Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Fine Line Features | Release Date: July 20, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
SalonStephanie Zacharek
The sight of Hedwig and his band transforming a trashy trailer into a glitter-rock stage during "Wig in a Box" was so exhilarating I almost leapt out of my seat. The movie is pure theater, as it should be. Read full review
100
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Builds into a moment of such gorgeous rocking that you truly lose yourself in some musical otherworld you never dreamed you'd reach in current films. Read full review
100
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The story is told so passionately that it demands as much of you as it does of its performers, all of whom are up there, giving everything. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
On the screen, the rip-roaring rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch retains all the excitement and energy it had on stage while adding depth, clarity and emotional texture. Read full review
100
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Stomps the summer movie competition with heart and humor.
100
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
Mitchell retools his play magnificently, opening it up into a vibrant cinematic work. Read full review
100
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Clever, funny, wildly innovative film. Read full review
100
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The film's not only funny and weird, it's oddly poignant. I miss Hedwig already. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalEd Epstein
This extraordinary flight from the humdrum is not to be missed.
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Mitchell directs and stars in the riotous, loving, and only occasionally pathos-milking film adaptation of his own acclaimed Off Broadway play, with great up-your-ante music and lyrics by Stephen Trask. Read full review
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
John Cameron Mitchell credits Plato as the inspiration for his rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Now Mitchell has turned his play into a raucous, touching celebration of a film. Read full review
90
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Mitchell gives this post-punk, neo-glam rock extravaganza everything in his loaded arsenal of talents. He gets the sound right, the look right, the fun right and - this is crucial - the pain right. Read full review
90
New Times (L.A.)David Ehrenstein
Offers an enormous amount of pure silly fun for the entire non-nuclear family, no matter what gender they may be. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Mitchell, who also directed and wrote the screenplay, originally created this glorious rock opera for the stage with composer-lyricist Stephen Trask. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
If you thought ''Moulin Rouge,'' or, for that matter, ''Tommy,'' was trippy, Hedwig, with its glorious convergence of material and performer, will show you what you've been missing.
88
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
This is Mitchell's show, and his performance lives up to his triple billing as writer, director and star.
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
It's a positive hat trick by John Cameron Mitchell. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Wildly witty, but also inventive, audacious and poignant. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Ever hear of a rock musical that actually rocked? John Cameron Mitchell's glorious adaptation of his acclaimed Off-Broadway show might be a first. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
There's some kind of pulse of sincerity beating below the glittering surface, and it may come from Mitchell's own life story. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
There's a lot more at work in this raucously entertaining movie than cross-dressing clichés. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
This drag-queen melodrama, like its star, perseveres. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Cameron's imaginative directing and screen-shaking performance give this rock musical plenty of oomph. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The production is fantastically funny, high-energy camp, punctuated by Trask's infectious score and by Mitchell, dressing in a succession of wigs twice the size of his body. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Falters in its final 15 minutes, when the funny lines peter out and the flashbacks get fuzzy. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
(Mitchell's) Hansel may be small-boned and soft-featured in an androgynous way, but his Hedwig is a force of nature, burned out and jaded yet brimming with compassion and bursting with energy. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
A screen spectacle that beseeches its audience for adoration and mass acceptance. Read full review
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
Despite some imaginative packaging too often proves a drag in more than the sartorial sense. Taking Mitchell's sketchy book far too seriously, the movie grows leaden between its terrific songs. Read full review
40
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
It's this strategy (however unconscious), and not simply a lack of directing talent, that makes Hedwig so relentlessly assaultive, heavy-handed, and emotionally monochromatic. Read full review
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