Chicago Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)January 23rd, 2003
CHICAGO (2002) 4 stars out of 4. Starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Taye Diggs, Christine Baranski, Lucy Liu, Chita Rivera, Dominic West and Colm Feore. Based on the musical Chicago, book and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb. Screenplay by Bill Condon. Choreographed and directed by Rob Marshall. Rated PG-13. Running time: 113 minutes.
From its opening note to its final beat, Chicago presents a razzle-dazzle spectacle of song and dance that will make your head spin with its kaleidoscope of cynicism, wit and flash.
Mix that with surprisingly adept turns from a group of performers not known for their singing and/or dancing skills and you have the makings of a noisy, colorful rat-a-tat-tat extravaganza.
The most delightful aspect of Chicago is watching stars Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere display talents few of us knew they had. The trio, along with Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly, perform their own vocals and footwork. And they are all quite good.
And while none will reach the heights of a Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers or Cyd Charisse, the Chicago cast does themselves proud.
One of the enjoyments of watching a musical featuring "dramatic" actors is the surprise their performances elicit. And Chicago's cast will bowl you over.
The musical's glitz comes with a sharp edge, a satirical study of celebrity and the lengths some people will go to achieve it.
Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones) is Chicago's most famous vaudeville star, and Roxie Hart (Zellweger) wants to emulate her.
Their paths cross in the city's women prison where Velma is incarcerated for killing her husband and sister, while Roxie is charged with shooting her lover.
With the help of crooked matron Mother Morton (Queen Latifah), Roxie meets and hires legendary lawyer Billy Flynn (Gere) to represent her. Flynn, who has never lost a case, also represents Velma. And when he switches his attentions to Roxie, a bitter rivalry ensues between the star and would-be diva, each playing a game of one-upmanship to retain Flynn's representation.
A movie musical is a tricky beast because the filmmakers work to adhere to some unwritten cinematic rules of reality, as they inject music and dance - not something people do everyday in real life.
Director-choreographer Rob Marshall and screenwriter Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) solve that dilemma by showing most of the musical numbers through Roxie's eyes. They are merely figments of her overactive imagination.
This device allows for some clever and stylish numbers, ranging from a prison-block tango to Queen Latifah's hot and sexy chanteuse number, "When You're Good to Mama."
Marshall and Condon's tack works wonders as it allows them free rein to create a variety of snappy set pieces, ranging from Gere's manipulating the press like a puppet master during "The Press Conference Rag," to Reilly's sad-clown rendition of "Mr. Cellophane."
One number has Zellweger's Roxie extolling her husband's virtues for taking the rap for the killing she committed, then in mid-song switching to a vitriolic lament about what a loser he was after he recanted because he discovered Roxie cheated on him.
The performances are outstanding. Zeta-Jones is brassy and conniving as Velma, while Zellweger's Roxie hides her ambitious exterior behind a baby-doll look of innocence. Gere is sharp and light on his feet as the quick-thinking lawyer. Queen Latifah is wonderfully droll as Mother Morton, while the solid and versatile Reilly adds to his growing credits of character roles.
Even with its toughness, Chicago remains lighthearted and amusing as it projects its pragmatic view of fame and fortune. This musical is as much fun as a three-ring circus.
And if the movie world was likened to the animal kingdom than the musical would be classified as an endangered species.
You can count on one hand the number of musicals produced during the last decade. But with the success of Moulin Rouge and now the exciting sights and sounds of Chicago, the genre may be ready for a resurrection.
If so, Chicago can take part of the credit for that resurgence.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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