Kinky Boots

At the beginning of "Kinky Boots," a friendly Brit comedy-drama, we are introduced to bits form two distinctly different childhoods. In the first, a cute androgynous little kid is at a pier on a cold day. After trying on and dancing in a borrowed pair of lady's boots, the child is quickly changed into suitable footwear by an angry father and rushed home. "Stupid Boy."

The latter is a solemn-eyed boy whose father owns a popular shoe factory. He is told that the business will be passed down to him when the time comes, and he should continue the family job. We are fast-forwarded to the second kid, the now-grown Charlie (Joel Edgerton,) around the time that his aging father unexpectedly dies. He is in grief, and although not keen on devoting his life's work to shoes, it's not as much his displeasure as it is his controlling girlfriend Nicola's, who has dreams of leaving the factory town for good and leading him on her whims.

Unfortunately, he finds a store of papers hidden in a desk drawer which proclaim that the factory's bankruptcy is imminent. Although Nicola wouldn't half mind a chance to get away from the Price shoe factory, Charlie feels compelled to attempt to borrow money from the nearest similar business in order to hopefully keep his many worker's jobs. He gives fellow shoe-seller Harry (Leo Bill) a visit, and is told politely to solve his own problems. So, he begins canning employees.

On the edge of desperation, he is told by the practical Lauren that coming up with a plan to change the products to something more unorthodox for catching consumer's attention would be a more sound plan than sitting and moping. This makes Charlie remember a strange event that took place in Harry's neighborhood, when he tried to defend a cross-dresser from thugs.

He hurries over back to the town, not to heckle Harry, but rather to pop an idea to Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor,) a playfully flamboyant crossdresser who does shows at a night club. Remembering s/he made a comment about the difficulty of getting women's shoes on a male foot, he suggests the ultimate change in the Price factory- begin designing boots for "women... who are men."

Lola finds this intriguing, but decides to get a few things straight. First- he gets his own share of their creations. Second, he explains the difference between 'transvestites' and 'cross-dressers.' "A drag queen puts on a frock, looks like Kylie. A transvestite puts on a frock, looks like... Boris Yeltsin in lipstick." Charlie goes along with this, and the two team up with a plan to save the Price's business.

As Charlie stress increases, Lola finds herself fighting against his partner's own prejudices (he sneaks Lola through a back door so that his conservative co-workers won't catch on) and those of some of the factory workers, including dim-witted homophobe Don (a typecast Nick Frost,) and the community struggles toward saving the business and acceptance.

"Kinky Boots" is the kind of film described as a 'crowd-pleaser.' It is liked by most of the general public, whereas many professionals consider it mediocre. The reason for disliking it is not because it is badly acted and incompetent, as much as it is formula- the director gets a good cast, keeps a consistently amusing pace, but tries not to take risks.

It even has a strong-willed female friend of the hero, and if you know anything about this kind of thing you know where the relationship is going. If you like movies that are not particularly original, are sweet without dripping and entertaining, you'll probably like this. If you don't take it to seriously and watch without expecting a cinematic tour de force, you'll probably like it. Ejiofor adds spark to the screen, which, considering the story and Edgerton's melancholy Charlie, makes sense.

If you are, though, one of those people who detests formulaic sweetness in their films, you can skip this one over to go watch Neil Jordan's grim psychodrama "The Butcher Boy" and avoid wasting 1 hour 40 mins of your life. Maybe you'll enjoy that more (if 'enjoy' is the right word.) If you see this, expect few surpises, some chuckles, and a couple of entertaining drag (musn't say 'transvestite') song-and-dance sequences (rated PG-13.)

Transamerica

"Transamerica" is a perfect example of a departure from the norm- it will leave some people cheering, some more conservative people feeling sick to their stomachs, and others scratching their heads, knowing they certainly saw something effectively made and original, but not exactly sure what to think.

Felicity Huffman of the popular soap "Desperate Housewives" plays a character I have spent much time considering for my review. Calling another person an 'it' is certainly not humane, but what?

'Bree," or Stanley, is Male-to-female transgendered, and halfway though the process of changing one's sex. Although in most ways appearing female (Huffman is,) Bree has a set of male genitals not yet taken care of, which is likely to be disturbing to many viewers. For me, it got some getting used to.

Being transgendered is something many more progressive people try to accept, but is uncomfortable when it is forthright. not necessarily because it is wrong, but because the sexually conventional have a 'not normal' button that bleeps in our brain.

Most people try to treat Bree with respect, but her parents, especially her mom, who practically has a panic attack every time she sees her darling boy on his way to going to the other end of the gender scale.

Bree/Stanley is quietly preparing for the final surgery when she gets phone call from a police department, claiming they're holding a seventeen-year-old kid that she fathered. This comes as quite a shock, being that such a person was thought to have not been born, despite a fling in college.

Bree would like to forget that part of her life and leave the boy, Toby, to solve his own problems, but her therapist insists that she needs to face up to that part of her life. That, or she'll see to it that the all important surgery is not completed till it's done.

After much time preparing for something she's wanted for all her life, she agrees, although she's afraid of her son's reaction to his dad-turned-mom. When she arrives at the police station, she finds out Toby has not fared well in the parent's absence. Simply put, he's a mess.

He abuses drugs, pimps himself out to older guys, and has hardly any life plans other than getting a job in adult entertainment. This disturbs straight-laced Bree, who is actually a religious, moralistic person, and would prefer to get him on the right track.

Although many would be inclined to say that Bree is the reason Toby has become like this, perhaps one can hardly place blame on a person who had no clue about their son's existence. Bree, in following her own driving ambition, inadvertently helped throw another's person's life for a loop.

As far as Toby knows, Bree is a primarily female church member, unrelated to him, and out to save him from his sins. She wants to simply ship him to live with his stepfather, who she hopes can sort him out, and get back to the operation. But things aren't as simple as that, and she finds herself on a road trip with a messed-up teen, and put into a sudden series of situations that challenge the keeping of her secret.

Felicity Huffman does a good job as Bree, and her interactions with delinquent Toby keep this drama afloat. Both characters are interesting, with off-sets Bree's other family, particularly her mom, who seem to have come out of a broad situation comedy.

The problem was, for me, that I didn't expect the crippling ick factor that popped up later in the film. This isn't really "Transamerica"'s fault, it's just that I would have liked to be prepared for some intensely uncomfortable scenes that played out. I've seen worse, It's just that I expected a little less creepy stuff, for instance, the borderline underage boy having sex with an old guy in the back of a van.

"Transmerica" is still a good movie, although it probably won't appeal to many people (chicks with dicks? eew!) The viewer needs to try to be open-minded about the trans angle and prepare themselves for the icky directions the story eventually takes.

Despite some of the over-the-top pleas for tolerance (Bree's conservative mom being a little too much of the intolerant irritating poster child) and the aspects that it never quite brushes itself off in the eyes of the unsuspecting viewer, One is left with a respect for the handling of the characters and a fall from convention (Rated R.)

The Life Before Her Eyes

Based on the novel of the same name, written by Laura Kasichke, "The Life Before Her Eyes" is a seriously depressing drama about the harsh aftereffects of a high school shooting, concentrating on the relationship between two female best friends.

It uses the flashback method, at once intriguing and infuriating because we know that the film is manipulating us, dragging us around the disjointed sequence of events to keep our interest. The difficulty is, the meat of the story is genuinely thought-provoking, and the lead's acting so convincing, that we let it play it's games, not nearly as resentful as should be expected.

Uma Thurman portrays the adult Diana Mcfee, a haunted middle age woman living with her husband and young daughter. Wherever she goes, the memories of the defining instant in her teenage life follow. it doesn't help that it's memorial day, and the TV and radio are talking incessantly about the incident that took place that day.

In between sequences of the grown Diana's sullen grief, we are shown fragments of her younger self (Evan Rachel Wood,) especially her friendship with her much different friend, Maureen ( Eva Amurra.) Back then, Diana was a rebellious, smart teen, infamous as a slut at the local high school for her fling with an older man.

Maureen, straight-laced, sweet, and devout, spent time with Diana though they couldn't completely understand each other. Although their draw to one another is never completely explained, I think it stems from their wish to break past their surface impressions and become more than 'slut' and 'good girl' in the eyes of their peers.

Every time the adult Diana begins thinking, the events lead up to one day at school. Diana and Maureen are touching up their makeup and chattering, when gunshots and screams are heard down the hall. "Probably just a prank." Within twenty seconds, a very dangerous, very unbalanced teenage misfit comes into the women 's bathroom, holding a loaded gun and standing in front of a teacher bleeding to death in the halls.

He eyes the two, crying and begging. At first nervous, he gathers himself up and points the weapon at their heads. To simply kill them, though, is not enough. First he deliberately, sadistically messes with their head, forcing them to make decision that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

It is at this point that the situation becomes fogged in Diana's mind, forcing her back to her current reality. As she nearly processes, again and again, what happened that day, the effects of the shooting appear clear enough. But as she struggles with her guilt and tries to handle her strong-willed daughter's actions, the line between what really happened and the naturally assumed begins to fade.

Frustratingly, the interesting scenes between the teenage Diana and Maureen, leading up to the inevitable tragedy, are interlaced with Uma Thurman's Diana simply moping through her life. This may very well be necessary, but it doesn't stop the annoyance. The film clearly wants to keep our attention, but it seems to try much too hard. This is a blow that injures the whole enterprise.

Working against the temptation to hate the confusing, often rambling style of "The Life Before Her Eyes," however, are the good points. Ever since her tour de force performance in the indie drama "Thirteen," Evan Rachel Wood has been the often-hired actress to play serious teenage roles.

Here, she continues to impress with her shockingly realistic acting. Eva Amurri is respectable as well, and the interaction between the two is what keeps us caring how the story ends up, although we think we know.

Lastly is the gasp-inducing, disturbing conclusion that the whole story has slowly been leading up to. Judging from reviews, I had expected a twist, but was not prepared from the glaringly simple end revelation. In some ways, it is simple, and even hinted by the melancholy title, but there are certain aspects I am still trying to process.

This has all the aspects of a good movie- acting, characters, story- and ultimately it is, but some thing goes dangerously wrong in the presentation. Although the twist is adept, it is clearly compensation for the confusing, occasionally rambling structure of the storyline. This is not Thurman's fault, just something that deters an essentially good movie from becoming great (Rated R.)

Movie Recommendation- For a another dark drama about teenage relationships starring a younger Evan Rachel Wood, watch "Thirteen."

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Two Men Went to War

Based on a true story, after Raymond Foxall's nonfiction book 'Amateur Commandos,' "Two Men Went to War" tells about the weird real-life incident (apparently mostly real- things have been inevitably changed) of two hapless wanna-be heroes during WW2 who become bored with the roles assigned to them by the military and take matters into their own hands.

Kenneth Cranham and Leo Bill play Peter King and Leslie Cuthbertson, two very different people with questionable talent. Peter (Cranham) is an aging soldier awarded a medal for bravery in the past who inexplicably recruits Leslie (Bill,) a scarily inept dentist with dreams of heroism and a minimal supply of common sense. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't let the guy within three feet of my teeth, let alone a hand grenade.

Both men leave their posts and steal a boat, heading for Germany. Their reasoning- with nobody to push them around and a bag of explosives, they'll deal with the Nazis alone. Peter is straight-faced and completely dedicated to his cause, while Leslie treats the situation with the detached amusement of a new video game, stopping every now and again to flirt with a sweet British girl, eat everything he comes into contact with, and argue with his newfound partner.

After this, what unfolds is both improbable and very interesting. After all the soldiers who died during World War II, the fact that these two men, who deserted and planned to go at it alone, survived, is bizarre. Probably Peter was a big factor in the fact that they didn't end up dead, although it was his idea to leave with a young, incompetent dentist in the first place.

Good premise doesn't have quite enough humor to totally sustain it, but is entertaining throughout, with interesting characters and situations. It's the kind of film that leaves you asking "Did they really do that?" and "Was Leslie actually that clueless?" and curious about the whereabouts of a copy of Foxall's book, for back up details. On the downside, the emotional moments with the two men bonding were a bit forced, and the duration of the film was disappointingly long.

Looking at the reviews of "Two Men Went to War," there seemed to be general consensus. Few people loved it, few people hated it. That pretty much sums it up- it's a perfectly likable film, worth renting but not providing anything jaw-droppingly incredible. It was rarely hilarious, but hardly ever boring, enough so that it gives the viewer an interest in the actual story (Rated PG.)

Where the Heart Is

Based on Billy Lett's novel, "Where the Heart Is" is barely held together by good performances and characterizations. That being said, calling the scattershot plot 'overkill' is an understatement. I have not read the book of which it was based, but at times, it felt as if the the original author, creative but desperate, wrote a list of themes to add to her book and stitched them together into a melodramatic story that barely holds itself together.

Let's see...

1. Pregnancy

2. Natural Disasters

3.Alcoholism

4. Child Abuse

5. Kidnapping

Get the idea? If Billie Letts, and later, director Richard Jones, had stripped the plot a bit and concentrated on the relationships between the characters, "Where the Heart is" could have been a very good film. However, the endless string of improbabilities leading to emotional scenes help take it into merely 'watchable' territory.

Natalie Portman plays Novalee Nation, a undereducated young woman who is carrying her boyfriend Willy Jack's baby. At the start of the film, they leave their trailer park and head to a new home where she can have the baby. Willy Jack is the epitome of the white trash character (Seriously, the name? What would you guess?)

Impatient, coarse, and none too bright, he considers his girlfriend an inconvenience and talks to her the way you would a pet dog who wanted to go out. When they stop at a Wal-Mart so she can use the bathroom. When she comes back, he's gone.

Desperate and wandering the parking lot, Novalee meets a woman named Sister Husband, whose name, again, gives a pretty good idea what she's going to be like (Eccentric? Really.) Convinced Novalee is some old friend named Ruth Ann, she gives her a warm welcome and presents her with a live tree in a basket. Looking for a book on how to care for it, she asks the standoffish librarian, Forney, for information.

Not knowing where to go, she hides out in the Wal-Mart, using the stock as provisions and writing down what she's eaten for paying back. After a few days living like this, she begins going into labor right in the middle of the aisle. A mysterious person hears her screams, comes crashing into the store, and calls the ambulance.

After having a baby girl, Novalee unfortunately names the baby Americus, making you want to shake another warm-hearted eccentric who recommended something unconventional, and is taken in by Sister Husband and her older boyfriend.

She also meets Lexie (Ashley Judd,) a friendly nurse who calls her many children after snack foods (Prailine, Baby Ruth.) However it must have been decided that a sweet story of female bonding and self worth was not enough, so plot devices sends a series of disasters to befall our offbeat heroes.

Portman and other people's acting holds up this sappy, convoluted tale, which is too full of potentail to dismiss entirely. The character's are likable, if bit on the 'look! I'm too quirky!' side. After about a half- hour of 'working,' though, the sentimental drama becomes desperate to hold your interest, and ends up hurting itself (Rated PG-13.)

Recommendation- For a better chick flick adaptation full of female bonding and emotion (as well as lesbians and cannibalism,) watch Fried Green Tomatoes

The Butcher Boy

Gut-wrenchingly bleak adaptation of Patrick McCabe's acclaimed novel of the the same name,"The Butcher Boy" chronicles the unhinging of adolescent Francie Brady. At the start, we are told by the now-adult Francie,"Twenty or thirty or forty years ago, they were all after me on account of what I'd done on Mrs. Nugent." Before the said event we meet Francie, (Eamonn Owens) and Mrs. Nugent (Fiona Shaw,) a rather snobbish middle-aged neighbor.

Francie's feud with Mrs. Nugent starts when he is caught with his best friend Joe trying to take her son Philip's large comic book collection, and later sneaking the Nugent's apples. Mrs. Nugent storms over to the Brady household, telling Francie's mother that their family are no better than pigs. After she leaves, Francie's mother, asks her son if he'd ever let her down."No, Ma. I wouldn't."

Francie's home life is not good. Da (Stephan Rea) is a bitter alcoholic who gets drunk and mistreats his wife. Ma (Aisling O'Sullivan) is needy and unbalanced, and it isn't too long until she has a mental breakdown and winds up in the 'garage,' so called because it's where you go to get fixed.

When Francie suddenly finds himself alone in the world, his imagination, which has always been a coping mechanism, takes a dangerous turn, and he begins blaming Mrs. Nugent for the desinigration of his family and the loss of his only friend. He starts to completely lose his grip on reality, and we are thrown towards the increasingly inevitable, brutal act of violence that shakes the lives of all his neighbors.

As it is begin adapted from a novel to a film, "The Butcher Boy" loses some of it's subtlety. This is a small but noticeable flaw which is hard to undo. One of the book's traits was that we were never completely sure whether Francie was lying, imagining, or hallucinating.

For instance, Mrs Nugent was an obnoxious snob who became a scapegoat for her deranged young neighbor's delusions. The movie seems to be trying harder to demonize her, turning her from mean to more malevolent. She is seen in the film watching as her brother and his friend beat up Francie in retaliation for a prank he pulled on the Nugents.

I believe this is supposed to be reality, trying to further humanize his aggression towards her. It is unnecessary, and a departure from the book, which never tried to make Mrs. Nugent into a monster, but rather disturbingly chronicled the events and causes leading up to the crime.

Besides this, I have few major problems, and many good things to say. The acting is good, and both first-timer Eamonn Owens and Alan Boyle (as Joe) were impressive. The subtle tinge of dark humor became more prevalent on screen, which neither added nor detracted from the experience, just making it different. The soundtrack was bizarre and provocative, stepping between sad melodies and almost gleeful tunes, helping Francie's twisted mentality sink in.

In Roger Ebert's three-out-of-five review, he said that he didn't 'connect the way he wanted to,' and seemed to think the series of tragedies was overkill. I think that some actual people do have lives like this, and an interesting and disturbing presentation help make the story seem more real. As for the rest of us, we should be glad we're not those people (Rated R.)

Trailer Not Available