All hail the musical movie. What is not to enjoy? You have exciting scenery, you have upbeat characters that erupt into song and you have over the top acting, well okay the over the top acting can be a bit too much. But director Rob Marshall was able to bring to life the stage version of Chicago in absolutely true Bob Fosse fashion. Will this concept receive success like Moulin Rogue!? My guess is it will win even more awards, but will it resurrect the era of musicals, probably not.

The movie is set in the 1920s Chicago. Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta Jones, America’s Sweethearts) is entering the back of a dirty club she performs at. She is running late and they are concerned because her sister is not with her. She claims she can go on stage solo. In the audience is Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones’s Diary) with her boyfriend, furniture salesman Fred Casely (Dominic West, 28 Days). She wants desperately to be a star on stage, and he desperately wants to get her in bed. He tells her he knows a guy at the club and can get her in. She takes him home to her apartment that she shares with her husband Amos (John C. Reily, Gangs of New York) and they get it on. Meanwhile, Velma is being hauled off the stage and arrested for murder. See in a jealous rage she shot her sister and husband because she caught them in bed together. A few weeks later, Roxie is still nagging Fred to get her a singing gig and he tells her he lied, he doesn’t know anyone at that club. He also tells her he is through with her. She gets so angry she grabs a gun from the drawer and shoots him several times. Amos tells the police he came home, caught this intruder, and he shot him to protect his loving wife. The police inform him the intruder is this furniture salesman, Fred and Amos remembers, hey that is the guy that sold us our furniture. It doesn’t take him long to figure out he was cuckolded and conned by his wife. He confesses he lied for her and she is arrested. Then Fred’s wife identifies the body. While in jail we are treated to musical numbers by all these women that murdered their husbands and lovers in jealous rages. The matron Mama Morton (Queen Latifah, Brown Sugar) takes care of her girls when they take care of her, cash wise. She hooks Roxie up with Velma’s attorney Billy Flynn (Richard Gere, Unfaithful). His success in court comes from a knack for getting a lot of press, and spinning the issues. Soon Velma is a has been and Roxie becomes a star though she has never been on a stage.

Everything comes together in a nice neat package with song, dance and overacting. Also in this film were, Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) as she too kills her husband and his two lovers, Christine Baranski (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) as the sweet and prim reporter Mary Sunshine, Taye Diggs, Colm Feore, Deirdre Goodwin, Chita Rivera, and  Ekaterina Schelkanova . Chicago was full of energy, and laughs. The costumes were fabulous and Zellweger and Gere were amazing. But, as I said earlier, I don’t think it will resurrect the musical movie. It won’t stop others from trying, but I doubt we will see more than one every few years. Think back how long it took to make Evita, it was a good movie, but it did not kick start that genre, Moulin Rouge!, same thing. The idea of turning Chicago into film took many years to figure it out. Now Funny Girl, Grease, A Chorus Line and All That Jazz, good movies, but still the concept has never really taken off. I give Chicago a solid 10 couches.

Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:47:55 AM

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