"Kinky Boots" is the latest in a long line of calculated British crowd-pleasers, hitting that classic "Full Monty" formula of working-class gumption and transgressive edge. And this one's even based on a true story.

Set in the quiet environs of Northampton, "Kinky Boots" follows a perfectly ordinary young man named Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton), who hits on a way to rescue the family business -- a failing shoe factory -- by manufacturing footwear for transvestites and drag queens. (It's really rather a brilliant idea, since existing women's shoes and boots aren't designed to support the, um, sturdier male carriage.)

To do this, Charlie enlists the aid of a London drag queen called Lola, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor in a performance that more or less single-handedly raises the movie from derivative feel-goodery to genuine drama.

Lola does all the usual things a Very Special Character is supposed to do in these movies, opening Charlie's eyes to the possibilities of life, enlightening the factory workers as to the essential humanity of blokes in dresses and singing show tunes with surprising range. (When the American remake comes along, Lola will be played by Robin Williams, and we will all suffer for it.)

It's totally pat stuff, except that Ejiofor is doing it. He's the guy who played the fugitive doctor in "Dirty Pretty Things," the relentless Operative in "Serenity," and Denzel Washington's right hand in "Inside Man;" the man has range. And he has the ability to make us forget, for long stretches of time, that Kinky Boots seems to be the work of a screenwriting program that's been assigned to remix "The Full Monty" with "The Crying Game."

Miramax' enhanced-widescreen DVD ports over the special features created for the British release -- audio commentary by stars Edgerton, Ejiofor, Potts and director Julian Jarrold, four brief deleted scenes and a 15-minute making-of that focuses on the use of the real Kinky Boots factory (and the actors' cobbler training).

The disc also includes "The Journey of a Brogue," a two-minute clip of the making of a shoe, assembled from second-unit footage.

STUDIO: Miramax Home Entertainment
RELEASE DATE:September 5, 2006
RATING: PG-13
PRICE: $29.99
TIME: 107 minutes
DVD EXTRAS: French audio dub; Spanish subtitles; audio commentary; deleted scenes; production featurette.
INTERNET SITE: www.kinkyboots-movie.com