‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’

A botched sex-change operation sets the stage for this rock ‘n’ roll musical.   [R]

By: Kam Williams
   What would you do if a botched sex-change operation left you angry and short of your goal?
   If you’re Hansel, a handsome German homosexual, you’d change your name to Hedwig, run off to Kansas with an infatuated G.I. to seek love, healing and fame. That’s the point of departure of Hedwig and The Angry Inch, a kinetic rock opera about an alternately introspective and flamboyant transvestite who wants to make it — over the Wall and beyond — in the worst way.

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John Cameron Mitchell wrote, directed and stars in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, adapted from his off-Broadway play.

   The movie is adapted from the far out, far off-Broadway (Jane Street Theater) play written and directed by star John Cameron Mitchell. The irrepressible Mr. Mitchell has brought his act to Tinseltown, again directing and stealing every scene of the equally outrageous screen version. The last sexually ambiguous personality to similarly dominate a feature film was the unbearably obnoxious Lady Chablis in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
   Mr. Mitchell, who won an Obie for his relatively sympathetic send-up of the headcase Hedwig, has a lot more to offer than a sassy drag-queen routine. Underneath the Baby Huey wig, the shellacked makeup and the Tammy Faye eyelashes, the protagonist is an emoting, complex character who welcomes you into his incomparably bizarre world.
   The film consists of narrator Hedwig recounting the tragic missteps that have left his life a mess. Through a liberal mix of flashbacks, animation and mediocre, mega-decibel rock music, we see young Hansel trying to cope with dreary life in Cold War-era East Germany. Hansel’s embittered and hard-hearted mother throws his creepy father out but is ill-equipped to raise her son alone.
   Hansel’s love of American rock ‘n’ roll is his main support system, and by his teen years, he’s well-versed in everyone from Elvis to Iggy Pop. His world changes when an American G.I. spies the nubile youth sunbathing. The Yank is smitten and willing to marry Hansel, but insists that he have a sex change to pass the required physical. Hansel’s mother agrees, even offering her wig and passport to help him get over the Wall.
   When something goes horribly wrong, he is left in nowhere land. Hansel clicks his heels three times and he’s not in East Berlin anymore. He’s not a guy, either, but the androgynous lead singer of a fledgling rock group in Kansas.
   By sheer force of will, Hansel has transformed himself into Hedwig, an empathetic weirdo who you’re willing to root for despite the wig, the falsies, the glitter and the rest of the get-up. Although the supporting players pale in comparison to the larger-than-life Hedwig, much is made of Heddy’s relationship with Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt), a bona fide rock star. The considerably younger Tommy, it seems, stole Hedwig’s songs and heart after a brief fling. Teen idol Tommy, now rich, famous and in the closet, has no room in his life to acknowledge an oddity like Hedwig.
   Nonetheless, desperate for Tommy’s love and reflected glory, Hedwig follows the pop icon’s music tour from city to city, playing in dives to make ends meet, while Tommy sells out auditoriums. The contrast of the raw-edged Hedwig’s heartfelt songs with Tommy’s plastic rip-off versions speaks volumes about our appetite for unchallenging commercial music.
   Mr. Mitchell shines in a role obviously fine-tuned by hundreds of performances on its way to the screen. Whether lost in pop song, rhapsodizing about love or simply camping it up, his is a riveting performance, one that ought to be remembered at Oscar time.
Rated R. Contains graphic sex and profanity.