Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Adapted from the hit off-Broadway musical of the same name, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the brilliantly conceived tale of an internationally ignored rock & roll singer from Communist Berlin with big dreams of American stardom and an “angry inch” that just keeps getting in her way. Hedwig (writer/director/star John Cameron Mitchell) was born a boy named Hansel in Communist East Berlin – a boy who dreamed of finding his other half and becoming a big American rock star. When a handsome American GI promises love and liberation, it seems like a dream come true. But there’s a catch – in order to marry and immigrate, Hansel must “leave a little something behind.” Hedwig survives a botched gender reassignment operation that leaves her with an “angry inch,” only to be stranded in a Kansas trailer park the very day the Berlin Wall comes down. Undeterred, Hedwig puts on her makeup, pulls her wig down from the shelf and forms a killer rock band – The Angry Inch. While supporting herself with babysitting gigs, she falls for a 16-year-old Jesus freak she renames Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt). Unfortunately, Tommy steals her songs and becomes the rock star Hedwig always dreamed she’d be. Refusing to be defeated, she fiercely continues to perform her songs in the shadow of Tommy’s sold-out stadium tour, chasing her dream of becoming a world-renowned rock goddess. Filled with wicked humor, explosive imagination and a goldmine of original rock ‘n’ roll, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a true cult sensation. (Dir. by John Cameron Mitchell, 2001, USA, 95 mins., Rated R)