Poll Position: "Chicago" (2002)

I’ll be forward and honest; I don’t think “Chicago” is a movie for me. I haven’t been all that interested in seeing this movie, but I’ve always wondered why this was so big. Now I totally see why this movie is as famous as it is. But “Chicago” did win the Renée Zellweger poll, so I only expect her to be nothing short of greatness in this flick. But let me give you the low-down on the film.

After killing her husband and sister who were in bed together, Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is arrested for murder. Likewise, Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) is going to jail for killing her boyfriend, even though she was cheating on her husband. But it had it coming to him, or at least that is what she keeps telling the news. He did break her heart and lie to her that she’ll become a big music star. I guess the media will eat anything up when a cute damsel is in jail.

Zellweger was absolutely stunning to watch.

To start off, the most impressive part of this film is obviously how fun it is to tap my foot to the beat. Let alone the fact that the soundtrack is absolutely amazing, the dance numbers do a fair job of completing an amazing one-two punch. It truly is a great entertainment value for both my ears and eyes. I’ve never enjoyed a musical as much as I liked the music in Chicago. To be honest, I was a bit surprised how much I liked it. And I think that the actors and actress are a fundamental part of the music numbers.

When it came to these music numbers, both Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger were phenomenal when it came to the dancing and singing. Besides both of them being unbelievably attractive, ‘cause Flappers are hot, also the fact that their dancing was almost mesmerizing. The few scenes I liked the most were the one with Billy (Richard Gere) was using Roxie as a puppet, the six women in jail, and obviously the one with Amos Hart (John C. Reilly). The music was great and just watching the dancing was phenomenal.  

The still pictures do no justice to the amazing dance pieces.

But besides the actual music, I find this movie to be fairly entertaining. The back story of Roxie trying to get out of jail but still be in the headlines when she gets out so she can get a job right after was fantastic. And Renée was one of the best actresses; she really got me into this movie and her role. 

There was probably only one scene I did not really like and felt maybe a tad bit out of place. Now I am not too sure if they did this on purpose. But when Billy is in court defending Roxie, the two put on a show and a fairly entertaining one. But was the court back in the 20’s gave the verdict on who had the most entertaining show? Because Billy sells his part way too much and over acts as he is defending Roxie, I just was a bit off put by that scene. I thought it would have been more appropriate if the two were a bit more serious, but I’m sure it flowed a lot better with the two putting on an extravagant show. 

Even with that said, the movie was a hoot to watch. I love the roaring 20’s and this movie totally captured what I think the 20’s is all about. And being a bit of a music fanatic, I loved most of the soundtrack and didn’t hate anything from the movie. The dancing was amazing and kudos to the choreographer for making something so beautiful. And this is my favourite appearance by Renée Zellweger as well as Catherine Zeta-Jones. The two make a duo for the eyes satisfied and the lotion bottle empty.