Hedwig and the Angry Inch - New Line Platinum Series

Rating:
Summary: Music good, movie bad
Review: Had I been able to cut out the acted scenes and listen, sans picture, to just the music, I'd have rather enjoyed this strange little picture. Alas, since I am not locked in eternal angst over my sexuality, nor am I fond of indulgent, homoerotic navel-gazing, I couldn't get into "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". Obviously, there is a niche audience for this sort of material, and no doubt that niche adored Hedwig. For the rest of us who politely sat through this flick on behalf of wives/girlfriends... Well, what can I say?

Rating:
Summary: I don't usually watch "these sort of things"
Review: I don't generally watch gay movies, cross-dressing movies, musicals, campy shockers, eurotrash, etc, etc, etc.

Over the years I kept reading intriguing reviews. Finally, I rented it and, Wow, was I glad.

It trancended any of those narrow-minded, bigoted categories that I listed above. Great story, humor, pathos, acting, lyrics, dancing, music, costumes, etc. A colorful, exhilharating, clever, exciting, heart-stirring, rocking, roller-coaster of a movie.

See it! Unless, of course, you are the type that doesn't watch that sort of thing.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Journey Into Finding One's Self
Review: This musical, oftentimes compared to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, should rarely - if ever - be mentioned along with that film. Though they both are musicals that feature transsexual characters, this film is a serious venture into the world of rock and the search for inner completion.

When, in order to escape from war-era Berlin, young Hansel undergoes a sex change operation in order to marry his boyfriend, he becomes Hedwig. Left over with "a one-inch mound of flesh," Hedwig must endure countless break-ups, let-downs, and false starts before she is able to become whole.

The film centers around her anger towards Tommy Gnosis, someone she took under her wing and who later became a rock star, leaving Hedwig in the dust. Hedwig, who wrote many of the songs Gnosis performs, is full of spite, anger, and disappointment that she hasn't become the important rock figure she so constantly dreams of being.

Eventually, it all works out in the end, but I won't give it away. I'll just say that this is a tale of one individual's search for total and complete happiness - a search to find her other half.

Not only is the storyline in Hedwig great, but the acting, wardrobes, visual effects, and music are totally and completely incredible. This is not just a musical; it is a ROCK musical. ALL of the songs are memorable, enjoyable, and astounding, as are their accompanying visual sequences. One song, "Origin of Love," has a very touching and beautiful animated sequence, in fact.

For anyone who loves musicals or films centered around gay/etc. individuals, this is an instant classic most surely not to be missed. A masterpiece!

Rating:
Summary: One of the most inspiring movies I've ever seen
Review: My brother in NYC made me watch this movie one night and I will admit I was reluctant because I'm not a huge movie person. But this was unbelievable, I can't imagine that one or even two people could come up with this. Not only are the songs absolutely amazing (I listen to them everyday) but how they are animated and performed into the movie are brillant. The make-up and costumes are fantastic, oh and the story is not so bad either. Actually, everything about this movie is excellent, except for Johnny Gnosis' voice but other than that the story is engaging, the music is incredible and the performances are so great. But I really have to give it to John Cameron Mitchell, the man is a genius, I know Stephan Trask had something to do with the music but JCM co-wrote, starred and directed this movie and I think the guy is awesome, the word genius does come to mind. I had the pleasure to meet him a few weeks ago and was so star-struck that I couldn't find myself to tell him how great I thought everything was. I'd really recommend this movie to anyone and I am. Even if you're not really into the philosophy or music just see it for the one-liners and the entertainment, anyone should be pulled in by the first performance in the restaruant with "Tear Me Down", I couldn't stop laughing.

Rating:
Summary: We all have our Angry Inches
Review: A friend of mine where I work suggested this film to me. I had never heard of "Hedwig" before, though I had seen the box cover in numerous places, but never knew it.
All I can say is whoa. I mean, WHOA! As rumor has it, Stephen Trask (the lyricist and also an "Inch" guitar player) first met John Cameron Mitchell on a plane to LA, where the story arose that inspired the two to make a show.

Hedwig was originally a character developed at Don Hill's popular New York gay/rock nightclub scene, "Squeezebox." Mitchell, with the aid of friends like the famed Mistress Formika and Debbie Harry, turned what was described later as a "very raw act", into a smash hit.

The dance and song routine turned into a New Tork hotel theater based, off-Broadway rock musical, and, in 2002, was big enough to transform into the phenomenal motion-picture it is today!

In a nutshell, the plot of "Hedwig" is one of a would-be glam rocker failed transsexual from Communist East Berlin and her search for identity in America, after being dumped in Junction City by the US Army leiutenant who saved him. On the side, Hedwig(Mitchell,formerly German Hansel Schmidt, is on a Z-rate tour with her rock band, "The Angry Inch" which includes Yitzhak (Miriam Shor, also in drag, but as Hedwig's punk bandana-wearing love) and their agent, an over-the-top hilarious Andrea Martin. The tour is a rebuttal to the teen rock-star oppsite the Angry Inch, Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt), whom Hedwid taught everything he knew, and stole everything she had. (I said a nutshell, did'nt I? Oops!)

Mitchell's direction is suberb, the music is the greatest since "Rocky Horror," and the acting has a certain reality hard to find in Hollywood today.
The film will leave you stunned til' the last scene, or in tears, and maybe even a lesson or two. Not for the closed-minded though.

Saw it, loved it, now I own it,
--GIGI

Rating:
Summary: Much better than I expected.
Review: Hedwig and the angry inch is undoubtedly an amazing show. I was extremely reluctant to see it when it was playing on Jane street and was practically forced to see it. Lets just say that I was truly amazed and surprised at the plays depth and the amazing music.
The reason I had an issue with seeing Hedig is because I assumed it was merely some pumped up glorification of a lifestyle that I find most disagreeable and even destructive to both society and self. However, I found the movie to be a beautiful expression of images and sound that stems from the subconscious in the same way David Lynch's movies are expressed; by showing the ugly in a tapestry of expression.
While I did develop a respect for the writing and a fan of the music, even having ushered a few times at Jane Street, I scoffed once again at Hedwig when I heard it would be made into a movie. I didn't think that the a movie could shine in the same way this (almost) one man show did. But here I am again, years after the release of the film, pleasantly surprised. They used different techniques but ultimately the spirit of the Off Broadway show wasn't altered . Of course the use of art, lights, special effects, many actors, different locations made it into something completely different visually but as I watched this movie I felt as if I had literally already seen it. That's how good it was performed on stage, that you really "saw" Hedwig's story.
The way I see it, Hedwig is in the same genre of the classic "The Wall" by Pink Floyd. A kind of display of a journey into madness and experimentation with evil. What makes it sadly beautiful is because like most evil it is done with good intentions. It is always in this way, when in the pursuit of our needs, that we sacrifice our God given ability to choose what is right. This is ultimately symbolized by Hedwig's shedding of his male extremity, and that the same message is sprinkled in lesser degrees throughout the film.
The ending I find to be heartbreaking because here we see Hedwig trying to shed off the lie that he has become but I couldn't help think to myself "but he still has no male extremity and can never really be whole" and this got me to wondering if many homosexuals have also sacrificed too much of their essential selves to ever really be what they are: men. James Cameron Mitchell subconsciously shows his yearning to return to a beginning that he lost a long long time ago and maybe he too feels like it can never really be done right.
The very ending of the movie, which of course was not in the play, is of Hedwig walking on to the street naked. Just like in Floyd's the Wall, his wall has been torn down and while this may seem like a good thing to rid oneself of a negative mosaic of insanity, it is really a death sentence to send someone out into the world who has lost everything they ever knew (right or wrong) with no understanding of a sufficient alternative and how to go about their lives.
Hedwig and the Angry inch is an entertaining film, the music is fantastic but in the end it is art and like all good art we must try to understand not only what the artist consciously wanted to express but what he subconsciously ended up revealing. Of course, since this story is a mixture of John Mitchell, Stephen Trask and probably some other contributors, we should see it more as an expression of a tiny percentage of the homosexual community.
Yes, Hedwig is like most of us in that he needs the same things but unfortunately he's a lot further away from getting them than most of us.
For those of you who were unaware that Hedwig was first an Off Broadway play I strongly suggest you watch the special features to understand the origins of the movie.