'Hedwig? continues trend of indie films in Springfield

|tab|

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch"|ret||ret||tab|

Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell|ret||ret||tab|

Starring: John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Michael Pitt|ret||ret||tab|

Rated: R|ret||ret||tab|

First "The Deep End," then "Sexy Beast" (which is still running at this writing) and now, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Is Springfield ready to step up to the same level as cities like St. Louis and Kansas City in embracing the smaller, independent "art" if you will film? If they play it and the crowds come, who knows, maybe the trend will last.|ret||ret||tab|

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" won the Audience Award at Sundance, and director/star John Cameron Mitchell took the Director's Award. With those kinds of credentials, as well as knowing the subject matter, I figured this one for a "wait until it comes out on DVD it won't play here." Happily, I was wrong.|ret||ret||tab|

Part "Rocky Horror Show," mixed with the "mockumentary" style of such films as "This Is Spinal Tap" and the underseen "Leningrad Cowboys Go America," "Hedwig" is the defining rock musical of the new millennium. The music, composed and produced by Stephen Trask, is original and derivative at the same time. |ret||ret||tab|

It's a perfect combination of glam rock, punk and grunge. Never bordering on parody, the score is the glue that holds the story, a great one, together.|ret||ret||tab|

Mitchell wrote the libretto for what started as an off-Broadway play in 1997. While not based on his life per se, his life experience growing up as the son of an American general stationed in Berlin is surely the foundation upon which the story is constructed.|ret||ret||tab|

Hedwig is born Hansel in 1961, the year the Berlin Wall was erected. Hansel spends his youth listening to American pop radio, living with his mother in an apartment so small he's forced (in a few hilarious scenes) to "play in the oven." |ret||ret||tab|

Infused with Western pop culture and confused about his sexual identity, Han-sel is still living with his mother when, years later, he meets an American soldier who convinces him to have a sex change and move to America as his bride.|ret||ret||tab|

The operation is botched (as referenced in the title) but Hansel, now Hedwig, and the G.I. are married none-theless, and Hedwig finds herself transplanted to, and soon left alone in, Kansas, USA. When her hubby splits, Hedwig begins taking odd (some VERY odd) jobs around the local military base. She meets Tommy, a military brat with mainstream tastes in rock and roll, takes the kid under her wing, forms a band with him and the two become lovers. Until Tommy discovers Hedwig's secret. |ret||ret||tab|

He, too, leaves Hedwig but is armed with a number of her songs. Soon, Tommy Gnosis is a major rock star, rising to dazzling heights on the music Hedwig has created.|ret||ret||tab|

He's playing stadiums, she's at salad bars in the Bilgewater restaurant chain. Hedwig is obsessed that the world should know Tommy's hits are really hers and has hired a lawyer (played by Andrea Martin from "SCTV") to help her. |ret||ret||tab|

A lot of the story seems disjointed and rather disquieting, in the manner of another rock musical, "Pink Floyd: The Wall," but in the end it all makes some sort of sense, at least in its own universe.|ret||ret||tab|

I was surprised by not only the number of people at the showing I attended, but by the wide variety of folks who came to see the film and stayed throughout.|ret||ret||tab|

It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea to be sure, but if you're a pop culture fan and have a liking for any of the films mentioned above, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" will not disappoint. The soundtrack CD is great, as well. |ret||ret||tab|

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)[[In-content Ad]]