Is it really a movie?

Rating: 4/10 (22 February 2004)

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the musical numbers. I thought that the scenes were beautifully shot, and I thought that some interesting characters were introduced. But introduced only, and that is the fault of this movie. It only gives us surface, and no depth. You learn a great deal of background on one character, but you don't see enough outside of what becomes a forced progression of events, and, as such, you don't get a lot of character depth. This is compounded by the fact that you also really only see the one character, Hedwig.
I do not mean this to be an indictment of the talent of John Cameron Mitchell. This must have been a vibrant and greatly entertaining musical as a stage show. On screen, however, the entirety of the movie feels more like a series of music videos (well crafted music videos, mind you, but music videos nonetheless). There is little depth, only gloss, and in the end you're left searching for a point. It leaves you wanting something meaningful. Great as a concept album (perhaps), great as a stage show, but ultimately unsatisfying as cinema.