Within the world of gay cinema, the sub-genre of “drag queen vs small town hicks” films has become somewhat of an industry unto itself. From The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) to To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) to even Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988), etc., they have become pretty formulaic.

The cross-dressing lead “heroine” characters in such movies can be pretty one-dimensional. They rise above all adversity and eventually win the day with little more than stereotypically jaded vulgarisms, chipper “go girl” attitude and tacky fashion sense. Their finger-snap-in-the-air one liner/zingers always manage to stop troublesome homophobic brutes dead in their tracks.

Although basically a similarly predictable, “feel good” crowd pleaser movie about social tolerance and acceptance, Kinky Boots manages to rise above the genre's usual mediocrity by way of the smart, endearing performances by all of its cast, and especially its leads.

Kinky Boots is based on the true story of a traditional British men's shoe factory that began producing high-heeled boots for male transvestites in order to save the ailing family business and preserve the jobs of its provincial Northamptonshire community.

The market niche idea discovered in the story, that made the shoe production switch a success, was that drag queens, being men and thus being heavier, larger, and bigger-footed than real women, were in need of footwear that could be both femininely sexy and unbreakable. But most of all – it had to fit.

As any drag queen can testify, finding women's footwear in large sizes can be a bitch.

The central conceit of Kinky Boots is actually inspired by a very old European fairy tale – which itself is probably based on the even older, biblical story of the “good Samaritan”. The fable has been passed down through the ages from time immemorial and been told in many ways.

It basically goes like this: In a chance encounter, a man (although destitute and penniless himself), does an act of kindness for someone whom he thinks is just a poor soul in trouble. In fact, the person he helps is someone very special (usually possessing supernatural powers) that in turn rewards the do-gooder for his selfless act with wealth, success, etc. Happy ending.

In the case of Kinky Boots, the good Samaritan is Charlie Price, owner of a financially failing footwear factory. The “special” person he meets in a chance encounter (in an alley where he tries to rescue her from thugs), and the recipient of his act of kindness is Lola, a drag queen. Her supernatural power is, well she's a drag queen and she's fabulous!

No, seriously. Lola, being a cross-dressing star at a London drag nightclub (and also a former heavy-weight boxer), possesses unique natural insights into the footwear needs of men who want to dress like outrageously sexy women. These insights help save Charlie's Northhampton shoe factory by designing ultra sexy and kinky drag boots of all kinds for the new footwear line.

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