My folks were in town visiting this week, so we all went down to Bethesda to catch a movie at the Bethesda Row Cinema (since my folks don't tend to see many movies at all, much less ones that are in limited release). We decided to see Kinky Boots, a British comedy about a small-town shoe manufacturer that is going out of business and the attempt of its owner to revive the company by going after a niche market. Their chosen market? "Boots for women--who are men." The premise is certainly open to abuse, but the film charts a course that is not particularly slapstick, but low-key British humor, and tries to navigate the complexities of everything from retailers who are interested more in repeat sales than satisfied customers to various small-town social stigmas, responsibility to ones employees and history, and a host of other things. The result is a funny, but heartfelt, subdued film.

Nick Barton and Suzanne Mackie (also producers of Calendar Girls) led the production team in what seems to be a trend in british filmmaking--financial problems that result in a capitalist response involving an edgy idea that eventually inspires those involved and satisfies the target of the plan. Similar to Calendar Girls and The Full Monty; and not so different from Waking Ned Divine or The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain.

In the end, the movie is less about the story, which is a bit predictable, especially when you are given the trailer and the title, and more about the characters and the general theme. It probably could have been made into more of a drama if they had gone a bit deeper into the character side of things, as we were left thinking that the characters all had more to show than what we saw on the screen. However, the general themes were portrayed well, as you would expect in a short stage play where the focus is on an event or series of events and their immediate ramifications to demonstrate a whole.

All things considered, there were very few "simple" characters and the film had a good flow to it and was enjoyable.