Rating: 
Summary: OMG!
Review: This movie blew my socks off. It's compared to Rocky Horror, but I found this far superior to any rock musical I've watched. The music was fantastic, the performances left me wishing I'd had the opportunity to see it live and the extras fed my need for more!
Rating:
Summary: Nice, uh, package
Review: First off, "Hedwig" is a joy of a film with great songs -- from the hard-rocking "Tear Me Down" to the brilliant "Origin of Love" to the camp anthem "Wig in the Box." Like a lot of musicals, and a lot of films, for that matter, it gets a teensy bit wobbly toward the end, but so what? Mitchell's performance is great, the movie is hilariously original, and Hedwig's quest is honestly quite moving. But best of all, the DVD package is great. It includes a 90 minute documentary that's an outstanding complement to the feature, practically as enjoyable as the movie itself. I liked the year's other reinvention of the musical ("Moulin Rouge") and its DVD release as well. But of the two films, "Hedwig" is far superior, with a real emotional core and brand new point of view.
Rating: 
Summary: This is just too weird
Review: Despite the brilliant performance by John Cameron Mitchell, this film is just not all that great. It is visually bizarre, the animation is very simplistic looking but makes very strange conotations as they do apply to the story.
I watched this purely to see Mitchell's performance. I had heard it was utterly amazingly brilliant, and I totally agree. This film is just too out there for me. I've appreciated movies about drag queens and gay men in the past so that has nothing to do with my decisions here. Some of it just made no sense to me. This movie is just not for everyone.
I did like the music a lot, it was very original and fresh. It helped to tell the story somewhat, but I didn't think the story had much of a finish...
Rating:
Summary: Grooovyyyy!!!
Review: All I can say is I can't believe I missed the movie in the theater. ... This film was exciting from start to finish. Everything from the music, acting, and MAKE-UP is fantastic. ...
Rating: 
Summary: I'm sorry to say that I didn't get it...
Review: Before anyone blasts me, let me first say that I love Rocky Horror, I enjoy indie films, and I adore Broadway musicals...and I was prepared to love Hedwig. While John Cameron Mitchell's performance was impressive, I didn't enjoy ANYTHING about this film. I couldn't tell if the music was supposed to be funny or straightforward, because it was just terrible and cheesy. I cringed during "The Origin of Love," not knowing if I should laugh or hum along. I forced myself to watch it through to the end, assuming that it would improve. I realize that this movie garnered rave reviews from everyone from Newsweek to People, so I guess it's just me, but I can't stress enough how disappointed I was with this film. Sorry, Hedwig!
Rating: 
Summary: TOTALLY BIZARRE
Review: I knew the subject matter before hand so it is not like I don't appreciate films about gay people. On the contrary, I consider myself a pretty open minded person and am always up for something different. I didn't know that I would be witnessing one of the most BIZARRE films that I'd ever seen.
I really wanted to see this because John Cameron Mitchell, Hedwig/Hansel, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor. He was critically acclaimed, and after all the bad movies with even worse acting that I had seen in 2001, this couldn't be much worse.
Well, This is just not for everybody. Especially straight men that have a bit of a phobia for watching movies to do with gay men.(especially when the sex/love scenes arrive). My husband left the room. I on the other hand, watched the entire film with some dismay. I do think that John Cameron Mitchell was totally amazing and gave a very riveting performance as the main character. He had this great confidence in his acting, and seemed to really enjoy playing this character, Hedwig.
I think that the direction and the pencil drawing animation is what I found bizarre, but not bad.
The ending was the most bizarre part of all as I just lost all understanding and meaning of the movie. What is it that they are trying to say here? It isn't all cut and dry, maybe I missed something that others saw.
I think all the acting was very good, especially JCM. He is very talented, and I imagine that the live show must be a real powerhouse of entertainment..for those that can appreciate this kind of show.
It's not that I wouldn't recommend this movie at all. It totally depends on the individual. It's certainly a movie I will never forget. It has been 24 hours since I've watched it, and I still have got it up there in my head. I really loved watching JCm...
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating and Frustrating
Review: Meet Hans, an East Berlin teenager desperate to escape the communist block who undergoes a botched sex change operation in order to marry an American military man and flee to the free world. Now meet Hedwig, the rock-em-shock-em punk band leader into which Hans transforms himself when his American husband abandons him in the midwest. Embittered when the Berlin wall falls and furious when a later teenage-lover steals her music and becomes an arena-filling rock star, Hedwig now dogs the teenager's steps by staging a tour with her own band and following him from town to town.John Cameron Mitchell, who co-wrote and starred in the New York show and who appears in the film as both director and star, mutes the more savage tones of the material in favor of pathos and a broader sense of the character's humanity; consequently, the film isn't really as far-out or edgy as it might seem, so it lacks the sharp bite you might expect. The film also seems a bit unfocused, a bit unstructured, and at times I felt a bit frustrated by what it leads you to expect but never actually delivers. Even so, Mitchell and company (especially Miriam Shor), give some extremely interesting and often drop-dead funny performances, and the music performed by the band as it tours is first rate throughout. Sadly, some viewers will reject the film without seeing it on the basis of subject matter alone--which would be a mistake. Often funny, often touching, and certainly thought-provoking, HEDWIG packs a solid punch by appealing to the untapped creativity in all of us and leads us to question our own internal sense of unity. The characters and ideas it presents linger in mind afterward, and while Hedwig and her angry inch aren't quite as knock-out as you could wish they're still fascinating. The DVD contains lots of extras, most notably a documentary (almost as long as the movie itself) that describes the creation of both stage show and film. The footage of the New York show is particularly fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Best Film of 2001
Review: Despite some really good films that came out late in the year (Lord of the Rings, Gosford Park), this tops my list for 2001. John Cameron Mitchell has created a character that is fascinatingly complex and bizarre. It's impossible not to get swept up in the story. Stephen Trask has written songs that rock at one point, and turn touchingly poignant the next. Mix in a lot of wild costumes and witty one-liners, and you've got an amazing film. Funny, touching, impossible to get out of your head - all the marks of a wonderful movie!
Rating:
Summary: Taken by surprise!
Review: I saw this movie because a friend strongly recommended it. From the description, I didn't expect to like it and wasn't planning to watch it all the way through. But I hadn't even watched the first minute by the time I was completely hooked. The movie draws you in and keeps you going right up to the end. I'm not a rock fan, but the music was AWESOME. Beautiful art, great cinematography, powerful acting, and a deeply touching storyline.
Rating:
Summary: Worst film of the year!
Review: Did I see the same film as the rest of the reviewers? This is overblown tripe without even the saving grace of decent music. You don't care about any of the characters, and the only positive feeling I experienced in the whole movie was a warm sense of satisfaction when it finally finished. Mitchell beats you over the head with trite metaphors until your ears bleed - just count how many times Hedwig says he was born in a divided city! If this is the rebirth of the musical, God help us. Give me Busby Berkeley and "Singing in the Rain" any day.
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