Kinky Boots

What’s the Story?

Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) is a small-town guy desperate to escape his father's stodgy shoe factory for the glamour of London. Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a drag queen constantly on the run from bigoted men and constantly in need of more sturdy footwear. When Charlie's dad dies suddenly, Charlie finds out he's in charge of saving the factory -- but outsourcing of shoe manufacturing has rendered his father's indestructible oxfords unsellable. So Charlie and Lola work together to save the company and produce over-the-knee boots strong enough to hold the weight of an over-six-foot black man. "Price Shoes has built its past on making a range of men's shoes," he says to his staff. "It only makes sense, going forward, for Price to make shoes for a range of men."

Is It Any Good?

Shoe-lovers, unite! Kinky Boots is about exactly that and a reverence for footwear of all types. Though it doesn't reach Sex and the City heights of shoe obsession, it's still a heartwarming story about how important fashion is in helping feminine people express themselves.

The film could have been a depressing forced march through screeds on bigotry and global trade. But director Julian Jarrold's light touch, and Ejiofor's delicate and sympathetic portrayal of Lola, make it anything but. It's sweet. It's quirky. It has a cheeky sense of humor, and it's imminently watchable.