Seen: August 24th, 2007
Format: DVD
Rating: 5
This is another film in a nacent genre, which we'll call "Light Heartwarming British Film Based On A Quirky True Story". There seem to pop up every few years. Calendar Girls and Mrs. Henderson Presents are the ones that leap immediately to mind.
Generally they're about someone having to do something against their nature, particularly their British nature, in order to serve some lossely defined "higher good". Hijinks, guffaws and moral allegory follow.
Overall, the film maker's pull it off reasonably well. The only fault I can find is casting Chiwetel Ejiofor in the lead. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the man's work, but I just can't buy his Lola. While the mannerisms are OK, and the costumers have done what they can, I just never quite buy him as a drag queen. Now I don't know any drag queen personally, so my opinion is definitely tainted, but there's something that I can't put my finger on that doesn't ring true.
It's pretty standard fare, actually. Man gets put in hard place. Man listens to someone else, devises a plan, eventually wins over his detractors, discovers his true love and wins the day. Curtain.
There's nothing really unexpected here. There are some charming characters. There are some decent gags and good dramatic moments. There's some heartwarming turnabouts. It's good, but nothing really stand out to make it great. Even the subject matter, the core of the story isn't really that exceptional at this point.
If you like drag queen movies add this one to your list. If you find the juxtaposition of British sensibilities and homo-erotica amusing, take a look. Otherwise, you can probably find something more worth your time.
The Good: Heartwarming story
The Bad: Becoming a genre all it's own
The Ugly: All alone on the catwalk
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