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Chicago (Full Screen Edition) Customer Reviews (10 - 12 of 120 Reviews)

Razzle Dazzle, Murder and All That Jazz
Often when a Broadway musical is adapted to the screen, the original concept and story suffer. This did not happen to this adaptation. The true spirit of the musical is intact in this film. In original production, the musical numbers were staged as a radio program. In the film, they are fantasy sequences staged at a nightclub.

As the film begins, Velma Kelly is arriving at the nightclub without her partners (sister who she performs with and husband.) The reason is she just killed both of them!

Roxie Hart is at the club with her boyfriend Fred Casely. And she sees Velma take the stage alone performing All That Jazz. During the course of the song, we see Roxie and Fred's affair fizzle out, ending with Fred leaving and Roxie shooting him. During this number, Roxie goes from reality to a fantasy world. In this world, people comment on what is going on through the cabaret numbers.

Next we find the police detective arriving at the scene of the murder. Roxie slips into her fantasy with Funny Honey. Amos is covering for Roxie but when he finds out who is dead, he realizes what happens and hands Roxie over to the police.

Roxie arrives in the joint and meets Matron "Mama" Morton and she explains the rules (When You're Good to Mama.) (Look for the original Broadway Velma Kelly, Chita Rivera, in this scene.)

We get to meet the girls of Murder's Row in The Cell Block Tango. Each describes what happened to land her on Murder's Row. (He ran into my knife, he ran into my knife ten times!)

Enter into the mix, the great murder attorney Billy Flynn. Billy is Chicago's premiere defense attorney for women accused of murder. He has never lost a case but he is not in it for the money ($5,000 per case) but All I Care About is love.

Billy decides to take on Roxie as a client but first, he must make her into a the a sympathetic character. The best lies are based on truth and they embellish on Roxie's past but when it comes to the night in question well, We Both Reached for the Gun (this is particularly effective. Roxie and all the reporters are just marionettes with Billy pulling the strings.

With her sudden fame, Roxie ponders what might be when she is acquitted. Velma realizes that Roxie has taken her thunder and makes a desperate attempt to form an alliance because I Can't Do It Alone. But Roxie quickly finds out that fame is fleeting when a heiress goes on a rampage and kills her boyfriend and his two playmates.

This is where Roxie shows that she is not a dumb blonde and creates a fake pregnancy. And once again becomes #1 murderess but her husband realizes that he will always be Mister Cellophane.

As the trial approaches, Billy tells Roxie that trials are all Razzle Dazzle and everything is going fine until Velma is given Roxie's diary which has some damning passages. This sends Billy into A Tap Dance.

In the end, both Roxie and Velma get off but Roxie still wants the fame and finds out that Chicago is crawling with murderesses and fame comes in pairs Nowadays and teams up with Velma.

This film is great on many levels. As a screen adaptation of a musical, it is true to the source material. The songs that were left out were because they did not fit the concept of the movie (See DVD extra Class). As a commentary on today's judicial circus, it shows that things have not changed over the past fifty years - you have enough money, you can get away with murder. And as a movie, it is just plain fun.

Rob Marshall has a vast background in musical theatre and it shows that he understands that form. What he doesn't have is a background in film making but this does not show in this polished film. He has gathered a high caliber cast and crew that all perform to perfection.

What many feel was the great find was Catherine Zeta Jones. But once you see her pedigree (she was a dance champion in Wales), this was a breeze for her. That is not saying her performance was not incredible, it was, but it was the part that she was waiting for and finally got!

Renee Zellweger had the greatest challenge, musical comedy was totally foreign to her but she comes through perfectly. But a lot of this is due to Marshall. Having Zeta Jones as the professional entertainer Velma Kelly, allowed Marshall choose a non dancer for the role of Roxie. And as Roxie, Renee shines. She captures that fine line between innocence and conniving murderess.

Richard Gere has a musical background but not a strong one. Therefore, his performance is better than expected. He actually took tap lessons and performs all his own dancing. This was probably the most overlooked performance of the year (well except by the Golden Globes.)

DVD EXTRAS:
Deleted Musical Number "Class" by Catherine Zeta Jones and Queen Latifah with optional commentary by Marshall and writer Bill Condon - Watch the number first then rewatch with the commentary. This will give you maximum enjoyment of what is one of the great musical numbers that didn't make the film.

Behind the Scenes Special - This was a making of documentary that was made after the movie won its six Oscars. This is very good featurette that has lots of insights into the making of the film.

Commentary by director Rob Marshall and writer Bill Condon.


Not fantastic, but still really good
Chicago may not be the most deserving of Best Picture winners, but the plot is solid, the acting is fantastic, the choreography is great, and some of the songs are very entertaining (see Gere's tap dancing scene), while some of the others seem to go on forever. One of the problems to the film is that it makes use of the "musical" too much. There seems to be a new song every three minutes, while in a stage musical, the songs would be spread out further. But, the film has such a feel-good emotion to it. We empathize and care about the characters, even when they are doing everything in their powers to get fame and fortune. Gere's character is ruthless, moving from one big thing to the next, while throwing each client out the door when they lose popularity. Catherine Zeta-Jones is very good, also very ruthless, and we feel her pain of being yesterday's news. Queen Latifah did not really impress me, and I don't think she quite had the edge for an Oscar nomination (in fact, I don't think Zeta-Jones should have won either; clearly the strongest supporting actress in the race was Meryl Streep in Adaptation). I like the film, the music is good, Rob Marshall never really has impressed me as a director (which is why Polanski took home the Oscar), and I don't think that the film was good enough for a Best Picture win. However, we all know that the Academy loves to feel nostalgic, and a musical revival is what they needed at that time. The best picture of 2002, in my opinion, wasn't even nominated; I think Adaptation should have been at least nominated, but there were stronger films nominated for Best Pictre in 2002 that could have taken the award home, and I think the strongest nominated film on the list was Gangs of New York (come on, give Scorcese one already), but I think Scorcese will join the ranks of Robert Altman, as amazing filmmakers who will only get an "Honorary" award. Chicago may not be the best picture of 2002, but it's still a good film and should be enjoyed.

Very Cinematic
I find Broadway musicals boring. They are just not my thing. The film versions are almost always yawners for me. "Chicago" is one of two exceptions (the other being the terrific "West Side Story"). "Chicago" has been perfectly adapted to the cinematic style and moves with an exciting pace. Not once did I glance at my watch while watching it. Everyone is perfectly cast and enters the spirit of the piece with a great sense of fun and professionalism. If the genre bores you, as it does me, please give this film a chance. I'm certain you won't be bored.

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