hedwig ( john cameron mitchell ) was born a boy named hansel in east berlin . 
as a teen seeking his " other half , " he reluctantly agrees to a sex change operation in order to marry american g . i . 
luther ( maurice dean wint ) . 
the operation , performed by a hack surgeon , is botched , and the " angry inch " is all that's left . 
now a " she " , hedwig comes to america , is abandoned by luther , forms a rock band and falls for her 17-year old lover/prot ? g ? , tommy , only to be rejected by him later , too . 
she and her band , the angry inch , shadows the now-famous tommy gnosis across the us ( for revenge ? ) , but hedwig is really in search of her lost other half in " hedwig and the angry inch . " 
first time helmer john cameron mitchell , along with composer/lyricist stephen trask , created and starred in their acclaimed off-broadway production that has become the movie . 
and quite a movie it is in its eclectic variety of songs , outrageous costumes , sets and makeup and , especially , a riveting performance by mitchell as the title character . 
mitchell and trask have reinvented the movie musical and couple it with the underlying story of just whom hedwig is and what she is looking for . 
i am , by far , not a big fan of musicals . 
sure , there are exceptions , like bob fosse's " all that jazz " and " cabaret , " but , for the most part , they are just not my cup of tea . 
 " hedwig and the angry inch " is an exception , though , with its combination of humor , wit and a collection of tunes that covers musical styles ranging from " the rocky horror picture show " and meatloaf to david bowie to the sex pistols . 
the original songs , by stephen trask ( also appearing as one of the members of the band the angry inch ) , are full of energy and variety and , even though it's not my kind of music , i found every one entertaining and fun . 
the audience i saw " hedwig " with thought so , too . 
the main attraction to this one-man/woman show is the presence of its star . 
john cameron mitchell gives a solid , sometimes fun , sometimes angry performance as a person searching for self-enlightenment and love . 
as a young boy growing up in east berlin , hansel is abused by his g . i . 
father and raised by his german mother in a tiny flat so small that " mother would make me play in the oven " where he listened to pop music on armed forces radio . 
later , as a young man , he meets luther , another g . i . 
and is swept off of his feet . 
the ensuing angry inch incident comes soon after . 
flash forward to a trailer park in junction city , kansas , and luther is leaving hedwig for another boy . 
frustrated and broke , she takes on baby-sitting and the odd " job " to make ends meet . 
she also forms a band with four korean housewives and the musical talent of hedwig is born . 
she meets , falls for and loses young tommy , who steals her songs and goes off to become a rock sensation . 
jealous and angry , hedwig and her new band begins a campaign to shadow tommy's tours and , with the help of her manager , phyllis stein ( andrea martin ) , is trying get a law suit going against the star for stealing her songs . 
hedwig and the angry inch get gigs , not coincidentally , at a chain of seafood restaurants that just happen to be next to the forums where tommy gnosis is playing . 
things finally come to a head , so to speak , in new york city . 
the popularity of the off-broadway musical and its offshoots have garnered a ready-made audience base for " hedwig . " 
the wit , humor , music and search for identity has great appeal to young adults , but the charismatic presence of mitchell makes this a cut above what it could have been . 
it is this one-man/woman show that casts its spotlight on its " internationally ignored " rock star and mitchell is outstanding in the role . 
there isn't a lot going on with other characters , though there are amusing little sidebars , like hedwig's backup singer/lover , yitzak ( miriam shor ) , deciding to break away from the band to join a polynesian road show of " rent " as a puerto rican drag queen . 
the low budget that the moviemakers have for the production belies the quality of the film . 
attention to details - hedwig's costumes and outrageous " cabaret " -like makeup ; the seedy trailer park setting ; and , the kitschy seafood restaurants - are loads of fun to watch and lend the appropriate air to the proceeds , all on what has to be a beer budget . 
 " hedwig and the angry inch " may not be for everybody , but the energy of the effort , the songs , the imaginative sets and costumes and a fast steady pace make it a pleasure to watch . 
if you're a fan of contemporary , edgy music , it is an even bigger draw . 
i give it a b+ .