neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Chicago
	Rob Marshall Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah, Christine Baranski, Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu 2002		If there was apprehension over the casting of Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere in the film of the trenchant, satirical Kander & Ebb musical "Chicago," it was unfounded. All three actors, with no celluloid record of singing or dancing, do more than acquit themselves with "All That Jazz" and other snazzy tunes. The cast is tremendous and self-assured, as is director/choreographer Rob Marshall's retooling of the Broadway hit. Actually, Zeta-Jones, as nightclub-chanteuse-turned-murderer Velma Kelly, is so resonant, on-key and limber during her song-and-dance numbers that it's no shock to learn she began her career in stage musicals. The catalyst for this Roaring '20s-era revue about the price of fame is Roxie Hart (Zellweger) who dreams of a show-biz career, kills her lover and becomes a jailhouse luminary. Both Velma and Roxie vie, with rancor, to be represented in court by Billy Flynn, a shady celebrity lawyer with a yen for publicity. Gere does a mean soft-shoe as Flynn; Queen Latifah belts the blues with assurance as a brassy, scheming prison matron; and "Chicago" glitters like a row of Oscars.