The epitome of glam

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2003)

In the world of film, it is possible for a director, writer, and lead actor to be on a very close wavelength, but when those three roles are performed by the same person, the gap is closed shut, and the magic of one's dream is brought to screen in full power.
Such is the case with John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a delightful journey into the world of a glam-rock showstopper who has suffered his share of confusion. Hedwig was written, directed, and portrayed all by John Cameron Mitchell, an easy answer to the reason who such an off-scale film can be pulled off so well.
This is where spoilers begin.
Hedwig Robinson, born as a boy named Hansel in East Berlin, and flees to the United States to be with his beloved American GI boyfriend, Sgt. Luther Robinson (Maurice Dean Wint). To go through with the flee, Hansel becomes Hedwig in a botched sex change leaving him with the latter part of the film title, an "angry inch", which he is quick to point out during a performance with his rock band of the same name.
Hedwig's band is started to rival new Alterna-rock megastar Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt), Hedwig's past love interest [after the Luther-marriage fell through, of course]. Gnosis was Hedwig's protege of sorts: an awkward young boy with no real appeal. The self-proclaimed "slip of a girly boy" turns Tommy Gnosis into a powerful rock-star, and of course sets himself up for abandonment.
The two units tour "together", as Hedwig and his delightful backup band follow Gnosis around, playing in venues near Tommy's, and telling Hedwig's intriguing story all the way home. Eventually, Hedwig ends up in Tommy Gnosis's limousine by chance, and the two share a moment of friendship before everything falls apart again.
The film is a sheer entertainment pleasure, filled with plenty of colour and wit, and never a moment of fake hinges. Hedwig shines throughout, but the rest of the cast isn't far behind, always vamping up the screen, and thrilling the audience with mega-catchy musical numbers ["I put on some make-up / and turn up the eight-track / I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf"]. The costumes, wigs, and sets for this film are all brilliantly elaborate, proving that sometimes "less is more" is not true, especially when an "over the top" scenario backs up the plot line as well as the characters. Though the subject matter may be a little risque for prudish minds, the film always seems to redeem itself in some sense, and send everyone home on a high note... both literally, and figuratively.