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Visitors Review

peary1973 2012-05-25 00:43:26

Jailhouse Tango--Take Me Away!

I've been a tap & jazz dancer most of my life. Chicago "razzle-dazzled"me into a state of great stage memories & utter delight in the revivalof a dynamite musical. Bring them on! Don't know about you, but I needreal entertainment... considering I live in the US during it's mostpolitically corrupt decade. I need a dance, singing & music that isequal in intensity to my blues symptoms. "Chicago" is one of my'cures'.My favorite production is "The Jailhouse Tango." It made me reach wayback to Elvis's "Jailhouse Rock." However, the stage of this era ismuch more well equipped to do such a gigantic show-stopping, lengthy,hysterically funny & ever so well danced & sung routine. I can watchthat 1 number time & again & find something new I love about it. I alsohave to agree with the other commentators who couldn't find a single'bad' number in the entire show.Yes, Richard Gere can certainly dance & sing in a musical. I found theediting of the trial & Gere's tap dance utterly fascinating. You know,when a dancer is being filmed doing a routine we never know who or whatwill be in the final cuts. For instance, in "Staying Alive." I knewthose dance routines & a few of the dancers. They were truly peeved atthe nasty chop job that was done to great dance routines. Not so in"Chicago." Credit has to go also to terrific camera work which did thebest job I've ever seen to avoid losing any parts of the stage or theall of dancers' movements.Most outstanding is "Mr. Cellophane." Shirley Maclaine once did a TVversion of "One" using her gorgeous figure & a simple hat, plus aseries of ever so subtle dance moves that expressed pure classiness ofpure Shirley the marvelous dancer. Reilly uses his costume & hat withthose very few subtle moves to express the whole character he plays.It's easy to write he is quite emotionally moving & sings very well.The contrast between the big production number of The Jailhouse Tango &Mr. Cellophane couldn't be greater. Tango is way high energy, lots oflovely female dancers & singers, with the exception of a very fewmales: Mr. Cellophane is nearly done in one man's singular slow motion.The choreography had to have been the dancers' delight! Yum.Zellwenger & Zeta Jones make for a very similar contrast in both theirdancing & singing styles. I was nearly shocked that Zeta-Jones couldbelt out a song Ethel Merman style! At times she brought Merman back tolife. Zellwenger belongs in musicals she's so sizzling hot in dancecostumes that accentuate a dancer's body & she can really sing whileshe's performing the piece quite exotically. I can see why prudishfolks detest the show. It's sensuous with lots of sexy body work goingon. Puritanicals Beware! Nevertheless, the way The Jailhouse Tangostarted off quite cleverly with such a simple sound as the drip, dripof a jail cell faucet to pace the rhythmic beat at the beginning of theproduction number was unique & brilliant. So that's one reason why Iwrite that number is the one that stands out most to me. But just as Iwrite that I recall the big number of the live human 'puppets'. Howclever was that. Zellwenger & Gere pulled that one off masterfullytogether with much of the cast as their backup chorus.I can't possibly understand anyone who writes that it was a flop orthey didn't like it. But I do respect your opinions. 10 of 10,undoubtedly. (Chicago makes "Moulin Rouge" look like gooeyoverly-romantic, made for teenagers, face sucking >blek

Bob Pr. 2012-05-24 04:18:22

Satirical, irreverent, very adult, & innovative ---> GREAT!!

Stars: Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, QueenLatifah, John C. Reilly, others. Velma (Zeta-Jones), a dancing, singing star in an act with her sister,is on murderer's row after shooting her sister and Velma's lover whenshe caught them doing a number not part of their act. Roxie (Zellweger)is a wannabe star who cheats on her husband (Reilly) when anacquaintance (in order to bed her) promises to get her into showbusiness. When Roxie finds out he's deceived her, she shoots him andalso goes to the Murderer's Row for women where Mama (Latifah) is incharge. Billy (Gere) is the manipulating lawyer who represents Velmaand Roxie in their trials.This is a very adult, satirical & cynical, irreverent & innovativemusical set in 1920s era Chicago that makes fun of attorneys & thelegal/court process, all aspects of the news media, fidelity &monogamy--and probably several other things, like traditional virtues.Zellweger plays a talented but not very bright young woman (Roxie) whoVERY much wants to be a dancing, singing star in the '20s Chicago nightclubs. Periodically, as the narrative unfolds, Roxie transposes manyscenes she's seeing into a singing, dancing musical version in hermind's eye--and this film brings us along to view Roxie's visions.GREAT cast, many great numbers, possibly my favorite is Gere as apuppeteer with Zellweger on his lap--or maybe Queen Latifah singing"When You Take Care of Mama"--or maybe others?My vote: 10+ of 10 stars.

dsk2293 2012-05-22 09:01:53

Singing and dancing is not my thing.

They sing... They dance... So? I don't want to see lame actors/actressespretend to sing and tapdance! They even force poor John C Reilly to singanddance... And that alone is reason enough for not watching this abominationof a movie.The story is pathetic, but I guess it doesn't matter as they just sing andsing and dance and.... Man, I can't believe I spent time watching this!Noteven my girlfriend liked it, and she loves both musicals and Zelwegger(whoI detest).Now I have to go watch some guy movie with explosions. Excuseme...

videoclerk 2012-05-21 12:18:17

boring same old same old

This movie is perfectly suited to the masses. nothing to challenge,nothingto impress either. sadly.bob fosse was a kick butt choreographer. he was amazing.the story ain't so great, and the song's aren't either.all that jazz is great, presented by catherine here. jones was so boringtowatch, she was far too presentational, didn't seem like a real person atall. this movie should have been presented as a short.all that jazz, the tango, and rene's dance with the mirrors.richard gere sucked. sorry, he can't sing, or dance, so let's put him inamusical. whatever. he sucked. he was great this year in unfaithful.thatwas a fun flick.rene suprised me. there were moments when it got pretty close, but sheamazed me. she transcended herself. becoming glorious iconic figure.amazing.if you wan't to watch a musical, watch moulin rouge. that was a movieworthseeing. everything you've seen a million times before presented in a waythat's never been done. original, inspiring, and entertaining.

bletul1 2012-05-18 00:23:19

Surprisingly very much like the Broadway Play

After having seen the fantastic Broadway play, a movie version of Chicagoalmost certainly seemed doomed. But this film does its best to capturemostof the liveliness and excitement of the Broadway version.I thought Renee Zellweger had her best performance yet, so I was stunnedtofind out that she didn't win the Oscar. And yet the slightlyless-deservingCatherine Zeta-Jones won an award in her category. I did not completelyobject to Richard Gere playing the attorney, but his dancing skills (orlackthereof) bothered me a bit. Likewise, I'm a big fan of John C. Reilly,buthe neglected to do the Broadway "leaning" bit while performing "Mr.Cellophane", a mistake I could not believe.Having said that, the film was fast-paced, intelligent, and well-adaptedforthe screen. Audiences should keep their eyes open for the "puppet"sequence, one of the best scenes I've seen on film. If you're looking foragreat musical film that comes the closest to Broadway, this is the filmforyou.Finally, while I highly recommend this movie, I cannot end my commentwithout the following complaint: How in the world did Chicago beat outGangs of New York for best picture???!!! Friggin' HollywoodMorons!!!

Jeffrey Westhoff 2012-05-17 11:19:12

Rousing throwback and up-to-the-minute satire, Chicago puts the "all" in all that jazz.

2012-05-17 01:11:55

Fantastic

Ignore the negative reviews its obviously the same person , This film did not copy off moulin rouge its immposbible chicago is a 30 year old musical! fantastic movie

Peter Edge 2012-05-17 00:20:18

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Unbelievable! I,m not a big fan of musicals but Chicago is just amazing.The songs are just amazing "He Had it Coming" the best of the bunch. Theperformances are superb Catherine Zeta Jones and Richard Gere the best andit was great seeing the fantastic music star Mya in the movie. One of myfavourite movies of all time. 10 out of ten

2012-05-11 03:55:31

WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE ON?!?!?!?!?!

TO those who gave Chicago a bad (actually awful is a more appropriate word) review:What are you thinking?!?! Chicago was amazing and deserved every oscar it got (and then some!) Sure the acting wasn't top notch but it was better than some movies I've seen this year! Ahem, I point to a recent movie that was just released that has to do with a white rapper wannabe! Chicago had amazing music too! How dare you diss Bob Fosse? It's beyond my knowledge how anyone with half a brain could dislike Cell Block Tango... And there was a plot line, I don't know why you people keep saying that! C'mon is there anyone that supports me here or what?

inert 2012-05-10 14:40:46

Only film I've ever walked out on.

Do I have anything constructive or informed to add? Probablynot.Awful music, bad acting (poorly cast), editing way too hectic for myliking.I really tried to give it a chance, but it just kept rubbing me the wrongway.And unlike many straight men it seems, I find Catherine Zeta-Jones to be*most* unattractive.

bobsgrock 2012-05-06 20:05:54

Flashy and entertaining.

With a high-energy feel and enough stars to light up Broadway, Chicagotriumphs as one of the best transitions from the stage to the screen.Indeed, with the way the musical is set up, it would seem ratherdifficult to put it to celluloid, but director Rob Marshall does a goodjob of using the musical numbers as imagination numbers for thewanna-be star heroine, Roxie Hart. Of course, the key to all of this isthe acting, and it is terrific. Renee Zellwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones,and Richard Gere are perfect as their respective roles. Of all though,Zellwegger is the best. Her ability to be seductive and sexy in onenumber, than sweet and innocent in another amazes me of hercapabilities as an actress. Gere also surprised me at how smooth and incontrol he was as the fast-talking, slick criminal lawyer Billy Flynn.Zeta-Jones is also very entertaining, but I felt she needed more screentime to prove herself. The minor characters are very good as well, withQueen Latifah, John C. Reilly, and others giving great performances.The narration may steer off every now and then, but it works wellenough that this is definitely one of the best films of 2002 andcertainly one of the better movie musicals ever made.

eplakela 2012-05-06 15:02:35

This was fantastic!

This was a fantastic movie! The whole cast did a marvelous job,Catherine Zeta-Jones won a well-deserved Oscar, but ReneeZellweger got robbed for Best Actress. John C. Reilly wasamazing, I think he held much of the production together. And hisnumber, "Mr. Cellophane," his one number, is my favorite from thewhole movie.Taye Diggs was a marvelous bandleader, and Richard Gere wasjust as excellent.Another thing that upsets me: Why didn't Rob Marshall win BestDirector? Roman Polanski is good, don't get me wrong, butMarshall did a superb job. He also choreographed it, so hedeserves some recognition.One more thing: this easily deserved Best Picture over Lord of theRings: The Two Towers.

2012-05-03 08:41:28

Amazing - can we give it the oscar right now?

The best overall musical show experience I have had in years. I can't wait for the DVD so I can watch it over and over! Zeta-Jones smolders and the whole cast is wonderful. The music is just fantastic from beginning to end.

Michael 2012-05-02 18:04:20

Chicago totally rocks!!!

I never thought i'd say this about a musical but this was the best movie of the year!!! The acting singing and dancing was excelennt thank goodness it took homme best picture See it now!!!!

NEOSE7ENS 2012-04-27 21:45:02

This is the best movie of the year?

You've got to be kidding me this movie is terrible. Have any of youactually seen a real Broadway show? Because if you have you'd only bemildlyamused by this tripe. First off there aren't any likeable charactersbecausethey're all shallow and totally self absorbed and second the maincharactershardly dance, you may think they are but look again there are so manyquickshots you almost couldn't tell who's who. In my opinion if this is thebestpicture of the year then we really need to replace the academy. TERRIBLE!!simply put TERRIBLE!

chacha06 2012-04-27 11:50:02

I'm in awe!

Not being a huge fan of musicals, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed thismovie. Previously, I thought of C.Z. Jones as a beautiful face but notmuchof an actress; I was so glad to be proven wrong on both counts (did anyonesay triple threat?). Queen Latifah and Renee Zellwegger are outstandingtoo. Some say it doesn't have much of a plot. I don't agree as I think itactually has a lot to say as well as being one of the most entertainingfilms in years. I'm sure everyone knows the feeling of seeing films thatyou want to get your money back from or the two hours of your life thatwereinvested in viewing; this film is not one of them. Just sit back andenjoy!Don't wait till it comes out on video - it really should be seen on thebigscreen.

Spotnick 2012-04-24 20:40:58

Why?

Alright, it's entertaining, it's very well done, but...If you remove all the musical numbers, what's left of this movie? the actual"movie" part in this movie is quite weak.. the plot is seriously too shortto even call this a movie.Perfect for a musical, but in the movie world, it's not really brainchallenging.I've seen The Pianist, Gangs of New York, Lord of the Rings 2 and The Hours,it's the last I've seen from this list, and honestly, I don't get why itwon.I guess many people in the academy love musicals, I don't.. even as a childI wondered why the disney movies had those songs that you just want to skip,so I'm not a musical fan at all, I'm a movie fan.For some reason last year I liked Moulin Rouge, so I gave Chicago a try..well I'm sorry, but this wouldn't have been my pick for the movie of theyear.. The Pianist would have been...

grotchly 2012-04-24 04:06:10

How did I get conned into seeing this?

No likeable characters. Plot was dull. Dancing seemed more like thesmokeand mirrors of fast-paced editing. And no one could sing. Jones was thebest singer of them all and that's not saying much.I'd rather see a double feature of Glitter and Joe Dirt before seeingthisagain.How could it get so many nominations??? There isn't a movie I've seen in12months that wasn't better than this.

weimingwang2 2012-04-23 02:36:09

Perfect Example of What America Is All About.

Having heard the original musical, I am still impressed by thisstage-to-screen adaptation. I have long been assigning the musical in myAmerican music history class to introduce the world of vaudeville acts ofthe 1920's. This year, many of my students get a kick out of the movieversion and see it as a perfect example of what America is all about.My favorite character is Mama (Queen Latifah), who runs the prison and 'doesfavors' for her inmates in exchange for her own profit. With Mama's 'help'Velma (Zeta-Jones) and Roxie meet the lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere). Forthem, he is their ticket to freedom. Yet it is not about freedom, justice orlove; only money matters. EVERYONE is trying to profit from others.Ironically, how's that for the so-called Iraqi interim authority set up andrun by George W. Bush? Companies from all over the U.S. have securedlucrative contracts to 'liberate' Iraq. America does not hesitate to takethe lion's share and benefit. However, the plot of 'Chicago' ends with acheerful finale, in which they all seem to get what they want. Will the'Gulf War Episode II' have a happy ending? Let's wait and see.

flicklover 2012-04-22 14:25:21

undeserving of all the hype

Some nice sets, Richard Gere singing? This film is slightly diverting,Catherine Zeta JOnes has fun with her role, Gere looks COMPLETELY out ofplace. THis movie has been nominated for Best Picture? I can't believe it,Miramax realy has learned how to coax major nominations from the Academy,totaly undeserving of all the attention!!!