Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The performances make this comedy/drama , September 17, 2006
Even if these boots aren't exactly made for walking, they do look stylish. Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) must take over the family shoe business when his father dies. He discovers that the company is failing badly. He finds salvation of sorts when he meets drag queen and cabaret singer Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor from "Serenity" proving his versatility in this role). Lola complains about how the footwear she wears is so poorly designed. Lauren (Sarah-Jane Potts) a former employee has a brainstorm--goes into men's fetish footwear. In other words, women's shoes that men (whether they be drag queens or not) can wear. Suddenly Charles has a niche market to work with and success comes unexpectedly comes knocking at his door. Unfortunately Charles must deal with his fiancé's (Jemima Rooper) disapproving attitude and the prejudice of his own employees before success can be fully his.
An amusing and poignant film that has just the right mix of drama in it, "Kinky Boots" was inspired by a true story. The performances are uniformly excellent throughout with a star making turn from actor Chiwetel Ejiofor as the transvestite Lola. He's not exactly a beautiful transvestite but quite convincing in the role.
With a transfer that has the sheen and texture of leather "Kinky Boots" looks quite good with minimal digital artifacts. Although some of the darker scenes don't have quite as much detail as they should the overall look of the film in this transfer is quite good with accurate color, skin tones and detail. The 5.1 mix sounds good but most of the action and dialogue (not surprisingly) occurs in the center speaker and two front ones.
We get an observant and fact filled commentary track from director Julian Jarrold, stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Joel Edgerton and Sarah-Jane Potts. Their commentary track was done all at the same time so there's a nice dynamic between the actors and director that keeps the commentary moving along. Although it does occasionally focus on the obvious (nice performance here, etc.) there are nice tidbits of trivia about the production of the film.
"The Real Kinky Boots Factory" featurette focuses on the inspiration for the film in the UK. Producer Nick Barton discusses how they saw a documentary on a family business that was struggling against inexpensive imports and how they found their niche with the cross dressing market. Steve Pateman the current factory owner provides the background on the story and we see quite a bit of their actual product as well as hearing from the actors about how their research influenced the fictional story on screen.
"The Journey of a Brogue" provides a visual montage of the production of the shoes. It's brief but an interesting glimpse into the detail. A pity that it's not longer with comments from actual shoe producers as there is a great story behind the production of shoes and the struggle against inexpensive imports that some manufacturers have waged.
We also get four deleted scenes with commentary by director Jarrold. The deleted scenes are primarily character bits where for example Lola bonds with the women and men who work on the shoe production or Charlie reminisces with Lauren and discusses the changes to the factory production. Jarrold points out that while the scenes are quite good they effected the pacing of the film and were cut for that reason. "The Prettiest Star" features Lola remembering his childhood and obsession with women's footwear walking along the pier to Bowie's "The Prettiest Star".
An amusing character comedy "Kinky Boots" features stellar performances from a strong cast. It's a funny, affecting film with just the right mix of poignant drama and comedy that the British are so adept at doing.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who wouldn't love this movie?, May 27, 2006
Heartwarming and full of personal courage, this is also a fun and wacky movie, based on a true story. The fashion runway scene at the Milan shoe show is worth the price of admission alone.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just a hilarious film but a life lesson, September 24, 2006
"What can I do?" Charlie asks his employee, Lauren, when he's firing her. "The men's shoe market is gone."
"Go out and find another market," she tells him.
And he does.
At first that market doesn't sit too well with his Northhampton working class employees, but when they realize this is their last hope of keeping their jobs and the Price Shoe Factory alive, they dig in.
What are they making? Kinky Boots---don't think of them as shoes, but as tubes of sex...
And those sexy shoes are for men, women, and folks who haven't made up their minds yet. Their lead designer is a young drag queen "Lola" aka Simon, who is still learning who he is as well.
There are lessons about both life and business in this film. If I were teaching a management course, I'd be showing this along with the "Prince," because "Kinky Boots" teaches a lot about thinking outside of the box, engaging your workers, keeping their pride, and finally--doing what you have to do to keep the dream alive.
I'm glad I purchased this film and will strongly recommend it to friends.
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~ Adrian Johnston
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