After his father's death, Charlie Price decides to take his place heading the now-failing business, Price & Sons Shoes. Struggling to find a way to save the company, an opportunity presents itself in the form of a flamboyant London transvestite named Lola. They soon begin production on a new line of footwear -- female shoes for gents.

If ever there were a perfect example for a formulaic movie, this would be it. Every scene, every detail is as clichéd and predictable as the last. Normally this would irritate me to no end... Instead, KINKY BOOTS proves that, if done well, formula works. It roots its feet (or to be more witty, "boots" -- har har har!!) firmly in the ground of familiarity, and then builds a solid foundation around it by giving us a collection of fun and interesting characters, some feel-good moments, a bunch of laughs, and then a couple tears to seal the deal. It may not be groundbreaking, but it's entertaining. Sometimes, that's more than enough.

The highlight of the movie is Chiwetel Ejiofor, a very impressive actor. KINKY BOOTS reveals yet another aspect of his versatility, as he plays Lola (the flamboyant drag queen cabaret singer) to a tee. Joel Edgerton, who plays the central lead, is also fitting in his role. He pretty much carries the movie up until Lola joins in, and then he (or she?) takes over from there. Oh, and then there's Nick Frost (from the amazing SHAUN OF THE DEAD). He doesn't really have all that big of a part, but I must say that seeing him at all brought a smile to my face.

Later on in the film, a bunch of scenes start to get a little too manipulative for their own good, obviously attempting to tug at some heartstrings. Some people may buy into it, but personally, I don't think I felt involved enough in the movie for it to possibly get me going in that way. Sure, it may be silly and entertaining, but it also plays everything completely safe, taking away an entire level of possibility. If the film had maybe took a step further in what it was trying to do, then it might've just been worth something a little more than "fun".

Video: Presented in 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions. The transfer is clear, but the black levels are a little low and the color palette is lacking. Still, it's hardly an issue for the common viewer, and I personally wasn't bothered by it.

Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround and French 2.0 Surround. The sound is just fine. Suitable, nothing more or less.

There are a few worthwhile extras to check out.

Commentary (with director Julian Jarrold and actors Joel Edgerton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Sarah-Jane Potts): A fun and somewhat in-depth track that goes over the original story, it's transformation to film, the changes needed to properly bring out the characters, and what it was like for Chiwetel to act as a drag queen. A chatty, interesting listen.

The Real Kinky Boots Factory (14:32): As the title suggests, this featurette goes into detail about the real factory and people on which this movie is based. Also discussed are various aspects of the story's evolution to screen, as well as how Ejiofor gauged his performance off other transvestites in order to deliver his performance properly. Very interesting.

Deleted Scenes (7:30 - with optional commentary by director Julian Jarrold): There are four scenes. They're decent, although don't really add anything to the film. Jarrold goes on to explain in the optional commentary that they were cut because of slowing down the film's pace.

Journey of a Brogue (1:20): This featurette shows how a factory gets a shoe made. Eh.

KINKY BOOTS is a standard but pleasant production. Every resolution in the film can be seen straight from the beginning, making this one of the most predictable movies in recent memory. Fortunately though, it manages to keep the audience's interest going, helping them to stop thinking about the ending and just enjoy what's on-screen. It also helps that Chiwetel Ejiofor is a very compelling actor, and he's able to pull off the fun-loving drag queen angle like nobody's business.