30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 12: Hedwig and The Angry Itch (2001)

I hope everyone is enjoying the 30 Day Movie Challenge (the more challenging version) and hopefully you are checking out some great films. When you are a film junkie like myself then you have seen a whole bunch of films especially as a film studies minor in college. So today's objective was a little challenging because I had to find a film that was adapted to the screen from a play and I have seen a lot of them, but I found 2001's Hedwig and The Angry Itch which was written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell (How To Talk To Girls At Parties) and he also stars as the films main character Hedwig. You see Hedwig is a rocker from Germany who underwent a sex change that was botched, but now he is in America and touring in every city that his former protege plays in as a matter of revenge for stealing his songs. The film also stars Miriam Shor (Bedazzled) as Yitzhak,  Stephen Trask (Little Fockers) as Skszp, Theodore Liscinski as Jacek, Rob Campbell (The Undiscovered Country) as Krzysztof, Michael Aronov (The Drop) as Schlatko, Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) as Phyllis Stein, Michael Pitt (Bully) as Tommy Gnosis, Maurice Dean Wint (Captain Power and The Soldiers Of The Future) as Sgt. Luther Robinson, and Alberta Watson (The Prince and Me) as Hansel's Mother.

One of my sentiments on yesterdays review was that I was happy that I was doing challenges like this because I am discovering movies that I end up loving when I am done watching. In all honesty, this was actually a very good punk rock film that was challenging the norms back in 2001. The transgender issue just became that realistically maybe a couple of years back, but the film was released in 2001 and it's main character was a transgender singer of a punk rock band who just wanted to be loved and accepted for who they were. Sure in this film, it ends with Hedwig just freeing himself of everything and accepting a new norm of sorts without the wig. The film has a very Velvet Goldmine kind of vibe to it where it almost seems that Hedwig is the last of that once great scene that featured the likes of Lou Reed, David Bowie, etc. The music in the film is absolutely great to the point that I want to see this on stage on Broadway right now (if that were possible to do). The music may be labeled punk rock on some sites, but it contains all the best of that art rock scene and I loved it. The make up and everything from sets and costumes were amazing as well and the cinematography was awesome as well with all the live concert like shots. The only part I didn't care for was the artwork scenes, but they really didn't bother me that much because I don't mind music video styled scenes. I definitely reccomend this film for anyone looking for something different to watch and I am going to go ahead and give the film an A- for a final grade.

Bully (2001)

The 90's brought us grittier films especially in independent cinema that helped challenge the blandness that Hollywood was putting out with films like Kids which complete shocked me the first time I watched it. The film I chose for today is another one of those films that is just gritty from beginning to end and it's called Bully and it was released in 2001 and was directed by Larry Clark (Kids). The film stars the late Brad Renfro (Apt Pupil) as Marty Puccio, a typical teenager who just seems to make the wrong choices and is a complete pushover. Marty is friends with Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl), a kid who takes advantage of Marty's shortcomings, has some bad intentions himself,  and bullies him to the point that Marty and the rest of his friends plan and try to execute a hit on Bobby Kent to get rid of him permanently. The film also stars Bijou Phillips (Hostel: Part II) as Ali, Rachel Miner (The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations) as Lisa Connelly, Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire) as Donny, Kelli Garner (Lars And The Real Girl) as Heather, Daniel Franzese (I Spit On Your Grave) as Cousin Derek, Leo Fitzpatrick (Bubble Boy) as The Hitman, Ed Amatrudo (The Right Stuff) as Mr. Kent, Elizabeth Dimon (The Mystery Files Of Shelby Woo) as Mrs. Connelly, and Nathalie Paulding (All My Children) as Claudia.

The film is definitely very gritty and it has a real sense to it like it almost feels too real for one's liking. I feel like a lot of Larry Clarke's films explore just how dumb young adults and teenagers can really be and if you never seen Kids then you need to check that out first. Then you can make yourself over to this one and it's just another film about kids not being rational about anything so the first thing they think of is to try and kill a guy. That is the first mistake they make because the second mistake is that involve way too many people in the scenario with the third mistake being that they just can't keep their mouths shut. They sit there and they are told to get their alibis straight, but their they are blabbering to anyone who'll listen to them about how they killed someone. So when I say that a lot of his films are about teenagers making bad choices and just being irrational and stupid then you'll know what I am talking about. The tone and look of the film is just gritty and dirty like you're watching a Dateline special if you get my gist. The acting overall is pretty good by most of the parties involved and there is a crap ton of nudity in this film like they were happy to just be naked and I get it Florida can get very hot and sticky. It's sad to know that Brad Renfro passed away some years after this film because he had a lot of promise, but unfortunately like many others we'll never know what his true potential could have been if he had lived. If you want something gritty then definitely give this one a watch, but for now I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.