Grade:  A

Director:  Rob Marshall		Released:  December 2002
Writer:  Bill Condon		MPAA Rating:  PG-13
Players:  Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly		Running time:  113 minutes

Ratings System

I thought Chicago would be good; it turned out better than I expected.  The ingenious plan behind it is the way the songs are integrated into the plotting.  Instead of the traditional stop-the-story-whilst-we-sing-and-dance style, the songs are meshed into the story by having them take place inside the fantasy world of Roxie's (Zellweger) mind, often cutting between the song and the actual action taking place in the "real world" of the story.

All of the musical numbers are very good, and a few are inspired.  I'm thinking of "We Both Reached for the Gun" and "Mr. Cellophane" in particular.  Both of which are spectacular performances, albeit very different in tone.  I didn't know John C. Reilly had it in him; I'll be the first to praise his acting ability, but he's a grand musical performer as well.

The film sounds wonderful.  The score is brassy and large, the singing is very well done in most cases, it's a great picture to listen to.  Chicago is a lesson on how to make an entertaining musical for the modern movie crowd (I'm looking at you Moulin Rouge).

- crocoPuffs