Chicago

Genre: musical comedy
Director: Rob Marshall
Release: 2002
Studio: Miramax Films, Storyline Entertainment Producers Circle Company, Loop Films – Miramax Films
Rating: PG-13
MBiS score: 8.6/10


In Chicago, Showgirls Are Used To High-Stepping Over Corpses


It’s 1924 in the Michigan metropolis and Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) dreams of a music hall career much like Velma Kelly’s (Catherine Zeta-Jones), one of her idols. She can even taste it when her lover Fred Casely (Dominic West) promises her a spot at the Onyx… until tragedy happens, that is. With John C. Reilly (Amos Hart, Roxie’s husband), Richard Gere (Billy Flynn), Queen Latifah (Matron Mama Morton) and Taye Diggs (Bandleader).

When you think about it, the Oscars garnered some years back by Rob Marshall’s CHICAGO were truly deserved. This movie swings like those Charleston dancers from the Roaring Twenties and entertains like a case of Prohibition bootleg… but there is a difference. In those days, naughty patrons who were arrested in speakeasies could always claim – with varying degrees of success – that ‘the Devil made me do it’. Nowadays, Rob Marshall can’t call Satan to his defence but he can still invoke Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb, the two masters of the musical whose show inspired this fine film. Visually, CHICAGO also borrows from Bob Fosse works, namely SWEET CHARITY, CABARET and ALL THAT JAZZ.

That being said, I don’t see how I could add much to the glowing reviews others have written before me. The cast’s performance in Marshall’s marvel comes close to perfection. Catherine Zeta-Jones is absolutely brilliant, Richard Gere plays with energy and Renée Zellweger shows excellent range… this girl reminds me so much of Shirley MacLaine that she takes my breath away. Oops! Don’t forget Queen Latifah who matches up to everybody here… what a talent!

So here’s the plan: put on your pumps, your alligators or whatnot and get yourself pronto to CHICAGO for an awesome ego extravaganza mixing music, dance, cynicism and humour. And while you’re there, go easy on the booze… I don’t want you to miss a minute of it.


MBiS

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