Fantastic Rock Musical (and I *hate* musicals!)

Rating: 9/10 (10 September 2001)

I despise musicals. I hate the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Tommy bores me, Heavy Metal even fails to capture my attention. Dancer in the Dark was the first modern musical that captivated me, but that had a non-musical plot. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a full blown rock opera adapted from a NYC play for the screen, the movie is a mixture of fantastic animation, catchy music, bordering-on-genius lyrics, and a diverse cast that maintains your attention without apparent effort. The story of a german asexual transvestite and his cast of unique bandmates, their lives, their music (and the famous rock star that stole it to become famous), and their personal growth in coming to terms with their personal desires. Hedwig has a voice in both speaking and singing that is mesmerizing. The movie is very colorful, unique, fresh and all around amazing. My only dislikes about this film were at some points, it was a little too artsy -- leaving the audience to understand what it meant rather than helping them to understand (the main reason I don't like a lot of performance art) which in and of itself is not bad (art is interpretive, I know) but some of these items seemed essential to following the plot. You don't get lost, but you aren't quite at the finish line either. This, however, does not make the movie unwatchable by any means. It just means you have to sit through this gem of a movie a few more times to understand, and I will do so happily.