Chicago
Cast
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly
Renée Zellweger as Roxie Hart
Richard Gere as Billy Flynn
John C. Reilly as Amos Hart
Christine Baranski as Mary Sunshine
Directed by
Rob Marshall
Rater #2 has description and review
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
Review Date: January 05, 2003.
Put into Archives: 3/3/03
Based on the 1975 musical (and the 1990's revival), the 2002 version
of Chicago doesn't lack on razzle-dazzle and goes all out. Which
turns out to be a good thing.
The story, which takes place in the roaring 20's, stars Renče
Zellweger is Roxie Hart. She's trying to be the next big star, but
can't seem to make it, despite her boyfriend Fred Casely (Dominic
West) talking to lots of people. When it turns out that Fred actually
doesn't know anyone and was just using her for sex and leaves her,
she can't stand it and shoots her. Despite tries from her husband
Amos (John C. Reilly) to keep her out of jail, she still goes. There
she sees Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), once-big, but now in
jail for shooting her sister and her cheating husband/boyfriend. They
then compete for Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), a high-priced attorney
who has never lost a case. And, they compete for the front page.
Casting such large stars as the main roles was a risky move,
considering that they never did a famous musical (at least, not to my
knowledge). They did all of their own singing and dancing, which
looked real. No real special effects here. The music didn't seem to
interrupt anything and fit right in. I wasn't shocked that they took
a nice scene and made razzmatazz out of it. It flowed along nicely;
when it went too long without a musical scene I was left waiting for
one. That's pretty good directing (by Rob Marshall).
Alas, like all musicals, Chicago drags a bit in the second act, not
having the steady pace of the fun of the first one. It seemed to go
too leisurely and the tap-dancing scene, from Gere, seemed
unnecessary. I really liked how Marshall interspliced two or even
three scenes seamlessly with quick cuts. It added to the experience
of a dancing set of the twenties. The songs were bouncy, but I was
surprised that my feet weren't tapping along like I wanted them to
be. All of them are great, but I only really remember "All That Jazz"
(because it was played over the credits). This is a movie whose
soundtrack I must buy.
Zellweger surprised me (with her astonishingly bubbly voice
sometimes), but the standout was Zeta-Jones. She, being a veteran of
Broadway, really wanted to do this project and seemed to have so much
fun doing this, probably what she likes to do best. I felt glad that
she was the best part of the movie musical revival. Gere (who I hated
in The Mothman Prophecies) did a nice role, though he was a lot
better singing and dancing than he was acting. Everyone's singing and
dancing surprised me. The dancing, by none other than Bob Fosse, was
vibrant and well choreographed. The costuming and themeing was
perfect and brought out the idea and the culture of the twenties. No
expense was uselessly wasted. Plus, as an added bonus, the fast paced
cinematography was enjoyable to watch, but may have too many "Blair
Witch Project side effects".
Queen Latifah played "Momma", a warden-type at the prison. She was
probably the second best performer in the show. Other people that
popped up include Christine Baranski as a radio announcer, Taye Diggs
as a band leader, and Lucy Liu (in a somewhat wasted role) as a new
prisoner. That leads me to my next point-although movies like this
don't use much time in developing a great plot, the secondary
characters leave something to be admired. During the slinky song
about six inmates and how they killed their husbands/boyfriends, only
two came back later. That was a great song, but we don't really care
about them (which we do to the main characters). There also was some
humor in it.
Chicago has humor, kinky dancing, great songs, and tremendous actors
playing tremendous characters that can appeal to people of every like.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #5
Has Not Seen Movie
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and dialogue, violence and thematic elements.
Running time: 113 minutes
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