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Chicago (Full Screen Edition) Customer Reviews (118 - 120 of 120 Reviews)

The Moose Hole - 'All That Jazz' and More!
The Walt Disney Company and Storyline Entertainment have had a very successful relationship together reviving old musicals which they hope to continue with Chicago. In 1997, they revived Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella which aired on The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC and became a ratings success. Both companies were willing to see if lightening strikes twice so a revival of the old favorite Annie was created for ABC in 1999 and followed in the footsteps of Cinderella. Now that Storyline Entertainment has proven to be a worthy investment, the real test was to revive the musicals for the big screen. The musical has greatly lost its luster since the golden days of the 1930's. The highest grossing musical since 1975 was Grease, which opened in 1978, and the most successful musical in recent memory would have to be 2001's Moulin Rouge with a $57 million take. With that in mind, will Storyline Entertainment find success once again with their film adaptation of the Broadway favorite Chicago or will this be their first failure?

The story of Chicago focuses on the lovely Roxie Hart who has huge dreams about becoming a star like her idol Velma Kelly. She is willing to do anything to obtain that dream which includes cheating on her husband with a guy who claims to have connection in the business. One night Roxie finds out the truth about her secret lover and taking the gun from her dresser, she shoots him once and then shoots him again. After her husband spills the beans, she is taken to jail where she learns that one can still become famous with the right angle and the right lawyer. That lawyer is the flashy Billy Flinn, who has never lost a case with a woman client. Roxie soon enters a new world of deception and greed as she competes with the famous Velma Kelly for the razzle, dazzle lawyer. Who will come out on top in Chicago? The storyline for Chicago is fabulously well done. The musicals sequence strive from the imagination of Roxie Hart which allows the musical to be a musical without the song and dance sequences come off as tacky. Most musicals start out a song with the usual one liner with dancers coming out singing moments later. Chicago thankfully doesn't do that and it works.

The cast of Chicago is truly an Oscar worthy cast. The most fabulous thing about the cast was that each actor and actress did his or her own singing. They may not all hit the right note but the feeling that you get from the film is very gratifying. The biggest surprise from the bunch is Richard Gere who plays the flashy lawyer, Billy Flinn. He really shines in numbers like Razzle Dazzle and All I Care About. Cathrine-Zeta Jones, who is actually a Broadway veteran, really shows off her stuff with great style especially in the opening sequence of the film. Renee Zellweger is good but not great as the central character Roxie Hart. There could have been someone better then Zellweger to the play this role but she still does a decent job. She definitely has the right look for the role but it was her dancing and singing in the musical that were the big disappointments. John C. Reilly does such a fantastic job especially n the Mister Cellophane number that there is no need mentioning anything else. Queen Latifah was a delightful surprise as Mama Morton. The remainder of the cast does a wonderful job at providing the perfect amount of background characters that you would expect from the Chicago backdrop.

Overall, the film adaptation of Chicago was as good or better then all the buzz suggested the film would be. The songs are amazingly well done with best being Razzle Dazzle, Mister Cellophane, and the Cell Block Tango. The numbers were quite surprising and didn't come off tacky as originally thought. Most of the cast seems to work well except for two. And was said before, Renee Zellweger is good but not great as the central character, Roxie Hart. There certainly could have been a better to take the role but Zellweger works fine, just not outstanding. The other member who didn't work well was Lucy Liu. It wasn't her but her character that was the problem. Her slight appearance in the film seemed kind of pointless though she does help play out the rest of the story just a bit. They could have done a lot more with her character but it is no real loss. The comeback of the movie musical may have been started by Moulin Rouge but Chicago continues the surge with full force. Chicago is one of the best movie musicals in recent memories and one the best films this year. Make it your priority to see this wonderfully delightful film.

Worst of the Women in Prison genre!
As the great Richard Marx once sang, I "should've known better" than to have watched this! If you are an old lady who thinks Julie the Love Boat's entertainment director is "sassy," you'll like Chicago. If you know anything about the mob, law, politics, public relations, or... musicals, you'll be put to sleep. Chicago doesn't work as a musical, drama, comedy, or postmodern wink at the audience. The actors are good of course, but they are "treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality" (Spinal Tap, good eh?). I'd rehash the plot, but I didn't pay attention. Now that all the drive-ins are gone, is this the kind of women in prison movies we can expect?

Better Than Expected
Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) dreams of becoming a star on the Chicago stage. When she's accused of murdering her lover, her dreams are shattered. Or are they? Roxie finds herself behind bars with singer/dancer Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Velma, accused of killing her husband and siser, bribes "Mama" Morton (Queen Latifah), the prison matron and hired famed lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere). With the help of Flynn, Velma becomes the toast of the Chicago tabloids. Seeing an opportunity to seize the spotlight, Roxie convinces her husband, Amos (John C. Reilly) to hire Flynn. Roxie and Velma's battle for fame and freedom is soon underway. That's Chicago!

This fast paced movie was better than I expected. Each member of the cast shines with their talent and enthusiasm, especially Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah. The musical sequences were packed with energy and excitement including one notable tap number by Richard Gere.

"Chicago" offers something a little different than most movies out these day. It's a blend of music, drama and 1920's lifestyle easily makes it one of the best movies of the year.

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