Hola all. Massawyrm here. You know, everyone has their favorite movie sub-sub genre film type that just makes them smile or giggle with glee at the sheer mention of a new entry. A long time friend of mine loves anything and everything with a cat-burglar in it. Another friend will watch anything and everything that has the word ‘Zombie’ in the title. Me, I’ve always been partial to anything with a hitman or ‘last big score’ heist. My wife, on the other hand, for some inexplicable reason, loves Drag Queen movies. No longtime gay friends to speak of; has never asked me to try on her panties; never ‘tomboys’ out. But for some reason, the sight of very manly men trussed up in dresses and pounds of Mary Kay makes her giddy like a schoolgirl. And as Sam Jackson so succinctly put it in Pulp Fiction ‘That pretty much means I’m a vegetarian too.’ I’ve watched a LOT of Drag Queen movies. And yes, I tend to really like them.
From Nathan Lane’s hilarious performance in The Birdcage to John Cameron Mitchell’s brilliantly surreal turn in Hedwig and the Angry Inch to the triple threat of the incredibly manly General Zod, Agent Smith and ‘Memento’ man in Pricilla, Queen of the Desert – there’s a lot of great performances to be found in Drag Queen cinema. Hell, I can’t in any good conscience escape this review without also mentioning the work of Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Flawless, Cillian Murphey in Neil Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto or Clint Eastwoods truly inspired casting of The Lady Chablis Deveau as herself in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. There’s just so many stand outs in what is actually a surprisingly large sub-genre.
Well, add one more stand out to the list as Chiwetel Ejiofor (Who? Why does he look so familiar?) breaks out with a career defining role in Kinky Boots. Now this is a guy who’s quite simply been all over the fucking place in the last few years. From his turn as the foppish villain in Serenity, to the Detroit Crime Lord in Four Brothers, up to his recent role of Denzel Washington’s ‘Partner with nothing to do’ in Inside Man, Ejiofor has certainly gotten his face out there but had yet to be given a role that could really showcase his talent. With Kinky Boots he’s given that chance, and steps up admirably. He plays it with all the depth, dignity and grace that many of the predecessors named previously treated the material with. Equally tormented and funny, Ejiofor simply delivers all the goods that fans of this sub-genre hope for. But while Kinky Boots spends plenty of time exploring the Drag Queen angle, the film isn’t about Ejiofor.
Instead, this is one of those mixed genre movies that instead falls squarely in the ‘Depressing but Inspirational Comedy from England’ (or Dice) sub-genre – the post Full Monty school of comedy that at first tries to get you really depressed about how shit out of luck the characters are only to throw them a bone by offering a shimmering ray of hope that usually involves doing something not so prim and proper. Like stripping naked or selling weed. Movies like Still Crazy, Calendar Girls, Brassed-Off, Saving Grace and their Ilk have been crossing the pond for the last decade and for good reason. Not only are they good comedies, but they’re relatively down to earth. American comedies most often attempt to make light of any situation the whole way through. If you’re not laughing every minute or two at an American comedy, Hollywood gets uneasy. Not so with the Brits. They’re more than willing to let you suffer a little. And as an addition to that sub-genre, Kinky Boots also performs admirably.
Kinky Boots is a positively delightful film that, while dealing with some real downer issues, never quite hits the lows of something like Brassed-Off but refuses to stay light and fluffy the whole time. When Charlie (Joel Edgerton, AKA Owen Lars in Episodes 2 & 3 of Star Wars: The Adventures of a young and whiney badass) inherits his fathers ailing shoe factory he’s forced to step up and come up with an idea to save the jobs of the people he’s responsible for. Enter The Magical Negro (TM) who seemingly comes from nowhere to inspire Charlie to make a line of transvestite geared boots (for more information on Magical Negro theory, see the work of Smith, Will and Freeman, Morgan.) Hilarity ensues.
But in this case, it actually does ensue. Tempering Edgerton’s straight man with Ejiofor’s not-so-straight man is Nick ‘They call me Clyde!’ Frost who delivers his lovable oafish best as a bigoted blue-collar factory worker. Here he gives the same kind of playful mugging and off color remarks that won him a fanbase with Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, but as with Ejiofor, is afforded the opportunity to play it a bit deeper than just for laughs. Frost fans will walk out of this content that he can clearly step away from his close circle of comedian buddies and do something substantial on his own.
If this movie suffers from one flaw it’s that you’ve pretty much seen this film before. There’s nothing startlingly refreshing or decidedly new – but really, it’s not supposed to be. It’s a comfort film, and as I’ve said several times before, there’s something comforting about the predictability of these kinds of films. You either like them or you don’t, and you pretty much know which side of that fence you’re on when walking into a film like this. Kinky Boots is funny, sweet and touching. While certainly nothing amazing or starkly original, it plays very well to fans of either (or both) the Drag Queen and DICE sub-genres. Cute and satisfying, I can recommend this strongly to anyone looking for something funny and heartwarming but never goofy or over the top.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em. I know I will.
Massawyrm
Troubled by the mental image of me in my wife's panties? Don't believe that AICN writers can actually BE married? Angry that a guy named Massa dared question Magical Negro Theory? E-mail your hate here!
