YOU'D be hard pushed to find a film out on general release at the moment that doesn't star Chiwetel Ejiofor.

The rising British actor not only appears in sci-fi flick Serenity but also as masochistic bad guy Victor Sweet, in gangster flick Four Brothers.

Demonstrating his versatility further, Ejiofor dons a sequinned frock in Kinky Boots for his role as Lola, a muscular black transvestite who breathes new life into a tired Northampton shoe factory.

When mild mannered Charlie Price (Joel Egerton) becomes the unlikely heir to his family's shoe factory after his father's sudden death, he finds the brogue business in decline.

With low staff morale and redundancies on the horizon, all seems hopeless until Charlie has a chance meeting with sexy cabaret star Lola who inspires a new niche market.

Kinky Boots is a pleasant enough film, although I felt it struggled with trying to be both a side-splitting comedy and poignant tale about society's misconceptions. It didn't do either quite well enough.

The star of the show is of course Ejiofor, although Egerton plays the role of unassuming hero Charlie Price with ease.

And if you were ever wondering what Eastender extras do when they are not playing a market trader, or Queen Vic regular, the answer is play a factory worker in Kinky Boots.

EB