Chicago

Directed by Rob Marshall. Written by Bob Condon based on the musical by Fred Ebb, John Kander and B
PG13	for sexual content and dialogue, violence
Starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly & Queen Latifah

Reviewer: Nate Clarke

I have two confessions to make. First, I am an idealist. Second, I was not really a fan of musicals until recently. Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, an opus of love, changed how I viewed musicals because it excited the idealism in me. I was finally able to subdue the macho, "action film only" tendencies I have and get swept away in the vision and beauty of Moulin Rouge! So I was excited to see Chicago. Perhaps this film would cement my appreciation for musicals. Maybe I would even begin to like them. Then again, Moulin Rouge! might just prove to be the exception.

Chicago is about two unscrupulous women, one an accomplished, famous, and narcissistic dancer and singer, Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and the other an aspiring yet frustrated star to be, Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger). Roxie dreams of Velma's celebrity life and willingly exchanges anything, including her body, for a chance at stardom (a story heard countless times in the annals of Hollywood).

The film opens with the sultry Velma crooning "All That Jazz", fresh from murdering her sister and husband after finding them together - after all, the show must go on. One month later, Roxie terminates her relationship with her lover, shooting him after he reveals that he lied about having show biz connections in order to get her into bed.

Both women are incarcerated together, but it is not until we meet Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), Chicago's best defense lawyer, that their lives become intertwined. He has yet to lose a case and is a celebrity in his own right. Billy, already defending Velma, agrees to take Roxie's case after some desperate urging from her husband, the dopey yet amicable Amos Hart (John C. Reilley).

Billy Flynn has devised the perfect defense for Roxie - use the media to paint Roxie as an innocent victim, as a woman acting in self defense. He uses every type of trickery and manipulation to defend his client — the law is something to tap dance around.

The main question then becomes: will Flynn defend Roxie successfully, or will her own desperate desires to be famous sabotage his attempts? Add to this situation Velma's increasing jealousy over Roxie's rising celebrity and Billy's attention to her and the "trial of the century" becomes a circus freak show.

The genius of Chicago is in how it intertwines the real and the imagined. Other than the opening and closing sequences, the musical numbers are either in the imagination of the characters or the audience, giving us interpretive pictures of what is really happening. At Roxie's first press conference, Flynn is planning to mold public perception about his client. The conference becomes a song and dance number with Flynn as a puppeteer, controlling Roxie and the press and creating the most memorable scene in the film.

As basic entertainment, Chicago is a pleasure to watch, but it also preaches a message aimed at modern day America, particularly today's reality show culture. As one of the publicity posters for Chicago declares, "If you can't be famous, be infamous." How often do we see poor saps like Velma and Roxie, willing to set aside their dignity for a shot at fame — something that is fleeting and fickle, yet so addictive? Or people like Billy Flynn whose self-declared "just causes" are solely for personal profit? Or people like Amos Hart, whose gullibility and self-deprecation only enable the addictions of Roxie Hart? Or the mass audience who desperately wait on every press release as if meaning could be found in the tabloid stories of celebrities? These are all pathetic people, but they are uncomfortably similar to us.

However, while Chicago was enjoyable to watch, it does not deliver on a spiritual level (in all fairness, I am not sure if the filmmakers would even claim to be attempting to inform our spiritual understanding). As I said, I am an idealist. One of the great powers of music is to communicate values that words cannot completely express. The mysteries of love, happiness, beauty, sadness and even death gain poignancy and (ironically) authenticity when set to music. This is what grabbed me so clearly in Moulin Rouge! It was a self declared film about truth, beauty, and love. The reproachable moral fabric of the characters was equal to those in Chicago — after all, Moulin Rouge! is about prostitution and control. What sets it apart from Chicago was the way its ideals were complemented and underlined by the music. Moulin Rouge! had something to say to my heart about the value of love.

I do not doubt the entertainment value of Chicago and the fact that it is a great film. It is also unrealistic to expect every film to be a transcendent experience. I go to movies for two reasons: to be entertained and to have a different experience than that of daily life. Chicago is entertaining, but as a piece of art that challenges and informs my human experience, it falls short.

Will I continue to see more musicals? If my wife has her way, West Side Story is next. Chicago hasn't turned me off from this reemerging genre, but it also hasn't solidified a passion for it.

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