CHICAGO A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 2003 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
Choreographer-turned-director Rob Marshall gives us the old razzle-dazzle in "Chicago," a big, brassy, and extraordinarily entertaining screen version of Bob Fosse's famous 1975 Broadway musical of the same name.
"Chicago" stars Renée Zellweger ("Bridget Jones's Diary") and Catherine Zeta-Jones ("Traffic") as Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, flamboyant death row murderesses vying for the legal attentions of slick defense lawyer Billy Flynn (played by "Unfaithful"'s Richard Gere).
Marshall's treatment is slick and satisfying, dazzlingly shot and edited, and marvelously choreographed by the director (so well, in fact, that you don't miss Fosse's trademark stylings for a minute, and that's saying something!). It's hard to believe that this is Marshall's first time at bat, directing-wise (the 1999 TV movie version of "Annie" notwithstanding). "Chicago" exudes confidence. This is bravura filmmaking, from the lighting, to the cuts, to the period detail, to the performances, with Marshall rarely taking a wrong turn, or making a wrong move.
Much as this summer's "Spider-Man" was a near-perfect translation of a comic book, so too is "Chicago" a near-perfect translation of a stage musical, at least from a production standpoint. Alas I had a slight problem with one of the key players (read on).
Story-wise "Chicago" is a 1920's melodrama with lashings of "murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, treachery, and all that jazz" (or so maintains the film's tagline). The jazz comes in the form of show-stopping musical numbers performed by a surprisingly competent cast. Zeta-Jones is a professionally trained singer and dancer (and it shows!) but Zellweger comes across as a natural also. She plays Roxie's dreamy Vaudeville wannabe to Zeta-Jones's real McCoy (Velma). Both wind up in the clink on a murder rap after Velma tops her husband and her sister, who were having an affair, and Roxie is troubled to discover that her loutish lover doesn't actually have the showbiz connections he claims. Blam!
My biggest (only?) problem was with Richard Gere. Like his female co-stars he does his own singing and dancing (much like he did his own trumpet playing in "The Cotton Club") but somehow he doesn't have the poise, the charisma, or the delivery to pull it off. Calling Gere miscast would be a little harsh; "uncomfortable at best, awkward at worst" would, perhaps, be closer to the truth.
John C. Reilly plays Roxie's sad sack of a husband and it's time this talented character actor moved away from playing schlubs (his filmography is full of them). The dependable Queen Latifah is also on hand as prison Matron Mama Morton, Lucy Liu makes a brief appearance as the notorious serial killer Go-to-hell Kitty Baxter, and that's Taye Diggs in an underdeveloped role as the bandleader (shades--but only shades--of Joel Grey's Master of Ceremonies in the similarly-styled "Cabaret," another Fosse concoction).
With last year's spectacular "Moulin Rouge!" and now "Chicago," the movie musical appears to be making a respected comeback. "With the right song and dance, you can get away with murder" all right (to quote another one of the film's many taglines) but with the right cast and crew (including, especially, the right director), you can dazzle 'em.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@dca.net
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