Hedwig and the Angry Inch question - mild spoilers

Cafe Society
1

I’m a
Hedwig fan. Not a necessarily rabid one, but I love the movie a great deal, have been to a Rainbow Carnage midnight screening, etc. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a film centered on the trials and tribulations in the life of a semi-transsexual drag queen from East Berlin. Really beautifully done.
For those who have seen it, a question: Did Tommy know about Hedwig’s operation BEFORE he touched “the Inch” and walked out on her? There’s a scene where Hedwig begins talking to Tommy about her past, and the scene cuts in order to show some time has elapsed. There is the sound of a bomb dropping and the camera then cuts to Tommy, who has a somewhat bewildered expression on his face and then asks Hedwig if she’s accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior yadda yadda.

I’d assume that in the time elapsed Hedwig told of the operation and how she ended up in America… right? But when Tommy discovers the state of Hedwig’s genitalia, he goes into the shock of someone who obviously has no idea that his lover wasn’t a female from birth.

Give yourself 5 reading comprehension points if you saw the movie and understood any of this convoluted post. Give yourself a million billion points if you understood it without actually seeing the movie.

2

I think that the whole bomb-dropping scene was certainly meant to imply that Hedwig was totally honest with Tommy about her sexual identity/history. The results of this can be inferred from Hedwig’s later declaration that Tommy, in spite of loving her, has “maintained a near perfect ignorance of the front of me”. Tommy is obviously in denial about Hedwig’s operation, and tries to have a physical relationship with her by always hugging/kissing her from behind, therefore never having to acknowledge her changed body.

At least that’s what I took from it. YMMV. :slight_smile:

3

That’s similar to what I thought. Tommy technically knew all about Hedwig, but never actually took a gander at the Inch - and when he did, it was just a rude awakening.

I guess I’ll just never get over his line, “What is that?!” Duh, kid!

4

In the stage version, Hedwig never told Tommy before his shocking discovery.

It’s great how the movie and stage versions differ yet complement each other.