Chicago

Comedy, Drama, Musical, Crime

Christine Baranski	Mary Sunshine
Catherine Zeta-Jones	Velma Kelly
Renee Zellweger	Roxie Hart
Lucy Liu	Go-to-Hell-Kitty
Colm Feore	Martin Harrison
Richard Gere	Billy Flynn
Queen Latifah	Mama Morton
Chita Rivera	Annie
Dominic West	Fred Caseley
Taye Diggs	Bandleader

Director	Rob Marshall
Producer	Martin Richards
Writer	Bill Condon; Maurine Dallas Watkins

Bob Fosse's sexy cynicism still shines in Chicago, a faithful movie adaptation of the choreographer-director's 1975 Broadway musical. Of course the story, all about merry murderesses and tabloid fame, is set in the Roaring '20s, but Chicago reeks of '70s disenchantment--this isn't just Fosse's material, it's his attitude, too. That's probably why the movie's breathless observations on fleeting fame and fickle public taste already seem dated. However, Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones are beautifully matched as Jazz Age vixens, and Richard Gere gleefully sheds his customary cool to belt out a showstopper. (Yes, they all do their own singing and dancing.) Whatever qualms musical purists may have about director Rob Marshall's cut-cut-cut style, the film's sheer exuberance is intoxicating. Given the scarcity of big-screen musicals in the last 25 years, that's a cause for singing, dancing, cheering. And all that jazz. --Robert Horton