There are two types of musicals in this world-the ones I like and the ones I do not. I do not like the formulaic `let's burst into song every five minutes' types like `Holiday Inn' and `Sound of Music'. However, I am drawn to up-tempo up-beat musicals like `Moulin Rouge' and (gasp) `The Rocky Horror Picture Show'. With this hit-or-miss record in mind, I was off to `Chicago.'
In the 1920s life was wild, liquor flowed freely (though illegally) and jazz was all the rage. In the smoke-filled bars, Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) was a star-along with her sister Veronica, who has just been killed by Velma, the leading jazz tramp. But that is not the only murder that will rock Chicago.
All that Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) wants is to be a jazz star-so she takes a lover who supposedly has `connections,' but when it turns out that he is a fraud, Roxie kills him, which could end up with her getting the death sentence.
Stuck in the murderer's row of Chicago's Cook County jail, Roxie is `befriended' by Mama Morton (Queen Latifah), the prison matron who is not above a little bit of graft, who recommends that Roxie enlist Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), the top defense attorney in Illinois, who will plaster her face over every paper in the city and turn her into a criminal celebrity, which inflates her ego and causes her to forget her erstwhile husband Amos (John Reilly).
To kick things off, I just love how director Rob Marshall weaves the songs in and out of the storyline. Actually, he makes two plotlines-one of the traditional movie sort with a straight-forward, engaging yet dry fashion and the other occupies the imaginations of the characters-a high-flying jazz musical, through which we are guided by the bandleader, played by Taye Diggs. The difference is what sets this film apart, but I must say this while dwelling on the story-the ending is weak. It's decent, but compared to the rest of the film, it needs some help.
What does not need help are the actors. Renee Zellweger is pretty dang good-she sings well and she manages to pull off every scene as an ego-bloated yet naïve girl with aspirations of stardom. But I think that Catherine Zeta-Jones is better. I am not music critic (I'll leave that to Luke), but Zeta-Jones is magnificent-especially her rendition of `Cellblock Tango'. Not to be forgotten is Queen Latifah, who is a showstopper with her power-piece `When You're Good to Mama.'
On the guys' side, they don't do half-bad. John Reilly does well as a sad-sack husband, who is beaten down and disrespected, which is especially evident in his song `Mr. Cellophane,' which sings in a manner atypical to how I expected his character to. But my oh my, was I surprised by Richard Gere. He is purely awesome as a corrupt lawyer skilled in manipulation. One of his numbers standout in my mind-`Razzle Dazzle'-because he couples great singing with Astaire-like tap dancing.
`Chicago' was certainly not a miss like I had previously feared. I was spellbound by it the entire way (except for the closing bit that seemed non sequitor), and I can certainly see why it grabbed all those Oscar nominations. I give it a ten out of ten for sheer panache and because it is different than every other movie out there.
In the 1920s life was wild, liquor flowed freely (though illegally) and jazz was all the rage. In the smoke-filled bars, Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) was a star-along with her sister Veronica, who has just been killed by Velma, the leading jazz tramp. But that is not the only murder that will rock Chicago.
All that Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) wants is to be a jazz star-so she takes a lover who supposedly has `connections,' but when it turns out that he is a fraud, Roxie kills him, which could end up with her getting the death sentence.
Stuck in the murderer's row of Chicago's Cook County jail, Roxie is `befriended' by Mama Morton (Queen Latifah), the prison matron who is not above a little bit of graft, who recommends that Roxie enlist Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), the top defense attorney in Illinois, who will plaster her face over every paper in the city and turn her into a criminal celebrity, which inflates her ego and causes her to forget her erstwhile husband Amos (John Reilly).
To kick things off, I just love how director Rob Marshall weaves the songs in and out of the storyline. Actually, he makes two plotlines-one of the traditional movie sort with a straight-forward, engaging yet dry fashion and the other occupies the imaginations of the characters-a high-flying jazz musical, through which we are guided by the bandleader, played by Taye Diggs. The difference is what sets this film apart, but I must say this while dwelling on the story-the ending is weak. It's decent, but compared to the rest of the film, it needs some help.
What does not need help are the actors. Renee Zellweger is pretty dang good-she sings well and she manages to pull off every scene as an ego-bloated yet naïve girl with aspirations of stardom. But I think that Catherine Zeta-Jones is better. I am not music critic (I'll leave that to Luke), but Zeta-Jones is magnificent-especially her rendition of `Cellblock Tango'. Not to be forgotten is Queen Latifah, who is a showstopper with her power-piece `When You're Good to Mama.'
On the guys' side, they don't do half-bad. John Reilly does well as a sad-sack husband, who is beaten down and disrespected, which is especially evident in his song `Mr. Cellophane,' which sings in a manner atypical to how I expected his character to. But my oh my, was I surprised by Richard Gere. He is purely awesome as a corrupt lawyer skilled in manipulation. One of his numbers standout in my mind-`Razzle Dazzle'-because he couples great singing with Astaire-like tap dancing.
`Chicago' was certainly not a miss like I had previously feared. I was spellbound by it the entire way (except for the closing bit that seemed non sequitor), and I can certainly see why it grabbed all those Oscar nominations. I give it a ten out of ten for sheer panache and because it is different than every other movie out there.