Rating: 
Summary: A "RAZZLE-DAZZLE" FILM
Review: Winner of 6 Oscars including Best Picture it really deserved these awards!cast is excellent! Renee Zellweger does fit the part of Roxie,Richard Gere does a great job as Billy Flynn he even does his own tap number which was very well done,Catherine Zeta-Jones is excellent as Velma Kelly,she really plays the part,she dances very well for someone who was pregnant during the making of this movie,Queen Latifah at her best in this film!Everyone did a superb job in this film!Everyone did their own singing and dancing and there were no body doubles! 5 stars! The movie is worth buying and watching over and over again!The soundtrack is very nice and has all your favorite songs from the movie including deleted song "Class" sung by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah.
Rating: 
Summary: Zellweger at her best!
Review: This really isnt a review just my own comments. I fell in love with Renee when I saw Bridget Jones' Diary. When Chicago came out even though Renee stars in it, I never saw it until about Feb. of 2004. I really not a big fan of musicals. I decided to give it a chance and boy am I glad I did. Renee was wonderfull. so was Richard Gere. After Zeta-Jones won her oscar for Chicago as Best supporting actress all the comments of her not wanting to really acknowledge Renee and giving her the cold shoulder. I was pretty mad. When I saw this movie I saw that yes Catherine could sing and act very well. However observing the two of them dancing together. I saw that Renee was definatly the better dancer. Catherine looked like she was doing the 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 steps all girls go through when learning a routine for cheerleading. She had no natural talent and charisma for dance. However Renee was the better dancer by far. She wasnt just going through the motions she had talent,great rythm and stole the show. Way to go Renee!!!!! When she won her Oscar for cold mountain I said its about time!! This great actress has nowhere to go but straight to the top!! I will always look for her in new movies and remain a devoted fan!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Roxie, take me away!
Review: Here's a movie that is sure to really take your breath away, whether you like musicals or not. Every so often Hollywood comes out with an ambitious production that is pulled off beautifully by director, cast & crew. This is one such example of this! The film stars Renee Zelwegger and Catherine Zeta-Jones as two women awaiting trial for murder during the Roaring 20s. Zelwegger plays Roxie, a somewhat neurotic young woman who dreams of being the "center of attention" on a broadway stage. Jones plays Velma, a woman who has already experienced such fame. Roxie looks upon everything that happens in her life thru the lens of Vaudeville. [It's because of this that the film turns out to be a musical]. By the time she gets to prison, Velma is the "celebrity prisoner" who gets all the publicity. Richard Gere plays a fast-talking, suave lawyer who is hoping to get both of the girls off the hook (for a price). His goal is to manipulate the media, public opinion and the jury in the girl's cases. In the process, Roxie ends up supplanting Velma as the #1 prisoner celebrity. Ironically, Roxie gets all the attention that she craved all her life, only it's from being a murderess instead of being a star. Lucy Liu has a cameo as a heiress who threatens to usurp the celebrity status from both of them and grab the spotlight for herself. All 3 women are cute in their 1920s short hairstyles, tho I must say I'm glad those hairstyles are no longer around! One of the most impressive aspects of this film is that all the actors did their own singing and dancing. There were no body doubles, stand-ins or lip-sinking. Zelwegger said afterward that this was the most physically demanding movie she'd ever done, and it shows. As a sidenote, it's interesting to note that the film is based on a play that was published in 1930. The play was written by a journalist of the time and was a satire on women getting off of murder raps. The film details how the courtroom itself can be turned into a stage for choereographed theatrics as opposed as a venue for finding the facts of a case. While the duet between Jones & Zelwegger is in itself worth the price of this DVD, there is so much more. This one is a can't-miss film. It is feel-good in the sense that a talented group of people went out and tried to pull off a near-impossible project.....and they nailed it!
Rating:
Summary: love this version
Review: Now I have seen the original broadway musical in 1997 when BEBE NEwirth(lillith from Cheers) was Velma. yo ucan't compare a movie to broadway.there will always be die hards who don't want Fosse's work tampered with, but it's hollywood. I like the movie it is updated to our tastes not in the 70's. and who knew Richard Gere can sing and dance...I saw this in the movie theatre.And only problem i had (I seen the movie on cable several times this month as well) when Catherine sang all that jazz, she didn't out enough feeling into the song and not in the correct order of stances.But watching the movie, it fit together. Yes, they skipped a few songs from the original musical,but I felt the story made more sense in the movie version,since i seen the musical for me I recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: A Stylish Music Video
Review: Frankly, I still have to discover why is this movie so overrated...Sure, the production values are good, the songs are appropriate, the acting is decent and it has some neat visual moments. Yet, it doesn`t really work as a solid, consistent film, just a bunch of stylish scenes with an almost nonexistent plot. And the characters, where are them?! What I saw was just a collection of cardboard, one-dimensional charicatures that couldn`t get my interest. Since I don`t really like musicals all that much, maybe I`m a bit biased here. Still, it is not a great movie, it brings nothing new and doesn`t deserve all the praise it got. Even as simple entertainment it`s average at best.
Pure eye candy, easy on the eyes but vapid and forgettable.
Rating:
Summary: Bob Fosse is turning over in his grave!
Review: I love the show "Chicago"; however this is horrible! Renee cannot sing or dance! Putting men into the number "Cell Block Tango"?! - Fosse didn't and he should know! Also SIX (count 'em) SIX songs were left out. The best thing about this movie was that Marc Calamia (hot!) is in it as a dancer (from the Broadway cast) but all too briefly. Buy or rent "Fosse" if you want to see more (almost ALL of!) Marc and some REAL dancing!
Rating:
Summary: The best musical of all time
Review: It's the only movie I've watched maybe ten times. It's by far the best musical and maybe one of the best movies of all time
Rating:
Summary: Better Than Expected
Review: Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) dreams of becoming a star on the Chicago stage. When she's accused of murdering her lover, her dreams are shattered. Or are they? Roxie finds herself behind bars with singer/dancer Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Velma, accused of killing her husband and siser, bribes "Mama" Morton (Queen Latifah), the prison matron and hired famed lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere). With the help of Flynn, Velma becomes the toast of the Chicago tabloids. Seeing an opportunity to seize the spotlight, Roxie convinces her husband, Amos (John C. Reilly) to hire Flynn. Roxie and Velma's battle for fame and freedom is soon underway. That's Chicago! This fast paced movie was better than I expected. Each member of the cast shines with their talent and enthusiasm, especially Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah. The musical sequences were packed with energy and excitement including one notable tap number by Richard Gere. "Chicago" offers something a little different than most movies out these day. It's a blend of music, drama and 1920's lifestyle easily makes it one of the best movies of the year.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst of the Women in Prison genre!
Review: As the great Richard Marx once sang, I "should've known better" than to have watched this! If you are an old lady who thinks Julie the Love Boat's entertainment director is "sassy," you'll like Chicago. If you know anything about the mob, law, politics, public relations, or... musicals, you'll be put to sleep. Chicago doesn't work as a musical, drama, comedy, or postmodern wink at the audience. The actors are good of course, but they are "treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality" (Spinal Tap, good eh?). I'd rehash the plot, but I didn't pay attention. Now that all the drive-ins are gone, is this the kind of women in prison movies we can expect?
Rating:
Summary: The Moose Hole - 'All That Jazz' and More!
Review: The Walt Disney Company and Storyline Entertainment have had a very successful relationship together reviving old musicals which they hope to continue with Chicago. In 1997, they revived Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella which aired on The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC and became a ratings success. Both companies were willing to see if lightening strikes twice so a revival of the old favorite Annie was created for ABC in 1999 and followed in the footsteps of Cinderella. Now that Storyline Entertainment has proven to be a worthy investment, the real test was to revive the musicals for the big screen. The musical has greatly lost its luster since the golden days of the 1930's. The highest grossing musical since 1975 was Grease, which opened in 1978, and the most successful musical in recent memory would have to be 2001's Moulin Rouge with a $57 million take. With that in mind, will Storyline Entertainment find success once again with their film adaptation of the Broadway favorite Chicago or will this be their first failure? The story of Chicago focuses on the lovely Roxie Hart who has huge dreams about becoming a star like her idol Velma Kelly. She is willing to do anything to obtain that dream which includes cheating on her husband with a guy who claims to have connection in the business. One night Roxie finds out the truth about her secret lover and taking the gun from her dresser, she shoots him once and then shoots him again. After her husband spills the beans, she is taken to jail where she learns that one can still become famous with the right angle and the right lawyer. That lawyer is the flashy Billy Flinn, who has never lost a case with a woman client. Roxie soon enters a new world of deception and greed as she competes with the famous Velma Kelly for the razzle, dazzle lawyer. Who will come out on top in Chicago? The storyline for Chicago is fabulously well done. The musicals sequence strive from the imagination of Roxie Hart which allows the musical to be a musical without the song and dance sequences come off as tacky. Most musicals start out a song with the usual one liner with dancers coming out singing moments later. Chicago thankfully doesn't do that and it works. The cast of Chicago is truly an Oscar worthy cast. The most fabulous thing about the cast was that each actor and actress did his or her own singing. They may not all hit the right note but the feeling that you get from the film is very gratifying. The biggest surprise from the bunch is Richard Gere who plays the flashy lawyer, Billy Flinn. He really shines in numbers like Razzle Dazzle and All I Care About. Cathrine-Zeta Jones, who is actually a Broadway veteran, really shows off her stuff with great style especially in the opening sequence of the film. Renee Zellweger is good but not great as the central character Roxie Hart. There could have been someone better then Zellweger to the play this role but she still does a decent job. She definitely has the right look for the role but it was her dancing and singing in the musical that were the big disappointments. John C. Reilly does such a fantastic job especially n the Mister Cellophane number that there is no need mentioning anything else. Queen Latifah was a delightful surprise as Mama Morton. The remainder of the cast does a wonderful job at providing the perfect amount of background characters that you would expect from the Chicago backdrop. Overall, the film adaptation of Chicago was as good or better then all the buzz suggested the film would be. The songs are amazingly well done with best being Razzle Dazzle, Mister Cellophane, and the Cell Block Tango. The numbers were quite surprising and didn't come off tacky as originally thought. Most of the cast seems to work well except for two. And was said before, Renee Zellweger is good but not great as the central character, Roxie Hart. There certainly could have been a better to take the role but Zellweger works fine, just not outstanding. The other member who didn't work well was Lucy Liu. It wasn't her but her character that was the problem. Her slight appearance in the film seemed kind of pointless though she does help play out the rest of the story just a bit. They could have done a lot more with her character but it is no real loss. The comeback of the movie musical may have been started by Moulin Rouge but Chicago continues the surge with full force. Chicago is one of the best movie musicals in recent memories and one the best films this year. Make it your priority to see this wonderfully delightful film.
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