Chicago - The movie

I thought it was superior to the stage musical.

It's fabulous and overdue a 4K disc release.

No way is it superior. You can't even see most of the dancing to even compare.

It was superior. It fleshed out the story.

I'll admit I haven't seen it in at least 15 years, but I loved it upon its release. I'm not a "repeater", but I enjoyed it so much I went back to see it twice in the theatre. I'm not a big fan of modern musical theatre, but love the masterworks of the mid and late 20th century. Movie musicals, though, rarely work for me because unlike in the theatre, a movie musical number can just stop everything dead in its track. In cinema, a single note of underscoring, the move of a camera, the glance of an actor toward the lens can convey as much as a 3 minute musical number. So, I think the concept for the film of all the musical numbers being in Roxie's head was really smart. It worked.

I remember, at the time, there was chatter about whether the film's success would hurt the stage production ("I've seen the film, why should I spend 10 times as much to see less famous actors do it on stage?") That obviously proved wrong and, in the end, I imagine the film's success carried over to the stage production.

My impression is Kander & Ebb were very happy with the film. Was anyone else in the original's universe ever quoted on what they thought of the film? Ann Reinking, Nicole Fosse, Chita (who has a tiny cameo)?

Ok, more love than I thought. At the time i had my doubts but since we are in Top Gun Ii territory now this seems like the lasts of the good oscar winner movies

Even Richard Gere is good.

Obviously they had to do a lot of quick cuts to make up for Renee’s lack of dance ability.

What was CZJ's excuse?

[quote] It was superior. It fleshed out the story.

No, it wasn't you dumb cluck. Neither one of those bitches could dance!

Looking back, I really was too young for the part.

I saw the original B-Way production with Gwen & Chita. (I know, get HER.) It was great fun live; the movie was good in different ways. I still occasionally watch the film. I think it holds up.

It's an excellent film adaptation of the musical overall, but sadly, some sequences are almost ruined by the ridiculously hyperkinetic editing. I'm thinking particularly of "All That Jazz" and "The Cell Block Tango," but there are other sections where this is a big, unfortunate problem as well. I've often wished I could have access to all of the film for those sequences, so I could re-edit them, but I don't suppose that's ever going to happen....

Also, "All I Care About Is Love" make no sense when sung by a poor shoeshine guy. The whole point of the song is the irony of an obviously rich fellow clad in the finest attire singing about how he doesn't care about expensive things. Oh, and I wish they hadn't cut "My Own Best Friend."

CZJ was both perfect and awful for the part. Her dancing was off but the choppy editing - filming the start of a dance move but not the landing - helped. She had charisma though and that overrode her average singing and dancing.

I saw the film first, and the stage show in the West End about ten years later. I much preferred the latter. I can't really explain why; I just feel it's one of those shows that doesn't translate well to cinema (although clearly a lot of people disagree with me on that, given that it was the first musical to win Best Picture in thirty-five years).

PROS: Still the best movie musical Hollywood has made. It won 6 Oscars including Best Picture. I bet some Academy members are regretting having voted for Polanski for Best Director (although The Pianist was brilliant). It's not too long (see: Sound of Music) and there are so many catchy, memorable songs compared to most other musicals (see: Moulin Rouge and La La Land). The direction is sleek, the sets and costumes are stylish, and the female performances remain fantastic. It's also truly grown up and sexy compared to many other famous, Oscar-winning musicals made for the masses (see: Mary Poppins or Oliver).

CZJ completely deserved her Oscar. She was on a hot streak since the late 90s and delivered an iconic, scene-stealing performance. The successful adaptations of Chicago (2002) and Angels in America (2003, HBO) remain great examples of what the medium does better than theater.

CONS: Skippable moments include: Mr. Cellophane and Funny Honey which are bores coming after the electric opening with All That Jazz. All I Care About Is Love looked great, but the song is blah. I wish they had filmed CZJ and Queen Latifah singing I Move On instead of dumping the version with Renée over the credits for a transparent bid at Best Song.

Nice reviews, r16, but main problem is with Catherine Zeta Jones. Probably having seen Ute Lemper in her rolle, blonde, thin and with a body and voice up there i thought she was subpar. All her moves seemed made in the cutting room. Rénee gave the part a strong fragility thAt wasnin the original. Cell block tango loo very good in the movie but All That Jazz is a disgrace

[quote] Still the best movie musical Hollywood has made.

Like hell it is! You must be nuts or something. And winning Oscars doesn't indicate excellence. Plenty of movies have won undeserved Oscars.

I wish they hadn't cut Class especially since CZJ and Queen Latifah worked so well together. Mary Sunshine is nothing more than a cameo for Baranski and that's ok.

Richard Gere and CZJ can't dance, but they both do a fine job with the singing. It is pretty weird to have a show famous for its choreography to have the dancing cut up this way.

But otherwise I love the film. The stagings are imaginative, and the acting and singing is fine. I actually love Christine Baranski as Mary Sunshine. I never thought it made much sense it is traditionally done in drag by a falsetto.

This is my favorite number:

That scene at R20 can't compare to seeing it done live on stage. I saw the Broadway show twice with different casts and it's much more impressive on stage than the hyper kinetic film.

There seems to be a cutawy every few seconds in the dance sequences. Donald O'Connor had something to say about that, how in modern movies that featured dance scenes the camera keeps cutting away to a reaction shot, or body part or whatnot. He'd say a person would be dancing and then all of a sudden the camera would cut away to the person's face; he said "what are you doing, dancing with your ears? Notice in the old Hollywood movies the dancer's entire bodies are seen THE WHOLE TIME during dance sequence. No cutting aways to faces or asses or feet or legs or whatever.

Iirc, CZJ had recently had given birth and wasn’t in the best shape when filming began.

I enjoy watching BDF Dominic West running off with Roxie and ravaging her in the All that Jazz number.

Really did not like it. Felt like a high budget music video.

With the amount of musicals that get made, I think we're lucky to have the movie version we ended up getting, whatever complaints there are.

[quote] That scene at [R20] can't compare to seeing it done live on stage. I saw the Broadway show twice with different casts and it's much more impressive on stage than the hyper kinetic film.

I disagree.

Coulda been...

Zellweger gets a lot of flack for some reason but she really is quite a daring actress.

She carried this film without ever doing a musical before. Plus she took on a beloved British character (Bridget Jones) and proved the naysayers wrong and had quite a comeback with Judy and a second Oscar nobody saw coming.

r16

You. Have. No. Taste.

R27 stunning and brave

[quote]There seems to be a cutawy every few seconds in the dance sequences.

That's inaccurate. Most of the edits are not "cutaways" to reaction shots, etc., they're insanely frequent, quick cuts from one camera angle or distance to another.

We'll never know for sure, but I suspect all that kyperkinetic editing was done not to mask whatever dancing ability the leads may have lacked, but rather just because Marshall perceived that as the preferable style of editing for the ADD era. Of course, no movie editing could ever be as bad in that way as MOULIN ROUGE, but some sequences in CHICAGO come close.

[quote] We'll never know for sure, but I suspect all that kyperkinetic editing was done not to mask whatever dancing ability the leads may have lacked, but rather just because Marshall perceived that as the preferable style of editing for the ADD era.

Oh, please. The frenetic editing was in large part done to disguise the fact that Zeta-Jones and Zellweger were, at best, mediocre dancers.

As a college-aged twink who’d never seen the stage musical, I loved it.

I do, however, remember checking my watch by the time Richard Gere was laboring through “Razzle Dazzle.”

Zeta-Jones was a great dancer in her youth.

She headed the London cast of 42nd Street at a very young age. (insert age joke here)

r29 please marry me. Agree with everything you said.

Fantastic movie!

It’s still a lot of fun. Catherine zeta Jones is great in it I love the songs

I saw this movie twice at The Grove while my (then) boyfriend was in rehab (alcohol) in a Glendale hospital. It was a bright spot during some dark days. Got the soundtrack, too.

R18 As someone who finds musicals to be overly long and generally tedious due to the inclusion of too many filler songs, I'm inclined to side with R16. The film had a zippiness to it and just when you thought the plot would overtake the fun and bring things to a halt, the energy would pick right back up with another hit track. I don't think another musical has such a high ratio of truly catchy songs. The film remains the gold standard in how to succeed at a modern musical adaptation: hire stars, keep the story moving, make it look good, & have catchy tunes!

CZJ seems like too much of a narcissist to ever a have a child.

I like the film version very much, but it does lose most of the Fosse style dancing. Renee and CZJ are terrific but their dancing is average. The most obvious scene that demonstrates their lack of great dancing is I Can't Do It Alone. On stage, it's an absolute triumph for Velma but on screen, CZJ just doesn't have the chops to pull it off.

But their performances are so good that it doesn't spoil the film for me. Renee's Roxie number is a knock-out and she really captures the desperation, ambition and ruthlessness of Roxie.

R41 CZJ was quite pregnant at the Oscars when she won. R42 You can already see how much more pregnant CZJ is in I Can't Do It Alone compared to other moments in the film. All of this ragging on CZJ, but she gave a great performance in the film and was on Broadway in her youth. She's got the chops and showed them off well in this film.

I played the hell out of this soundtrack.

I also did with the Evita soundtrack.

This is definitely the better movie.

It was sadly the start of creepy skinny Renee Zellweger though.

Was CZJ able to find a boarding school nursery for the child, perhaps something in Switzerland?

I never understood why all those women in prison were walking around in sexy lingerie.

Hard pass.

What I find puzzling is the fact that this was such an assured, stylish and smart directorial debut from Rob Marshall, where he seemed to make the best argument for the musical as a cinematic form since Fosse directed Cabaret.

But since then, Nine, Into the Woods, and Mary Poppins Returns have all been fucking dreadful. I’m not holding out much hope for The Little Mermaid being any better.

Oh Christ - he's directing that?

I saw the trailer and was already cringing. Real-looking fish around a girl singing underwater? Yeah - that'll look normal.

[quote]Nine, Into the Woods, and Mary Poppins Returns have all been fucking dreadful. I’m not holding out much hope for The Little Mermaid being any better.

I'm sure many/most people would agree with you about NINE, but I think the other two movies you mention were very well done. In my opinion, INTO THE WOODS is an improvement over the stage show at least insofar as the fact that so much of the overlong and heavy-handed material in Act II was cut, but the point was still clearly made.

[quote]We'll never know for sure, but I suspect all that kyperkinetic editing was done not to mask whatever dancing ability the leads may have lacked, but rather just because Marshall perceived that as the preferable style of editing for the ADD era.

[quote]Oh, please. The frenetic editing was in large part done to disguise the fact that Zeta-Jones and Zellweger were, at best, mediocre dancers.

It's probably a combination of those two reasons, but I think it's more the other reason I stated: because Marshall perceived hyperkinetic editing, a la MOULIN ROUGE, as currently in vogue as a way to appeal to easily bored modern audiences. And I highly doubt that holding each shot a few seconds longer before cutting away would have revealed deplorable dancing from CZJ and Zellwegger.

[quote]...and was on Broadway in her youth

She was 40 when she did Night Music, r43.

She was in the West End in her youth. She played an orphan in Annie.

The West End ain't Broadway, r52.

[quote] [R41] CZJ was quite pregnant at the Oscars when she won. [R42] You can already see how much more pregnant CZJ is in I Can't Do It Alone compared to other moments in the film. All of this ragging on CZJ, but she gave a great performance in the film and was on Broadway in her youth. She's got the chops and showed them off well in this film.

She attacked that role with gusto and burned through the screen. I never really thought much of her before seeing her in "Chicago." She's easy to make fun of because she is high-strung and has clinical mental issues but she was marvelous in "Chicago."

This thread takes me back...saw the original with Gwen/Chita/Jerry and then the revisal with Ann/BeBe/James and remember going to the film on the big screen at the Century Plaza Theater in Century City next to the old Shubert...all three versions were very different takes on what centers around a great musical score......they all had such different casts........I think Chita's ALL THAT JAZZ was electrifying.....I was just a young teen but can still remember the excitement of the opening.....in my 30's, I got to know Ralph Burns who did all the musical orchestrations for Fosse and his love for the all the Fosse players was so strong......hearing him talk about the early days made me think it really was as thrilling, refreshing and exhuberant as it all looked on stage and on screen......can you imagine the film ALL THAT JAZZ being made today???? People are so caught up with creating the perfect image for the public to see and Fosse took his story......and made aert out of open heart surgery!!!!!

There isn't a single CZJ dance move in the whole film that's carried through to its entirety w/o a shit ton of editing.

[quote]I never understood why all those women in prison were walking around in sexy lingerie.

When you're good to Mama, Mama's good to you ...

Sorry about R498, I don't know how I posted in the wrong thread.

So wait....Richard Gere didn't actually tap dance?

[quote]R58 here. Never mind. Weird things seem to be happening with some of my posts.

Back on topic: Again, R56, I can't believe the dancing of CZJ or even RZ was so bad that all of that cutting and editing was necessary to hide that fact. I know everyone says that's the reason for it, but I really thing it was mostly an unfortunate artistic choice on the part of the director. I mean, the "Hot Honey Rag" is one thing, but the dance moves in "All That Jazz" are really not so difficult.

Any video of CZJ's exceptional dancing? Because the standard of Foreign Broadway isn't always the same as Broadway...

Does anyone else remember that before the film was made, there were effusive press announcements that Janet Jackson was supposed to write and perform a killer new song in the film. When Kander and Ebb got wind of it, they checked their contract, which stated that any new songs would have to be written or approved by them. They didn't approve and produced "I Move On." Thank god.

Didn't Anastasia have a new song? Did it play over the credits?

What does "Anastasia" have to do with Kander and Ebb?

One of her songs was used in a movie adaptation of a Kande & Ebb musical comedy.

*Kander

So it’s all Kander, and no Ebb?

[quote] Does anyone else remember that before the film was made, there were effusive press announcements that Janet Jackson was supposed to write and perform a killer new song in the film.

The Whisper Coo Rag!

It was to be called "Playback (My Own Best Friend)."

I saw this with a big crowd at the Ziegfeld the week it opened in NYC. Huge crowd of theater people: Chita Rivera's cameo got a gigantic round of applause. Great memory.

I didn't get CZJs appeal either. Her body was so square and she was visibly heavy on her feet during the dancing.

They basically resorted to having her spread her legs wide to show her cooch in lieu of any true dazzling dance moves.

[quote]Didn't Anastasia have a new song? Did it play over the credits?

What do you mean? ANASTASIA was an animated film with an original score by Flaherty and Ahrens, and then, years later, it became a Broadway musical with some of the same songs and some new ones.

R71, all kidding aside, what you wrote is first of all not true, but also incredibly nasty and quite disgusting.

R72 - what is this, your Albert & Costello routine? I think the poster was referring to Anastacia, the pop singer, who spells it with a "c". I vaguely recall her. I think she was much bigger in the UK and Europe than she ever was in the US.

Didn't Richard Gere win a Golden Globe for this? And wasn't it Sharon Stone who presented the award? And when he came up to get the award she started wiggling and shaking (I guess she thought she was "dancing") like a crazy person? I seem to recall all this for some reason.

Actually Sharon Stone could’ve been a great Velma.

I saw Ute Lemper as Velma, not only she sang greatly but her dancing was out of the park. Velma has most of the dancing so Czj was particularly offensive. Even all hat jazz had great dancing, which she evaded.

that's r71's only post, r73.

Is Charlotte the Chicago revival cast member with the longest duration between her initial run and most recent performances? It's absolutely wild to me that I saw her in the national tour in the 90s when I was just out of high school and that today, when I'm literally old enough to have a child who is a high school graduate, I could go to the Ambassador Theatre and see Charlotte play the same role. The original Velma I saw with Charlotte was Donna Marie Asbury and she retired YEARS ago. Pretty impressive for Charlotte to be able to keep it up DECADES later.

And do we know who's had the longest continuous run in the production? The fella doing Mary Sunshine's been in it for donkeys years, right?

I love the scene near the end between Mama and Velma in Mama's office where Velma is in lingerie and an open robe and Mama's top is open and her bra is visible. It looks like they just fucked.

R79 - I think the implication was more that it was hot in the prison at that time. That's also the scene which would have featured the very funny number Class. Marshall cut the number because it didn't fit with the concept of the musical numbers being in Roxie's head.

R74 I’m not sure if you’re kidding or being ironic or meta, or something. Or maybe it’s just an overlooked autocorrection

I thought it was an extravagant bore. It pales in comparison to the show which portrayed the grit of the story. The movie is not unlike the movie version of Evita- flat. The best movie musical post MGM is easily Cabaret. It gets the grit of its story and is perfectly cast by true musical performance stars- not movie stars adapting to a musical.

R73 where the hell do you think you're posting, frau? Get the fuck out of here and go back to your Mommy and Me support group if what I wrote offends you.

[quote]Velma has most of the dancing so Czj was particularly offensive. Even all hat jazz had great dancing, which she evaded.

You obviously are just parroting the party line about CZJ, because you have no idea what you're talking about. OF COURSE she is not a dancer on the level of Chita Rivera, but how many people are? CZJ's dancing is the CHICAGO movie is not spectacular or outstanding but it's just fine, certainly not "offensive." That's a ridiculous statement.

Why you don't you go and self-combust, R83. You think it shows your good taste and vast knowledge to write that CZJ's dancing in CHICAGO is "offensive," but what's actually offensive is your smug stupidity and total lack of class.

Isn’t it CZJ in the purple dress starting at 2:50?

Is that Janie Dee?

Cabaret is overrated. No one sings those songs except theater geeks and old, die hard Liza fags. Grey and Liza still won Oscars, though. Chicago has the highest ratio of hit songs from any musical. The movie is better than the stage version for many reasons including the omission of superfluous songs.

Hit songs?

r88 - Chicago is one of my favorite musicals, but that's ridiculous hyperbole.

R88 = smell her…!

Catherine Zeta-Jones is the star of this movie. She deserved her Oscar. I love her alto-sax style vocals. She could have played Velma on Broadway.

Zelwegger is dead weight, yet again miscast. It SHOULD HAVE BEEN TONI COLETTE. Actually, Toni Colette should have been in Judy too. Zelwegger knows nothing about musical comedy. Can't sing, dance or act.

Hugh Jackman should've been Billy Flynn. Richard Gere is just as bad as Zelwegger.

It's sad that CZJ is being bashed on this thread and Zelwegger is being praised, but then again DL worships that crappy actress Jessica Lange like the 2nd coming of Sarah Bernhardt.

Toni Colette does not have the face of a movie star.

Neither did Judy Garland, r93.

Renee and Catherine were both fantastic. It was well cast.

I used to want Madonna to be Velma but she would have been horrible, even if Fosse had directed it.

I'[ve seen talented dancers doing the "Hot Honey Rag." That is NOT what Zeta-Jones and Zellweger do in the movie. How could they? Neither were good enough dancers to do it. The movie version was all flash and camera wizardry, no substance at all. It's sad that there are people who believe this movie features real dancing. The "dancing" is on a par to what you see in "Flashdance."

R75 yes I remember all that . She was wearing a black fringe dress and was just giving an overall cray-cray vibe that night.

[quote]It's sad that there are people who believe this movie features real dancing. The "dancing" is on a par to what you see in "Flashdance."

Well, it certainly features "real dancing" at least in the "Cell Block Tango" and some other numbers. But the issue is that it's very hard to tell how good the dancing is or isn't, because even in the numbers with real dancers in the ensemble, the editing it so ridiculously frenetic.

Why did the Allan Carr version with Liza and Goldie not happen?

They couldn't raise the money.

it's a perfect valentines day gift

R89 All That Jazz, Cell Block Tango, Hot Honey Rag/Nowadays, When You're Good to Mama, I Can't Do It Alone, We Both Reached For The Gun, and Roxie. All memorable, catchy hit songs from the show that reached the masses. I can't think of another musical with 7 or more songs I like. Most musicals are lucky if they get one or two that reach the general public.

R102, I love all of those songs, but I think "All That Jazz" is the only one that can really be considered to have recognition among the general public outside of the show or movie itself. As compared to, say, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, which has several songs of which that can be said.

Who had a hit with "All That Jazz"?

I hate musicals and find the premise of people randomly breaking out into full song and dance ridiculous. but I enjoy Chicago because it makes sense. It is logical that a story about two women who seek fame and fortune in show business would then be a musical. The performances combine key points in the narrative with the opportunity to show off their talents. Also, a story about sex, lies, murder, and having to work with people you don't like will ALWAYS be relevant.

R105, the CHICAGO movie, with it's "people only sing in dream sequences" concept, was made with people like you specifically in mind :-) Obviously, THAT'S why it works for you, not for the reason you gave in your post.

[quote]I never understood why all those women in prison were walking around in sexy lingerie.

Maybe they had nuns out collecting lingerie for needy, sexy inmates?

R103 I disagree. People know All That Jizz and Cell Bitch Tango. The movie really helped sell the other 5 songs to the masses. Nowadays/Hot Honey Syrup still gets imitated because of that iconic choreography. The Roxie number had that memorable look and catchy chorus that is easy to sing along. Queen Latifah really sold her number and made it more memorable with the gold dress, red fan, and green scarf coming out of her boobs. Chicago really had a great adaptation.

No one cares about The Sound of Music except old people. It was too long and had a dark, downer plot about escaping the Nazis. People really just reference the opening shot on the hill or refer to Gwen Stefani's Goatherd sample in Wind It Up. Funny Girl is only popular because of Streisand. The songs the general public know the best are Don't Rain On My Parade, My Man, and People. Older musicals sustain themselves on a successful film adaptation and Chicago is one of the best.

[Quote] Hot Honey Syrup still gets imitated

Eh... yeah...

[quote]No one cares about The Sound of Music except old people. It was too long and had a dark, downer plot about escaping the Nazis.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC is not a downer. It's joyous fun throughout, for the most part, and ends on a high note. I don't understand this complaint.

Getting this film produced was always about balancing investors' demands for bankable stars, finding actors who could translate the story to a close-up performance, and a faithful reproduction of the stage musical. Overall, it succeeded very well. The only person I thought was miscast was John C. Reilly.

R106, it's not a dream sequence so much as it is perspective. The film chooses to tell key musical moments through the eyes of wannabe starlet Roxie hence the iris change in the beginning as it switches from Velma to Roxie. It's not that she's merely sleeping. A small, but important distinction. The reason Chicago works is the logic of having a musical revolve around performers trying to become stars in show business with vaudeville roots. Musicals are fundamentally nonsensical if the numbers aren't tethered to a character's desire to perform.

R108 seems to live in a world of his own imagination.

[quote]Who had a hit with "All That Jazz"?

The usual, r104. Steve & Eydie, Sinatra...the Norman Luboff Choir.

I agree R111, JCR ruined it for me. He always played a long suffering troll. Such a fat dolt. He was inescapable for a long time. I think Harvey Weinstein saw himself in John C Reilly's ugly mug and fat body and insisted on him being in every prestige project (Magnolia, The Hours, etc.) He was good in The Lobster. Still hate looking at him.

R108, I disagree with almost all of that, but whatever.

R111, what don't you like about John C. Reilly as Amos? I thought his casting was pretty much perfect and he did a fine job with the part.

[quote]It's not a dream sequence so much as it is perspective. The film chooses to tell key musical moments through the eyes of wannabe starlet Roxie hence the iris change in the beginning as it switches from Velma to Roxie. It's not that she's merely sleeping.

Of course she's not sleeping, but the point is that ALL of the musical numbers in CHICAGO are presented not as if they are actually happening in real life, but as daydreams or fantasies on Roxie's part. That's why you are able to accept it.

[quote]Musicals are fundamentally nonsensical if the numbers aren't tethered to a character's desire to perform.

Only for tremendously literal-minded people like you who can't accept the stylized concept that, in musicals, people sing and dance as a way to communicate in their everyday lives, which of course people do not do in the real world.

R109 didn't some drag queens recently do a terrible version of Hot Humid Rag/Nowadays on their tour? I do think that song is catchy and poignant. It's about enjoying and having fun in the moment because they know everything is temporary. Chicago really does a great job with the music and lyrics.

Aww, I get so happy watching that finale number and weirdly emotional at the end as they thank the crowd.

Yeah. Me too. Now I’m in the mood to watch the movie again.

[quote]ALL of the musical numbers in CHICAGO are presented not as if they are actually happening in real life, but as daydreams or fantasies on Roxie's part. That's why you are able to accept it.

The only movie scene that did not work for me was "Mr. Cellophane." They should have stuck with "Me and My Baby."

In the stage show, after Roxie announces her fake pregnancy, she goes into a song & dance routine with two backup male dancers that gets interrupted every now and then as Billy Flynn schemes with the doctor to lie about Roxie's pregnancy and also convinces Amos to file for divorce to gain Roxie some sympathy.

Immediately after that song, Amos sings "Mr. Cellophane" by his lonesome self on an empty stage. The movie ditched "Me and My Baby" and utilized "Mr. Cellophane" in its place. However, it doesn't work for me, because the song and scene in the movie are done from Amos' point of view.

I guess the filmmakers wanted every major character to have at least one song. That's the only explanation I can come up with, because it's so jarring once you realize that number is not from Roxie's POV. And all the other ones are. Except for "All the Jazz" (opening) and "Nowadays"/"Honey Hot Rag" (ending), which are supposed to be actual theater/nightclub performances.

Cast a hot guy over John Chubby Reilly and all is forgiven.

Roxie's husband being a hot guy would undercut her storylinge.

*storyline

I never thought that Amos's song is his fantasy, not Roxie's, but that's really true, isn't it?

It's a musical vaudeville, or it should be.

That was pointed out when the movie opened, r125. Why r121 finds it "so jarring", I have no idea.

[quote] Zeta-Jones was a great dancer in her youth.

Easy to remember since that was just a few years ago!

It seems Allan Carr wanted Chicago to made after Can't Stop the Music but because that film bombed ....

[quote]Immediately after that song, Amos sings "Mr. Cellophane" by his lonesome self on an empty stage. The movie ditched "Me and My Baby" and utilized "Mr. Cellophane" in its place. However, it doesn't work for me, because the song and scene in the movie are done from Amos' point of view. I guess the filmmakers wanted every major character to have at least one song. That's the only explanation I can come up with, because it's so jarring once you realize that number is not from Roxie's POV.

I see what you mean, but if I recall correctly, the director addressed this issue by giving us a shot of Roxie staring at Amos in a real-life context, then we go directly from that shot to the fantasy sequence, so Amos's song is from her point of view in that respect. A similar thing was done for the other numbers in which Roxie is not involved.

As for people's objections to Reilly in the role of Amos, I just don't get it. I thought he was pretty perfect for the role. Now, when Reilly played Stanley Kowalski in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE on Broadway opposite Natasha Richardson, that was another story....

[quote]It seems Allan Carr wanted Chicago to made after Can't Stop the Music but because that film bombed ....

Bruce Jenner IS Mary Sunshine!

Meh!

Who the hell cast Reilly as Stanley? He's an obvious Mitch.

I'd love to see Sebastian Stan try Stanley now that he's a little older. He's a good actor and does both hot and scary well.

The big loss was that a youngish (circa-1999) James Gandolfini never got a crack at Stanley, though he did play Mitch early in his career. He was never conventionally hot, but he could have OWNED Stanley Kowalski.

Unfortunately for R133 and R134, "Oh, Streetcar" never made it past its Springfield tryout.

Sebastian Stan didn't make much of his role in PICNIC.

My friends took me to see this when it was in the cinemas and I was hooked from the opening. I love it and couldn’t wait to get the DVD. Listened to the album repeatedly. I still think the music on the movie soundtrack is the best sounding than any other version.

I’m so glad I saw it before loving the musical. I know me, if I was always familiar with it I would’ve spent the whole movie annoyed they were cutting sons, but because I didn’t know that I was able to really enjoy it. “Me and My Baby” is the one song I really wonder why it was cut and I believe it was the last they decided not to do, at the last minute.

I haven’t seen it for years now. Probably burnt myself out on it, but it really was a marvellous film.

[quote]I see what you mean, but if I recall correctly, the director addressed this issue by giving us a shot of Roxie staring at Amos in a real-life context, then we go directly from that shot to the fantasy sequence, so Amos's song is from her point of view in that respect.

But the scene as shot requires Roxie to view Amos sympathetically, which she never does at any other point in the movie, so why would she fantasize about his hurt feelings this one time?

[quote]Iirc, CZJ had recently had given birth and wasn’t in the best shape when filming began

I think you're confused, I was only recently [italic]born[/italic] and had just learned to walk a few weeks before shooting started, so the choreography was understandably challenging for such a young child.

CZJ was pregnant while filming Chicago. Its also why she was about to drop her baby any moment at the Academy Awards

Gere was pallid and Zwilliger was miscast as a tough cookie. Melanie Griffin was actually better and better casting for the part when I saw her on Broadway.

[quote]But the scene as shot requires Roxie to view Amos sympathetically, which she never does at any other point in the movie, so why would she fantasize about his hurt feelings this one time?

Good point :-) Although arguably, it makes Roxie more interesting if she can occasionally view Amos sympathetically. Also, one could argue that "Mr. Cellophane" is not exactly a "sympathetic" portrait of Amos, as the song consists of him singing about how he's basically a non-entity in other people's eyes.

I liked Gere in the role. He brought a stylish viciousness to Billy Flynn and he could sing pretty well. Thank God Travolta didn't go for the part, as he was first choice.

[quote]Gere was pallid and Zwilliger was miscast as a tough cookie. Melanie Griffin was actually better and better casting for the part when I saw her on Broadway.

You misspelled two people's names in the span of two sentences. And the role of Roxie is written as alternately tough and vulnerable, which is exactly how Zellweger played her in the movie.

Did CZJ’s kid come out of her all messed up from the dancing and stuff?

R144 sorry teach but with Zwilliger it was deliberate. She came across as a Girl Scout.

Yes, R146, I'm sure you deliberately spelled her name wrong because you didn't like her performance.

[quote]JCR ruined it for me. He always played a long suffering troll. Such a fat dolt.

That's Amos' character, you dolt.

How one can say he ruined it yet not even mention Richard Gere's "performance" (the only major role not nominated for an Oscar) is beyond me.

No, R86.

I wanted to slap Renee's snotty little face. But maybe that was the point?

[quote]I think Harvey Weinstein saw himself in John C Reilly's ugly mug and fat body and insisted on him being in every prestige project (Magnolia, The Hours, etc.)

R115 ironically enough JCR's scenes in both of those movies are the worst parts of them. Magnolia had what, 45 minutes of him talking to the coke addict in her apartment? And his portion of The Hours with Julianne Moore is seriously the weakest part of that film.

I note in R86's link that you can purchase that photo of CZJ as a jigsaw puzzle. Perhaps after you reassemble it the woman in the photo actually has a modicum of dance talent.

Renee had a slappable face in this, if she was meant to be disliked then she was well cast

I love Chicago! it's one of my favorite musicals. Saw the stage version with Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn. He was great! I loved the movie too. KZJ was wonderful and so was Rene.

[quote] Really did not like it. Felt like a high budget music video.

Tell me about it...

The best way to watch Chicago is to mute the musical numbers.