hedwig and the angry inch ( 2001 ) john cameron mitchell , miriam shor , stephen trask , michael pitt , theodore liscinski , michael aronov , andrea martin , maurice dean wint , ben mayer-goodman . 
animation by emily hubley . 
adapted from the stage play by john cameron mitchell and stephen trask . 
music and lyrics by stephn trask . 
written and directed by john cameron mitchell . 
91 minutes . 
rated r , stars ) 
had " hedwig and the angry inch " came out in the '70s , right after david bowie's " ziggy stardust , " it likely would now be regarded as one of the most popular rock musicals of all time . 
released in the 500 channel , sensory overload world of 2001 , however , the big screen adaptation of the acclaimed off-broadway musical must do battle with countless other productions clamoring for attention . 
i almost missed it . 
every august , the major studios try to squeeze the last few dollars out of summer moviegoers by dumping all of their shakier offerings on the marketplace at once . 
i was so busy trying to keep up with national releases like " summer catch " and " bubble boy " that i passed over any independent film that looked like it would only have a short local run . 
but an e-mail from a reader asking why i hadn't reviewed the movie prompted me to make a late evening trip to the theater . 
thank goodness for readers like him . 
 " hedwig and the angry inch " is a gender-bending glam-rock spectacular packed with great songs . 
stylistically , the hook-laden tunes are reminiscent of bowie , " bat out of hell " era meatloaf and " the rocky horror show , " without ever seeming like imitations . 
as with " tommy , " " hedwig " tells a story of isolation , pain and defiance , but without the bloated feel of that beloved , but overrated rock opera . 
writer-director-star john cameron mitchell and composer-lyricist stephen trask have cooked up a real winner . 
mitchell stars as hedwig , a singer from east berlin touring a chain of u . s . coffee shops with her pan-slavic band , the angry inch . 
while the patrons of the run-down restaurants look on in shock , and sometimes horror , hedwig boldly tells the sad story of her life in song . 
she was once a boy named hansel ( ben mayer-goodman ) , living with his mother ( alberta watson ) and listening to rock and roll on american armed forces radio . 
life is an exercise in duality for hansel . 
a wall splits his hometown into two parts . 
mother describes love as the emotion that comes when you find your other half . 
as hansel grows up , the duality becomes more pronounced . 
after initially mistaking him for a girl , a gi from the states ( maurice dean wint ) falls in love with hansel and wants to marry him . 
alas , hansel will never pass the mandatory physical . 
mother helpfully suggests a sex change , but the operation goes bad , hence the references to " the angry inch " ( yes , i know this part is squirm-inducing , but stick with me - it's worth it ) . 
several years later , mr . right is long gone and hansel becomes hedwig , decked out in a farrah fawcett-style wig and fronting a band made up of korean women . 
hedwig finds a new love in tommy ( michael pitt ) , a beatific lad with a unique take on christianity . 
but tommy does hedwig wrong , stealing her songs and becoming a superstar . 
cut to the present . 
tommy gnosis' stadium tour is thriving and hedwig is suing him . 
despite warnings from her manager ( andrea martin ) that she could easily be labeled a stalker , hegwig and her new band , the angry inch , continue their coffee shop tour , shadowing the thief by playing whatever city he is in . 
if this sounds like a bizarre premise for a rock musical , take a few seconds and consider the plotlines of " tommy " and " rocky horror . " 
as hedwig , john cameron mitchell does a magnificent job taking a character that could have simply been a caricature or an icon and turning her into a compelling human being . 
mitchell has world-class style and vocal chords to match . 
even though the backstory is unusually strong , mitchell never forgets that the production is first and foremost a rock musical . 
everything is propelled by one terrific song after another and , trust me , these are full-fledged rock songs , not the over-processed fluff that passes for rock in most musicals . 
while mitchell remains in the center of the stage throughout the film , there is much of interest on the sidelines . 
miriam shor does fine work as yitzhak , hedwig's lover and bandmate , conveying a great deal through expressions alone . 
decked out in a bandanna and a surprisingly convincing beard , she makes a mighty attractive man . 
as always , " sctv " veteran andrea martin is a welcome presence onscreen and michael pitt is beguiling as tommy , the angelic-appearing little rat . 
artist emily hubley adds to the magic with a string of dandy animated sequences that charm the eye while underlining the central themes of the musical . 
 " hedwig and the angry inch " surrounds a weird , funny and touching story with a knockout series of songs performed by an exceptional cast . 
true originals do not come along very often ? don't let this slip out of town without seeing it .