Kathmandu :

The British lack the funds to make as many movies as they would like to. And Hollywood has taken to casting Americans in British speaking roles. The English retaliation is to make a few movies, but make them memorable. This year we had Mrs Henderson Presents on video with Judi Dench giving an Oscar-nominated performance. And we have had classics such as Billy Elliot, Four Wedding and a Funeral, the multi-layered Love Actually and fairly recently the incomparable Calendar Girls.

The director and screenwriters Geoff Deane and Tim Firth of Calendar Girls make a worthy effort with Kinky Boots, which while being predictable is funny, occasionally wise, has a great

sound track and fairly brazen dancing.

Critic Kit Bowen says, “‘A heel should be about SEX!’ yells Lola, played with electrifying force by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Based on a true story, Kinky Boots takes a look at an old-school shoe factory in the quiet burgh of Northampton, England. Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) inherits the place when his father passes away, but the factory in financial straits. It is simply outdated. So, on the advice of one of his employees, Lauren (Sarah-Jane Potts), Charlie decides to think out of the box, so to speak, and finds a niche market, selling over-the-top but sturdy footwear to transvestites and drag queens. But he needs vision, since most of the factory’s workers are used to making men’s loafers. That’s where Lola, one of London’s premier drag queens, comes in. She has all the flair and design ideas Charlie is looking for, but bringing her to conservative Northampton proves to be a bit tricky. That is, until everyone gets to know Lola.

Ejiofor is definitely an actor to watch out for. Since making an indelible impression in Stephen Frears’ gritty drama Dirty Pretty Things, the British-born actor has been quietly stealing scenes in almost every movie he is in — from playing a deliciously evil drug lord in Four Brothers to Denzel Washington’s sparring partner in Inside Man. But in Kinky Boots, Ejiofor doesn’t have to steal any scenes; he IS the movie as the tough but kindhearted Lola. The rest of the cast does a very nice job, don’t get me wrong. Edgerton is particularly endearing as the son desperately trying to keep his dad’s dreams alive, while Potts, with her pixie face, plays Charlie’s sweet love interest. But it’s all Ejiofor — strutting around in one outlandish musical number after another, all the while helping Charlie save the factory. A tour de force.”

In a shorter critique Jae-Ha Kim adds, “When you are a tall strapping man who dresses like a woman for a living, finding a pair of sexy but durable shoes can be worth your weight in gold. Lola (Ejiofor), a drag queen also known as Simon, finds her shoe salvation in straight-laced Charlie Price (Edgerton). Charlie agrees to make Lola a pair of kinky boots that turn out to be so fabulous the pair end up going into business together. They face a few obstacles, such as the bawdy union workers who aren’t too keen on taking orders from a drag queen who’s more of a man than they are. Then there’s Charlie’s posh real estate girlfriend, who wants to convert the factory into pricey condos. While the movie doesn’t provide any real surprises, the English film is highly entertaining that will delight fans of both comedy and shoes.”