On Friday, Lemming and I saw Kinky Boots. As he pointed out, why is it that he and I are seeing a movie about a transvestite (or whatever Lola called himself in the movie) on a Friday night? By the way, ever since the Kinks sang about it (and so many things have referred to it, including a subsquent Kinks song called "Destroyer"), Lola has become the perfect name for a transvestite. My mind always goes in that direction when I hear that name. (Well, "Lucille" can occasionally do that too, but that's because of former Major League pitcher Dave Stewart.)
Kinky Boots is one of those films that is "inspired" by a real-life event, which in this case seems to just mean a store by that name that manufactures germane attire. I'm not sure if the link to reality goes any farther than that. The film is good, though not great. (It's worth seeing. It just isn't anything special.) It has some comedic moments (including a few good lines), but it has more drama than comedy. The film's music was really cool. ("I want to be evil!" I think I might not be 100% accurate with this quote.)
In the flick, a young guy inherits his father's failing (thought not known to be failing just yet) shoe manufacturing plant (his father loved shoes), which prevent he and his fiancé from moving to London. The guy finds out that the plant is failing and, inspired by an accidental trip to see "Lola" perform (in which Lola complains about his footware), he decides that this can be his niche. He recruits Lola to design the kinky boots (the place is accorded the adjective of "sexy" because Lola works there) and things go from there. Lola's fiancé ("There's a little... chill in the air... isn't there?") isn't happy to be back in Northampton and is eventually replaced by a love interest, whose future role as a love interest was revealed well before the fiancé was out of the picture. (The film wasn't particularly subtle.) After some trials and tribulations, the film eventually has a happy ending.
Anyway, it was good but not great. There are some upcoming artsy flicks (like the one with Garrison Keiller) that should be really awesome. Mmmm... small-budget independent films. (Well, I like the big budget films too, but there's room for this stuff in my heart as well.)
- I believe the connection to real life is a bit more--a failing shoe company (the one the movie is based on) did switch it's line over to "kinky boots" to stay afloat, it's more than just a name.
ReplyDelete- It's not Lola's fiance, but the (now) factory owner's.
As much as I was looking forward to seeing the Believer ninja/assassin (have you seen Serenity?) as a drag queen, it didn't occur to me at all during the course of the movie.
Hmmm.... "Lola's fiancé" is an interesting slip on my part. I wonder if it's Freudian? Anyway, I just typed the wrong thing there. I did indeed mean the (now) factory owner's fiancé.
ReplyDeleteActually, I meant to state that I believe the real store is in the same (or a similar) fringe market. I thought I mentioned that, but maybe I wasn't as explicit as I intended.
I have indeed seen Serenity. That was an excellent movie! Actually, until I read your post, I had completely forgotten that the Believer was the drag queen. Now that you bring it up again, I remember you mentioned this to me a couple (or a few) weeks ago. "This sword was meant for slaying."