 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
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 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
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Kinky Boots
- Review Date: January 30, 2007
- PG-13
- Genre: Comedy
- 2005
Common Sense Media says
Brit comedy is more warm and quirky than kinky.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that a main character in this movie, Lola, is threatened with violence and discriminated against because she's a transvestite and drag queen. Though this film stays light and quirky, it still raises very real questions about how far tolerance and acceptance goes, especially of boys who don't act in a masculine way. Both Charlie and his fiancé Nicola cheat on each other -- though neither has sex. Also, when Lola says she's a transvestite and drag queen, some teens are bound to ask what the difference is.
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.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about gender presentation and discrimination. How are people in your life treated for acting against gender type? Do you make fun of boys for acting feminine or mock girls for being stereotypically masculine? How does Lola deal with it, and how would you deal with it if people ostracized you in a similar way? What examples have you seen in the media of this kind of discrimination?
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Kid, 11 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
It was so boring
I
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| Studio: | Miramax |
| Director: | Julian Jarrold |
| Cast: | Chiwetel Ejiofor, Joel Edgerton, Sarah-Jane Potts |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 107 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 30, 2005 |
| DVD release date: | September 5, 2006 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | sexuality |
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