Kinky Boots (film)

Last updated

Kinky Boots
Kinky Boots (movie poster).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Julian Jarrold
Written by Geoff Deane
Tim Firth
Produced bySuzanne Mackie
Nick Barton
Peter Ettedgui
Mairi Brett
Starring Joel Edgerton
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Sarah-Jane Potts
Jemima Rooper
Linda Bassett
Nick Frost
Robert Pugh
Cinematography Eigil Bryld
Edited by Emma E. Hickox
Music by Adrian Johnston
Production
companies
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release dates
  • October 7, 2005 (2005-10-07)(United Kingdom)
  • April 14, 2006 (2006-04-14)(United States)
Running time
106 minutes [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$9,950,133 [2]

Kinky Boots is a 2005 British comedy-drama film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth. Nominated at the 64th Golden Globe Awards, it is based on a true story. The film tells of struggling shoe factory owner Charlie, who forms an unlikely partnership with Lola, a drag queen, to save the business. Charlie develops a plan to produce custom footwear for drag queens, rather than the men's dress shoes that his firm is known for, alienating many in the process.

Contents

Plot

In Northampton, in the East Midlands of England, Charlie Price is attempting to save the family shoe factory, which has been floundering since his father died. While on a business trip to London to sell the company's extra stock, Charlie encounters a woman being harassed by drunken hoodlums and intervenes to his detriment. He wakes up backstage, in the dressing room of Lola, a drag queen performer and alter ego of Simon. Charlie is intrigued when he sees that drag queens' high heels snap easily, and wishes to create high heels that can support a greater range of foot sizes and body types. Back in Northampton, while in the process of laying off workers, one employee, Lauren, gives Charlie the idea of looking for a niche market product to save the business. Charlie then recruits Lauren to assist him in designing a high-heeled boot for drag performers.

When their initial designs are met with scorn by Lola, Charlie and Lauren bring her on as a consultant. The road is initially bumpy: many of the male employees are uncomfortable with Lola's presence and the new direction, and Charlie's relationship with his fiancée, Nicola, begins to deteriorate as she encourages him to sell the factory building to a developer. Although things improve when Lola tones down her personality and starts making friends, matters take a turn for the worse when Charlie is invited to showcase the new boots in Milan; the strain he puts on his employees causes most of them, including Lola, to walk out.

Charlie's fiancée arrives at the factory, furious that he took out a second mortgage on their house to save the company. Nicola insists that he sell the company, but Charlie is determined to save it and the jobs of his employees. The argument (which ends with Nicola leaving Charlie) is broadcast on the factory's PA system, which is overheard by Lauren and Lola's bitterest opponent at the factory, Don, a chauvinistic male worker. Don turns over a new leaf after Lola had graciously allowed him to win an arm wrestling match, and rallies the factory workers to make the boots in time for Charlie and Lauren to get to Milan. When Charlie catches Nicola with another man, he angrily takes out his frustrations on Lola, causing Lola to quit. After arriving in Milan with no one to model the boots, Charlie is forced to go onstage and model the boots himself. After he trips and ultimately falls flat on his face, Lola and her posse of drag queens arrive, put on a spectacular runway show, and save the day.

In the film's denouement, Lola headlines her own show and sings a song in honour of the "kinky boots factory" of Northampton. Most of the key workers are in attendance and enjoying themselves, including Charlie and Lauren, who have become a couple.

Cast

Background

An episode of BBC2 documentary series Trouble at the Top , broadcast on 24 February 1999, inspired the film. [3] The former featured Steve Pateman struggling with possible closure of W.J. Brooks Ltd, a family-controlled Earls Barton, Northamptonshire shoe factory, that soon catered to the market of men wearing traditionally women's shoes, such as black patent boots, under the "Divine" brand. [3] Many of the film's scenes were filmed in the factory used by Tricker's in Northampton. [4]

It is mentioned in management as an example of agility and customer centricity. [5]

Soundtrack

The Kinky Boots: Original Soundtrack was released on April 11, 2006, by Hollywood Records. [6]

  1. "Whatever Lola Wants" – Chiwetel Ejiofor (2:12)
  2. "In These Shoes" – Kirsty MacColl (3:39)
  3. "I Want to Be Evil" – Chiwetel Ejiofor (2:34)
  4. "Mr. Big Stuff" – Lyn Collins (4:00)
  5. "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" – James Brown (3:17)
  6. "I Put a Spell on You" – Nina Simone (2:36)
  7. "The Prettiest Star" – David Bowie (3:09)
  8. "Together We Are Beautiful" – Chiwetel Ejiofor (4:10)
  9. "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" – Chiwetel Ejiofor (4:20)
  10. "Wild Is the Wind" – Nina Simone (6:59)
  11. "The Red Shoes" – Adrian Johnston (4:26)
  12. "Steel Shank" – Adrian Johnston (3:39)
  13. "Free to Walk" – Adrian Johnston (3:39)

The following songs are included in the film but are not on the Original Soundtrack:

Release

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews on release, with critics decrying the "formulaic Britcom plot". On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 113 reviews, with a weighted average score of 5.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Kinky Boots relies heavily on the Full Monty formula of Britcoms, while playing it too safe in a desperate attempt not to offend. Ejiofor's performance is its redeeming virtue." [7]

Box office

The film earned a total of $9,941,428 internationally. [2]

Awards

Ejiofor was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. [8] [9]

Musical adaptation

A stage musical adaptation debuted on Broadway in April 2013, following an out-of-town try-out at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago. The songs were composed by Cyndi Lauper, and the book co-written by Harvey Fierstein, [10] director Jerry Mitchell was also the choreographer. [11] The Chicago cast included eventual Broadway cast members Billy Porter and Stark Sands. [12] At the 67th Tony Awards (2013), the Broadway production won six Tony Awards, including Best Original Score (Lauper, first sole female winner), Best Actor (Porter) and Best Musical. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Fierstein</span> American actor and playwright

Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and film roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for Torch Song Trilogy. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he revived in its live television event, Hairspray Live! Fierstein also wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.

Jerry Mitchell is an American theatre director and choreographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiwetel Ejiofor</span> British actor (born 1977)

Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor is a British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award, with nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whatever Lola Wants</span> Song from the musical Damn Yankees

"Whatever Lola Wants" is a popular song, sometimes rendered as "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets". The music and words were written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross for the 1955 musical play Damn Yankees. The song is sung to Joe Hardy by Lola, the Devil's assistant, a part originated by Gwen Verdon, who reprised the role in the film. The saying was inspired by Lola Montez, an Irish-born "Spanish dancer" and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who later became a San Francisco gold rush vamp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stark Sands</span> American actor

Stark Bunker Sands is an American actor. He is known for his role as Tunny in the original Broadway cast of American Idiot, and originating the role of Charlie Price in Kinky Boots on Broadway. He is a two-time Tony Award nominee. He is also known for the roles of Lance Sussman in Die, Mommie, Die! and Lt. Nathaniel Fick in Generation Kill. He starred as Dash Parker in FOX's series Minority Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Anderson (actor)</span> American actor and singer

Eric Anderson is an American actor and singer. On Broadway, he has originated roles in Waitress, Kinky Boots, The Last Ship, Rocky, and Soul Doctor, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He portrayed Mr. O’Malley in The Greatest Showman (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Porter</span> American actor and singer (born 1969)

William Ellis Porter II is an American actor and singer. Porter gained notice performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todrick Hall</span> American entertainer (born 1985)

Todrick Hall is an American singer, choreographer, and YouTuber. He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition American Idol. Following this, he amassed a huge following on YouTube with viral videos including original songs, parodies, and skits. A documentary series about his video-making process titled Todrick aired on MTV in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Oremus</span> American musician, musical director and orchestrator

Stephen Oremus is an American musician who has worked on Broadway theatre productions as musical director and as orchestrator. His credits include arranger and orchestrator for the music for Avenue Q, musical director and arranger for Wicked, arranger and orchestrator for All Shook Up, and musical director for 9 to 5. His orchestrations for The Book of Mormon won him a Tony Award in 2011, for Best Orchestrations. Oremus also won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Kinky Boots.

Killian Donnelly is an Irish tenor. He has appeared in musicals and plays, such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Commitments, Memphis and Kinky Boots.

<i>Kinky Boots</i> (musical) Stage musical

Kinky Boots is a musical with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">67th Tony Awards</span> 2013 awards ceremony

The 67th Annual Tony Awards were held June 9, 2013, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2012–13 season. The ceremony returned to Radio City Music Hall in New York City, after two years at Beacon Theatre, and was broadcast live on CBS television. Neil Patrick Harris hosted for the third consecutive year, his fourth time as host. Awards in four of the eight acting categories, were given to African-American performers. Furthermore, it is the second time in Tony history that both directing prizes went to women. Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor had previously won in 1998. Kinky Boots had a season best 13 nominations and 6 awards. Cyndi Lauper, composer of the score for Kinky Boots, is the first solo female winner for Best Original Score.

<i>Kinky Boots</i> (Broadway cast album) 2013 cast recording by Various

A Broadway original cast album for the musical Kinky Boots was released on May 28, 2013, less than two months after the show opened on Broadway. It was produced by Cyndi Lauper, who wrote the songs, Stephen Oremus, the orchestrator and conductor, and William Wittman. On release it premiered at number one on the Billboard Cast Albums Chart and number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the highest charting Broadway cast recording since The Book of Mormon's album was released two years earlier. Vocalists on the album include Stark Sands, Billy Porter and Annaleigh Ashford,.

John Shivers is a theatrical sound designer based in New York, United States. Shivers specialises in the design of sound systems for musical theatre productions on Broadway and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lena Hall</span> American actress and singer (born 1980)

Celina Consuela Gabriella Carvajal, known professionally as Lena Hall, is an American actress and singer. She originated the role of Nicola in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots and won the Tony Award for her performance as Yitzhak in the 2014 revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which also earned her a Grammy nomination for the musical's official album. She made history by becoming the first person to play both Hedwig and Yitzhak in the same production during the national tour of the musical in 2016. Her other Broadway credits include Cats, 42nd Street, Dracula, the Musical and Tarzan, the Musical. Hall has also starred in Off-Broadway productions such as Radiant Baby, Bedbugs!!!, Rooms: A Rock Romance, The Toxic Avenger, Prometheus Bound, Chix6, Little Shop of Horrors, and the 2017 original play How to Transcend a Happy Marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsay Nicole Chambers</span> American actress and singer (born 1981)

Lindsay Nicole Chambers is an American actress and singer, known for her work on Broadway and in Submissions Only.

Taylor Elizabeth Louderman is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for originating the role of Regina George in the Broadway musical Mean Girls, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tricker's</span> British shoesmaker

R.E. Tricker Ltd, which trades as Tricker's, is a British footwear company established in 1829 by Joseph Tricker in Northampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Harrison Ghee</span> American musical theatre actor

J. Harrison Ghee is an American actor, singer, and dancer, best known for their work on Broadway. They first received recognition for their performance as Lola in Kinky Boots. In December 2022, they originated the role of Jerry/Daphne in Some Like It Hot, a stage musical based on the 1959 film of the same name. They won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for their performance, and Ghee, along with Alex Newell, became the first openly nonbinary performers to win Tony Awards. In 2024, they won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

References

  1. ↑ "KINKY BOOTS (12A)". British Board of Film Classification . 23 August 2005. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  2. 1 2 Kinky Boots (2006) at Box Office Mojo
  3. 1 2 Dowd, Vincent (18 June 2013). "BBC News - Kinky Boots inspiration comes out of the shadows". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "Getting to the roots of Kinky Boots". Northampton Borough Council. 4 September 2018. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "The Kinky Boots of SCM "How far would you go to save your supply chain?"". Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "Kinky Boots: Original Soundtrack". iTunes. January 2005. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Kinky Boots". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  8. ↑ Holland, Patrick. "The Old Guard's Chiwetel Ejiofor says dancing in 6-inch Kinky Boots memorably scared him". CNET. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "Kinky Boots". www.goldenglobes.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  10. ↑ Jones, Kenneth. "Kinky Boots Musical Will Kick It Up in Chicago in October, Prior to Broadway". Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, February 22, 2012
  11. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (8 July 2008). "Kinky Boots, the Musical, Walking Toward Broadway". Playbill. Archived from the original on 13 July 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  12. ↑ Jones, Chris. "'Kinky Boots' announces full cast". Archived 9 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine ChicagoTribune.com, June 28, 2012
  13. ↑ Purcell, Carey (9 June 2013). "Kinky Boots, Vanya and Sonia, Pippin and Virginia Woolf? Are Big Winners at 67th Annual Tony Awards". Playbill . Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.