Year: 2001
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Country: US
Language: English
"My sex change operation got botched. I've got an angry inch!" One of the most punk muscials to come out of Broadway, Hedwig and the Angry Inch proves to be a bizarre-yet fun- film adaptation that has a trans-person who is far more fleshed out than Rocky Horror Picture Show's Dr. Frank n' Furter (Tim Curry). Hedwig is a rather complex character that has a whole lot of heart, even though it's not always easy to sympathize with her.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is about a transgender punk-rock girl from East Berlin, who tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is rife with political, cultural, and social discourse. Hedwig is transformed by the socio-cultural pressures and gender displacement issues that affect her character. In one scene she is rejected by her lover because of her "angry inch" and, perhaps for the first time, I felt the true anguish that trans-people go through daily. To be constantly rejected, just because you don't have the right equipment, must be deeply heartbreaking.
The film isn't entirely heavy with emotion; there are many scenes that are hilarious because they are filmed in such a cheeky way. I loved the brief parts with Luther, her first love, who slowly feeds Hedwig with all the gummy bears she can handle, leading to the song "Sugar Daddy". Even the big reveal of what "Angry Inch" means had me laughing out loud.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) is a musical that will play with your emotions. One minute you'll burst out laughing, another you'll be fighting to hold back tears. I was deeply impressed with this picture. Previously I didn't think the 2000's had any great musicals, but I'm glad I was wrong.
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