THIS BUSINESS WE CALL SHOW!

I knew hardly anything about this film until just recently when a friend got me to watch it. I did know that it was a rock n' roll broadway play brought to the big screen about a transvestite and that everyone that thought they were "cutting edge" loved it. Around 2002 when the film version had gained it's cult status, my drummer and guitar player performed the music from the film for the local theater production. One, I was mad that they were moonlighting and Two, I was mad that the theater company didn't ask me to be Hedwig. Even though I didn't know much about it, I still could've been a rock glam queen better than anyone. So from there on, anytime anyone asked me about the film or told me how great it was I just passed them off as being trendy.

So finally now, after all the trendiness has dissipated I see the film and it is one of my favorite movies ever now! A young boy named Hansel sees the Berlin Wall go up and as throngs of fellow Germans race toward the West, Hansels mother throws him in a wheel barrel and heads East.

Life is grey and boring for lil'Hans. His only real joy is his hand held radio from which he listens to Armed Forces Radio. Through this he hears Iggy Pop and David Bowie and the New York Dolls and loves them. His mother sometimes throws him in the oven so she can't hear the racket. Being a fancy lad, he ends up meeting a black serviceman named Luther who wants to marry him and take him to America, but the only way this can happen is for Hansel to become a woman. His mother helps them find a doctor to do the operation but the doc botches it leaving Hansel with a one inch long appendage of useless skin and a scar. Luther leaves him soon after they arrive in America and Hansel becomes a drag Queen and starts a rock n' roll band called Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

He becomes friend and lover a teenage boy who in turn emulates Hedwig only without the drag and as Tony Gnosis, the kid becomes a mega star singing songs that Hedwig wrote. As Gnosis tours the world, Hedwig and his band toil in hilarious gigs at seafood restaurants and festivals where only one person shows up. This drives him crazy! Then one night while watching tv, he sees the Berlin Wall come down and he wonders what his life could have been like, how he could've been something other than this thing he has become.

James Cameron Mitchell, who wrote the play and the film casts himself in the starring role and is brilliant. Even if he had gotten an Oscar for this, the award would not do him justice. Furthermore, as a drag queen, Hedwig is beautiful! Everyone in the cast is great although the only "star" we recognize is Andrea Martin (and you don't know who she is do you? Well, she's a star!)

The music is some of the best rock n' roll ever written especially for a play/movie. I still have the songs stuck in my head. You'll fall over laughing at the bands performances which are a mix of lounge lizard, glam and two fisted punk. Added to this are Hedwigs outrageous outfits that would put Liberace, David Lee Roth and even Cher to shame!

It's rare that a film is filled with such hilarity and sadness at the same time. You'll end up loving Hedwig but you certainly would not want to be him. Outwardly, he oozes rock star sexuality yet the sad thing is, in reality, he is basically become sexless. I know for me that's the saddest damn thing I can imagine!

If you are a music fan, buy this film today. You will not regret it!