Kinky Boots

Miramax Films | Release Date: April 14, 2006

6.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Ratings

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KenG.May 3, 2006

Not so much a really bad movie, as it is an uninspired one, that lacks imigination. If filmmakers had been smart they would have made movie the drag-queen's story, and dropped all the other stuff. Fimmakers weren't that smart.

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JimG.May 7, 2006

Enjoyable, if formulaic, movie. Apparently drag queens are still a novelty, though Lola and Simon are given a little more depth than usual.

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beingryanjudeSep 4, 2014

Not nearly as kinky as you may have anticipated, but Chiwetel Ejiofor's sassy performance will make this worth at least one viewing over the new-Broadway classic.

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tiparSep 2, 2018

I was expecting some more musical acts but nope, just a couple of them. Is not boring but neither the best movie I have seen. And sorry for Ejiofor but it seemed to me that he was not that comfortable, any "Ru Paul"'s alumnae would have beenI was expecting some more musical acts but nope, just a couple of them. Is not boring but neither the best movie I have seen. And sorry for Ejiofor but it seemed to me that he was not that comfortable, any "Ru Paul"'s alumnae would have been better with the exception of the catwalk musical act, he nailed that.… Expand

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DawdlingPoetNov 28, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I felt this came across like a film version of a sitcom. It reminded me of films like The Full Monty, for fairly obvious reasons, being set in England, during a time of a bleak economy, with people desperately trying to stay in business, or otherwise make things work.

There is the inevitable comedy element with people feeling out of place, both the transvestites/drag artists, who are only fully understood (and possibly repsected) by a minority and the factory owner, trying to understand what they look for in a particularly good pair of shoes or moreso boots, for their acts. There are some amusing scenes, with drag acts shown on stage being somewhat 'fruity' I suppose you could say, although there's nothing especially graphic shown. To me there seemed a big clash present throughout this film. The clash is the mix of comedy and drama. Some scenes are clearly quite serious, with Charlie talking about how much his family business means to him, history wise and so on, while other scenes are more amusing - one such scene featuring Lola and Don (a butch member of factory staff) fighting it out in a local pubs arm wrestling championship, with other observers cheering away while they both tough it out. While it seems that one of them is the clear winner in the end, after both of them have a short conversation nearby some minutes later, its made clear that things aren't as they first seemed. Its certainly a bit cheesy and covers some pretty unoriginal themes such as being determined to fit in, to make a go at something new, to rise from the ashes I suppose, in a metaphorical way, plus the whole subject or concept of personal identity and success. There are some pretty amusing scenes featuring Lola's act on stage, as mentioned, although there perhaps weren't quite enough memorable comedy scenes to make it stand out as an especially memorable, or very good, film in my mind really. If the whole idea of the film is to make people laugh or giggle at the idea of transvestites, then maybe im a bit too PC but I suppose I think its a bit too much like films of this sort from the past, a bit too trying to poke fun at the underdogs type of thing somehow. I felt that there was a big clash between lighthearted scenes and the much more serious undertone it carried, which was emphasised with a probably unnecessary use of classical instrumentation at times - clearly the filmmakers were really trying their best to make people shed a tear but it just felt a bit too sentimental, a bit too cheesy, too...predictable and outdated somehow. Don't get me wrong, there are some funny moments but it just doesn't compare to the likes of The Full Monty, which I remember seeing when it was released and I was a teenager in the 1990s. I couldn't help but think that the plot seemed a bit too obvious, not at the start but once the main story unfolded. I suppose I was expecting more in the way of comedy than drama.

Cast wise, Joel Edgerton plays Charlie, coming across as attempting to be quite a determined person, while clearly also being timid and nervous, wanting to carry on his families tradition of shoemaking and not accepting anything less than the best, while guessing whats really needed. He seems quite out of his depth, visually coming across as quite agitated and flustered.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, better known for playing the lead role in '12 Years a Slave', portrays the tranvestite, Lola, who attempts to save the shoemaking business. His personalty, or that of his drag alter ego, comes to life when on stage, when he comes across as quite flamboyant and bolshy, whereas when he's in the factory, he is more reserved and possibly sensitive.

Nick Frost also appears in this film as Don, being the token macho type. Not a great deal is made of his character but I'd say he plays his part much as you'd expect him too, being a bit cocky and the like. One plus side this film has is the soundtrack, with some fun disco tracks, such as 'Yes Sir, I Can Boogie' (by Baccara), 'Going Back To My Roots' (by Odyssey) and 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'' (by Nancy Sinatra).

Running time wise, this film is just under an hour and three quarters long, so it isn't a particularly long running film. I felt it had become a bit predictable before the hour was out. There were some fairly amusing moments and the cast is reasonably good but it really isn't especially memorable or particularly great, its alright but thats about as far as I'd stretch I suppose, if you know what I mean lol.

No, I wouldn't particularly recommend this film. Its alright but the script is lacking, so I felt anyway, it was a bit too predictable, a bit too sentimental or/and cheesy and not especially memorable, or not particularly for the right reasons. There are some amusing scenes but thats about it.… Expand

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