Wonkette Movie Night: Kinky Boots

'One never knows what joy one might find amongst the unwanted.'

"For ladies, gentlemen and those who are yet to make up your minds!"

We’re celebrating our 100th Wonkette Movie Night!

When adding in double features and special events we have watched 104 films over 100 movie nights.

In honor of such a momentous movie moment I present a film that will make you laugh, cry, dance and cheer. We are partying with drag queens and shoemakers tonight, let's get kinky!

As Charlie Price grew up he learned how quality shoes were made in his father's factory. He was expected to eventually take his father's place. But when he became an adult he left the factory behind, moving to London with his real estate agent fiancée. After his father passed Charlie had to go back to Northampton. To a factory that was making shoes people no longer wanted to buy. As Charlie tries to sell some back stock in order to pay the workers, he points out the quality workmanship and that his shoes would last a lifetime. The purchaser says that's the problem, he can sell the cheaply manufactured footwear and people will have to keep buying new pairs. It was more profitable to sell the junk.

Desperate and depressed, an intoxicated Charlie sees Lola being harassed by three men and steps in to help. But Lola can take care of Lola. Charlie just gets in the way and is knocked unconscious with an accidental boot to the face. Waking up in Lola's dressing room, this chance encounter may be just the thing Price & Sons Ltd needs. Charlie realizes there is an untapped “niche market.”

"Proper, good, decent, built to last boots. For women ... that are men."

A niche market that could save the factory. Spoilers ahead.

Charlie gets to work on boots for Lola that are sexy but can hold the distribution of a man's weight. But he fails on the sexy part. First he makes them burgundy, which horrifies Lola, who then explains to Charlie that they must be RED. 

"Red is the color of sex and fear and danger and signs that say DO NOT ENTER!"

But this isn't just a magical drag queen saving the day, Lola realizes that she wants a change also, she is grabbing the opportunity to be a shoe designer. After doing a quick sketch of what the boot's heel should look like, Lola tells Charlie how to make the footwear sexy.

"Look to the heel young man, the sex is in the heel."

The women's boots that Lola wears don't hold up. The task involves creating stilettos with a very thin heel that could hold extra weight. Charlie and his workers know how to make the boots with a steel shank in the heel. But they need Lola's help, because Lola brings the style. Charlie and Lola's worlds coming together causes friction in the small town world of Northampton.

Charlie and Lola connect over their strained relationships with their fathers. Then they go to work. Lola creating the designs. Charlie overseeing every stitch of the leather. Saving the factory means taking several new styles and putting them on the runway in Milan.

Before leaving for Milan a stressed out Charlie discovers his fiancée has found someone else. Striking out in anger at Lola, Charlie says awful, bigoted things driving Lola away. Now Lola is gone and the only one left to walk the runway is Charlie. After receiving a heartfelt phone message from Charlie, Lola comes riding in on gorgeous red stilettos to save the day. With back-up dancers they bring down the house with a stunning performance. The drag queens in their gorgeous boots are a smash hit.

Price & Sons Ltd. Shoemakers became the Kinky Boot factory. Lola becomes the shoe designer she wanted to be. Charlie finds real love. And they both find family.

A dramatized telling of the true story of the W.J. Brooks Shoe Company. The film ends with a dedication.

"Dedicated to the men and women of the original Kinky Boot Factory in Northamptonshire England." 

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Joel Edgerton, Sarah-Jane Potts, Nick Frost and Linda Bassett. Directed by Julian Jarrold.

Kinky Boots is available with ads for free on Pluto TV. For $3.99 on Google Play, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.  

To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules, go to WonkMovie.

A big thank you to the Wonkers who have helped us make it to 100 Movie Nights:

Chicken Ate My Ballot for the spark; 2Cats2Furious for Axl the Wonkette Movie Night mascot; The Estivating Hibernian for proofreading and inspiration; and Alpaca Suitcase for creating WonkMovie.  

To Rebecca, thank you for giving us this space!

And most of all thank you to the Movie Night fans, l look forward to spending the next 100 Movie Nights with you all!

The cartoon is Sunshine Makers. Produced by Van Beuren Studios, it's the third cartoon in the Rainbow Parade series of shorts. Created in 1935 but reissued by the food company Borden in 1940. It ends with the sunshine maker gnomes and the sunshine hating goblins uniting and singing,

"I want to be happy. I want to be gay!" 

It was the perfect choice.