Wicked Little Town – Half of a Hedwig & The Angry Inch Review

So when you’ve got no other choice, you know you can follow my voice
Through the dark turns and noise of this wicked little town.

I caught the cult film Hedwig and the Angry Inch on the International Film Channel (IFC) late one night last week. I had heard of the film before, but had no idea what to expect. This further complicated things as when I started watching the film, it was already an hour in.

Amusingly, this made the film an entirely different experience than anyone else who has seen it.

For those who’ve never heard of Hedwig and the Angy Inch, here’s iMDB’s summary:

A transexual punk rock girl from East Berlin tours the US with her rock band as she tells her life story and follows the ex-boyfriend/bandmate who stole her songs.

At the point that I came into the film it was Hedwig’s (John Cameron Mitchell, who also wrote and directed) first performance of the EXTREMELY catchy “Wicked Little Town” and the first time she sees Tommy. From there it becomes a mix of This Is Spinal Tap and The Who’s “Tommy” as it tells the story of how Hedwig helps sheltered little Tommy become the rock god Tommy Gnosis by stealing her songs.

Being I came in the film halfway through, I missed a LARGE chunk of the plot; ie Hedwig’s botched sex-change operation and the marriage plans to get out of Germany. You can imagine that the movie would have turned out a little different in my mind if I had seen that part of it, but regardless I still loved the movie in all its weirdness.

The ending was by far the most powerful part, and it seems like it may have all played out in Hedwig’s mind. After Hedwig and Tommy reunite after he had already become famous, they end up in a car wreck and suddenly everything turns up roses for poor Hedwig. She gets the recognition she deserved for writing Tommy’s songs, becomes a famous musician herself, and even receives an apology from Tommy in the form of a re-worded “Wicked Little Town.” Had the ending just been a dream of Hedwigs as she lay dying after the car accident with Tommy?

This film ranks up there with other classic cult films like Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you haven’t gotten around to seeing this film, give it a chance. There was even a tribute album called “Wig in a Box” featuring songs from the movie done by They Might Be Giants, The Bens (Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, and Ben Lee), The Breeders, and Frank Black. The album can be found on iTunes.

Maybe one day I’ll finish (or start?) the movie and put up the second half of the review. Until then I’ll just keep listening to “Wicked Little Town” on repeat.