Fred's
No Clue Movie Review: "Chicago"
I�m always a little nervous when I go
to see a musical.� Not sure if you�re
going to get something good, like My Fair Lady, or something bad, like Grease
2.� Let me assure you, that this is
something very good.�
Rob Marshall, who I think is primarily
a stage director, delivers an entertaining film that is mostly a stage
play.� He uses the mind of Roxie Hart,
played by Renee Zellweger, to do most of the musical numbers in a cabaret
setting.� It�s a fantastic way of
creating a barrier between the fantasy type sequences that these songs act out
and the more realistic settings.� So
often, people�s chief complaint about musicals is that it�s not realistic in a
movie for people to break out into song and dance numbers.� Most of the time for me it feels a bit
forced, unless like Evita, the entire movie is musical.� I heard that Marshall filmed this movie very
quickly.� You wouldn�t know it.� It�s got a great selection of camera angles
and the cinematography is well done.�
The performances are what surprised me
the most.� I had heard that Madonna and
Goldie Hawn had been once attached to this movie.� I think Madonna would have done a fantastic job with the role of
Velma Kelly.� She would�ve looked and
sounded great.� My guess is that she
just is a little older now, than what they were looking for in this movie.� Instead, in the role of murderess Velma is
Catherine Zeta-Jones.� My initial
feeling is she is a great looking actress, but can she sing?� Boy, can she ever and just oozes sexuality
in the cabaret scenes.� As does the
prison matron Mama, played by the ooh so sexy in this movie, Queen
Latifah.� Renee Zellweger also is a
fantastic singer and it would be great to see if she would have any interest in
doing more musicals in film or on Broadway.�
She�s a real gem in this flick.�
In fact, everyone is great.� The
rest of the cast includes, John C. Reilly as the ever diligent Mr. Hart,
Richard Gere as lawyer extraordinaire Billy Flynn and some sexy female
prisoners including Mya and Lucy Lui.�
Without these fantastic performers, this movie would have been dead in
the water.
I�d never seen the stage musical
version of Chicago.� It surprised
me that I was familiar with a good portion of the music, including �All That
Jazz� and �Mr. Cellophane Man�.� It must
be just ingrained in me from studying in junior high and high school
music.� The music throughout this film
is top notch.� I may have to run out and
buy the soundtrack to this movie.
The basic plot of the film concerns two
murdering women.� Roxie who murders her
lover when she finds out he lied to her, (Her lover is played by Dominic West,
who I recognized from the fantastic HBO series, �The Wire�.) and Velma Kelly
who murders her sister and husband when she finds out that they�re sleeping
together.� The movie then revolves
around the pair duking it out for publicity and trying to gain star
status.�
So if you want to experience musical
theater and can�t afford Broadway, go to the movies and see Chicago.� You won�t be disappointed.���
For
more information visit http://www.miramax.com/chicago/
Got
comments?� Suggestions?� I�d love to hear them.
email
me at no.clue@indenation.com
come back soon, until
then, I�ll be at the movies�