland:L | Malaysia:(Banned) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Clacton, Essex, England, UK

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Inspired by the true story of a traditional English men's footwear factory in Northamptonshire which turned to production of kinky boots for transvestites in order to save the ailing family business and safeguard the jobs of the local community.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When the train goes through the station labeled Northampton at the beginning of the film, it's not the real Northampton station.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lola's Dad: Come on. Come on, you stupid boy!

Movie Connections:

References "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (1986)

Soundtrack:

Together We Are Beautiful

Wholesome family values Movie

This movie is about old-fashioned values like decency and unselfishness. Though the premise, an old style English shoe factory avoiding bankruptcy by designing boots for drag queens sounds sleazy, this movie is squeaky clean entertainment suitable for children.

The camera work is entertaining, especially, oddly the closeup scenes of shoes being manufactured, streams of colour zipping along to the upbeat music.

It is a movie without villains. The conflict comes from selfish vs unselfish motives, self direction vs worrying what others think, despair vs taking responsibility.

Of course the theme of tolerance for diversity is woven through. The movie does not have the usual silly Hollywood tolerance breakthroughs. It comes in fits and starts with back pedaling and tolerance from surprising sources.

The lead drag queen Lola sings better than anyone on American Idol, in a genre all her own. The musical numbers are far better than you will see an any real world drag show. These are not female impersonators. None of the drag queens would ever pass as female.

This is a character-based tragi-comedy about wildly different outcasts interacting. Of course the basic plot is predictable if you watch the trailers and use your intellect. But that is not how to watch this comedy. It is a bit like complaining that Lucille Ball was inevitably going to get herself covered in some sort of mess in the Long Trailer or that a Marx brothers comedy would end in a pie fight. Immerse yourself in the movie's reality. I was genuinely surprised by the ending, though in retrospect it was inevitable. Plot twists like a murder mystery is not what this movie is about. If all you care about is plot, skip this movie; it will go over your head.

All said, unless you have a heart of stone, you will come out smiling and more optimistic than when you went in.