Review of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) by Pedro D — 25 Jan 2010

"Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and personal savior?".

"No, but I love his work.".

Wonderfully adapted from a stage show that I unfortunately never experienced, "Hedwig," along with "Moulin Rouge!," brought musicals back to Hollywood. There are a lot of comparison made between Hedwig and Rocky Horror, and for a quick and easy explination, it works; they are both rock musicals with transvestite lead characters. Beyond that, as much as I enjoy Rocky Horror, Hedwig is far superior.

First, the music is brilliant. Songs range from heavy rocking ("Tear Me Down") to twangy fun ("Sugar Daddy") to touching ("In Your Arms Tonight") to just plain beautiful ("The Origin of Love"). I may sound like an awkward mix, but not a single song seems unncessary or out-of-place. As a plot point, they stage all their shows at different chains of the same restaurant, but it never feels repetative. Also, with select songs, we are treated to some absolutely wonderful animation from Emily Hubley (whose name I just looked up because she deserves proper credit). Director/actor John Cameron Mitchell reprises the titular role he originated in the stage production. Michael Pitt is quite good as Hedwig's love interest and muse. The supporting cast is very good as well. Mitchell does a great job of using lighting and color to represent different places throughout the film.

In conclusion, I have nothing bad to say about this film. Some people will be turned off by the homosexuality or the stylized sequences or just the fact that it's a musical. If you can get past all that, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised and hopefully join the film's well-deserved cult following.