Poll Position: Chicago (2002)

Last week we came up with the idea of having a poll of various Renée Zellweger movies. While the winner turned out to be Chicago and only by a vote or two over the others, what I found interesting is that all of the movie choices got votes. Usually there's one, or even two films, that don't manage to get any votes at all. I think it just goes to show that her films cover a very wide audience base. In the end though, there can be only one! Hit the jump for my thoughts... and all that jazz!


For those unfamiliar with the film or the stage show it's based on, Renée Zellweger plays a young woman who longs for the stage and the spotlight, Roxie Hart. She dreams and aspires to be just like Velma Kelly, a popular singer at a local club, played by the stunning Catherine Zeta-Jones. It seems only fitting then, that after Velma is arrested on a double murder charge, that Roxie wasn't far behind, as she kills the man she's been having an affair with in a fit of rage. Both women end up in the same prison, run by Matron 'Mama' Morton, played by Queen Latifah. Not only that, they also share the same lawyer, one Billy Flynn, played by Richard Gere. It seems their destiny's will forever be intertwined. The big question of the story, though, is if Roxie can be found innocent at trial, because otherwise she's going to hang.

Renée Zellweger stars in Chicago

The most unique part of Chicago is that it is a musical, but not really a musical. All the song and dance numbers take place in this alternate world just for our benefit. The film continuously flips between the dance numbers and what's really happening, paralleling the two. Some of the acts seem to be inner thoughts of the characters, while others are simply to introduce characters and explain them more. I liked how they did this. Other musicals will just show the characters break into song and the world becomes a strange one that you just have to accept, like Moulin Rouge. The thing I liked about how Chicago handled it was that it kept the dance numbers separate and thus maintained the integrity of the real world, but still had its fun.

Just like how the movie was divided into two realities, I'm also divided on my feelings for it. While I enjoyed the vast majority of the dance numbers, I have to say I didn't much care for the real world stuff and the story. I liked the dance numbers because a lot of them were highly recognizable to the ear, and each one was very different from the last making them all unique. But as far as the rest of the movie, it was like a domino effect for me. I didn't like the characters, so I didn't care what happened to them, so I didn't care for the story. Basically the whole movie became a series of ups and downs of bits and pieces I liked, and then hated.

Catherine Zeta-Jones and the other women of "Murderer's Alley" jail block

Of the actors and performances, I actually really didn't care much for Renée Zellweger's performance at all. I think I'm too used to seeing her in nice roles, so I really didn't buy her as a selfish murderer obsessed with fame. I also didn't really like her singing/dance numbers either. Catherine Zeta-Jones on the other hand was perfect as the smoldering star of the stage, and she has just enough "tough" in her to pull it off. Richard Gere and Queen Latifah were predicatble, so I don't have much to say about them. Now, for some reason I just want to lastly point out the guy who appears out of nowhere to introduce all the musical numbers. He was Taye Diggs and he really seemed to help sell that "old time jazz" feel for me. I'm not really sure why, he was just cool.

Overall I thought the movie was entertaining enough. I really liked how they handled the dance numbers in the sort of "dream world" or whatever you'd like to call it. It let me enjoy the acrobatics and singing without the logical side of my brain piping up with a party-pooper "Why would they be doing this?" On the other hand it was kinda filled with forgettable characters and a story I'll never care about. After all, why should I be empathizing with either of these women? They're both cold blooded murderers! Long story short, if this happens to be on TV, it would make a good time killer on a slow day. Also, if you really like seeing dancing, such as the TV show So You Think You Can Dance then you'll also probably enjoy it because of some of the dance routines. This is a hard one to recommend, you'll just have to make your own call on this one.