THE MUSICAL: Rob Marshall's Chicago! Give em' the old razzle dazzle...

The second wave in Musical Mania (check out the 2000 era and the musical renaissance) started with the first popular and successful musical in two decades, Evita starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. Building on this success was Baz Lurhman's Moulin Rouge in 2001, which received two Oscars and eight nominations including Best Picture and Best Actress, Nicole Kidman. I think it was the critical acclaim with the audience response that sent the studios in a musical overload that included The Phantom of the Opera (2004), The Producers (2005), Rent (2005), Dream Girls (2006), Sweeney Todd (2007), Hairspray (2007) and Mamma Mia! (2008), all of which were commercial successes. The growing popularity of the movie musical spread to "made for TV" movies in the 1990's and even reality shows during the writer's strike. And I say, thank god for that, because it just happens to be one of my favourite things in life! Watch out for Nine coming in November this years as well as Wicked in 2010, says IMDB. There have also been rumours that Elton John's Aida will also be coming to theatres, so it looks like the movie musical lives on!

Another award winning musical was Chicago (2002), with thirteen nominations and and six wins including Best Picture, the first musical to win it since Oliver (1968) and Best Supporting Actress, Catherine Zeta-Jones. It turns out she started in theatre as a singer and dancer and is absolutely fantastic. Who knew? Oscar nominated Director and choreographer Rob Marshall is a theatre man himself, and it shows in the film. He is best known for another award-winner, Memoirs of a Geisha, and other musical credits include Annie for TV in 1999 and the forthcoming, Nine. He is definitely a director and choreographer that I would see a movie for. There is something extra special about a director who is dancer/choreographer for a movie that is completely reliant upon that. Renee Zellweger received her second Oscar nomination for this movie and was a newbie in singing and dancing. She, of course, stunned us all as, if not a great dancer, a really great singer. She continued singing in movies like Down With Love, with Moulin Rouge star, Ewan McGregor, and Appaloosa (2008). Some directors have chosen non-singers and dancers for their movie musicals and it has mostly been to the detriment of the movie, but it is also been an advantage to find new, hidden talent.

The story is a pretty typical musical storyline with a twist. It takes on a young girl, Roxie Hart, who wants to be a vaudeville star like the lead characters in 42nd Street, Gypsy and other early musicals. It was written by Maurine Watkins, a journalist who covered murders and wittily twisted the murder stories of murderesses to gain sympathy from the public. Two murderesses who were jazz performers caught Watkins eyes and were the basis for the character of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly in Chicago. The stories were very popular and she eventually started to write plays including Chicago. There were many stage and film versions and finally the rights were bought by Bob Fosse and he turned it into a musical in 1975. The film does something brilliant that won Rob Marshall the job; Roxie is a big dreamer who yearns for the stage so her perceptions of life are seen through the musical sequences. They are all performed onstage which gives the movie a real theatre-going experience.

Yahoo! Movies has equal ratings between viewers and critics and for the four reviewers who graded this movie under and A-, Oscar night must have been surprising for them. My man Ebert understands my tastes again when he says this movie is "big, brassy fun" and focuses on the talent of Marshall, Zeta-Jones and Zellweger. He says the focus on the cynicism and musical numbers is appropriate over the personal stories. It showcases the worst parts of the human psyche in a really fun way. Everyone is capable or bad behaviour and it is better if you accept it than to be unaware of it. What I really love about this film is that there is no love story. Zellweger or Zeta-Jones do not have some creepy lingering romance with Richard Gere's Billy Flynn, the robbing lawyer. And how weird would that have been in a satire of celebrity and murder? Zellweger and husband, Reilly also don't have any romantic moments. Even action and horror flicks have a random romantic storyline but I guess we have to chalk it up to the good ol' days when people knew how to write a real crowd-pleaser.

Favourite quotes: "You know some guys just can't hold their arsenic." - Annie, "And then he ran into my knife, he ran into my knife ten times." - June, "I don't mean to toot my own horn, but if Jesus Christ lived in Chicago today, and he had come to me and he had five thousand dollars, let's just say things would have turned out differently." -Billy Flynn, "They'd love you a lot more if you were hanged. You know why? Because it would sell more papers... That's Chicago." -Billy Flynn, "In this town, murder's a form of entertainment." -Matron Mamma Morton, "And then I started foolin' around... and then I started screwin' around, which is foolin' around without dinner." - Roxie Hart
Chemistry level: 6/5. For lack of a romantic plot the chemistry between the actors is through the roof. But it's a different kind of chemistry; everyone is mostly afraid of each other or really hates the others guts.
Best musical number: My favourite musical numbers are also, I believe, the best in the production. The Cell Block Tango features the stories and some confessions of the marry murderesses of Murderess row. The choreography is perfect, the performances are skilled and eerie, and the production design and costumes are gorgeous. It is a visual and aural feast. Neck-in-neck with that is We Both Reached for the Gun, where you "notice how [Billy Flynn's] mouth never moves...almost". Set on a stage with puppets and some puppet choreography, Zelleger as a Betty Boop look-a-like and Gere as the puppet master. The commentary is made visual, the song is fun and complex and the set and costumes are vibrant and unique and it all comes together is one of the most fun numbers in the film.
Best Performance: While Zellweger and Zeta-Jones are true stars, John C. Reilly really stole the show for me. He have me serious chills during his solo, Mr. Cellophane. He is really the only good guy in the entire story and does not gain from it. I wish Reilly would pick better roles because I really believe he is a fantastic actor who could win an Oscar next time round. I also have to mention, Queen Latifah, who is frightening and fabulous as Matron Mama Morton.
Moral issues: Now I'm sure some of you are questioning the extreme feminism in this movie and rightly so. But that's exactly what it is, extreme feminism in a time where women were first starting to take back their own power against abusive husbands and sexism. It is a perfect revenge fantasy against the physical power men have over women and while it is not always justified it also doesn't condone murder. It is a satire of the media and depicts the truth of the time when criminals were glamourized as celebrities. So if you don't judge too quick, I promise you will see the absolute brilliance of this movie. This is a fabulous chic-flick because remember, morality isn't on my list of requirements.
Great surprises: This may be the only movie where I have liked Richard Gere. I know most of you chic-flickers are probably thinking, but what about Pretty Woman? To this I say, I will not break your hearts and explain my absolute indifference to such a popular film, though I still don't know why. What I will say is that he is a good singer with perfect chops for a movie set in the 1920's. And I really respect him for learning to tap dance in five months and did a good job. But I still think it's a tease to know that it could have been Hugh Jackman or John Travolta. Also watch out for some great appearance by veteran stage actors, Taye Diggs and Christine Baranski as well as Canadian actor, Colm Feore.