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Hedwig and the Angry Inch

2001 • 91 minutes
4.6
485 reviews
92%
Tomatometer
14A
Rating
Eligible

About this movie

Adapted from the hit off-Broadway musical of the same name, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the tale of an "internationally ignored" rock & roll singer who hails from Communist Berlin and who dreams of becoming an American sensation. Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell), born a boy named Hansel, is raised by a single mother (Alberta Watson) who wishes to see her son do better than his poverty-stricken family. Some years later, Hansel is attracted to a good-looking American G.I., who promises a better life overseas for young Hansel, under one condition: that he undergo a sex-change operation to become a fully functional female whom he can then marry. The operation is seriously botched, leaving the now-renamed Hedwig with an "angry inch" only to be stranded in a dingy Kansas trailer park on the day the Berlin Wall comes tumbling down. Hedwig then supports herself through a series of ill-fated lounge gigs and side jobs, meeting up with 16-year-old Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt), a religious type who befriends her and later steals her songs and becomes the rock star Hedwig always dreamed of being. Undeterred, Hedwig continues to perform in the shadow of Tommy's sold-out stadium tour, attempting to make herself whole in spirit, if not physically. The film features several songs by composer Stephen Trask, who also appears as a member of Hedwig's disinterested rock band; Miriam Shor portrays Hedwig's newfound love and backup singer. #Trailer #WB
Rating
14A

Ratings and reviews

4.6
485 reviews
Anna Brenner
February 14, 2021
This is the rare Rare RARE musical that is equally as good as the story/play happening behind the music. An extraordinary punk musical! A tragic AND hopeful story. A ridiculously dry sense of humor. An look at a part of humanity most people are terrified of. (The subtle note toward Rent mid-movie shows that Hedwig completely understands its own outsider status in the cannon of musical theatre. Sorry Rent, Wicked, Avenue Q, Hamilton, and all the mass-produced broadway Inc. shows, but your storytelling and tunes are minor league compared to this Major League brilliance.) If you consider yourself a musical lover but don't like this movie, well, I'm sorry you couldn't get over your negative conservatism. Enjoy voting for Mitch McConnell, d-bag. I'll write-in for Hedwig.
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A Google user
February 18, 2019
Excellent from start, to finish. Dark, open, brash, funny, sad, real. I cannot encourage you enough to watch this movie, and both laugh and maybe a time or two, cry. Not often movies like this come along. You should want to be LGBTQIA+ friendly, as some of those subjects are touched on, and sensitive people would get offended possibly, and then rate the movie lowly due to their bias, vs the movie's merit. Give this movie a solid chance!
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shannon dakin
February 7, 2016
This is a work of brilliance. It's part comedy, part wonderfully told story, and part rock n roll show. No part overshadows another; it's a perfect balance. The story is a glam rock escapade of finding your way to see the world and know that you are enough. You don't need someone to complete you. It plays with rules, metaphors and indeed is a transformation. I loved it the first time I saw it, and still do. <3 #theoriginoflove
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