Chicago
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Lucy Liu,
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Rating: PG
Genre: Musical, Drama
Box Office: $170,687,518
2003
Times Seen:
Tim: 1
Summary: Tells the story of murder, fame, and betrayal between two aspiring performers (Renee Zellweger, Catherine-Zeta Jones), and the lawyer who gets them both off of murder charges (Richard Gere).
Review:
Tim: First off, I don't like musicals. When's the last time, during every day events, twelve people burst into the same song at the same time and sang it beautifully? Usually, I can stomach musicals, as long as they are decent, but Chicago didn't really do it for me. I'm not saying that it's a bad film, and I'm not saying it doesn't deserve to win the Oscar for Best Picture, but personally I was not a fan.
I think "Chicago" makes an excellent play, but a very poor movie. Seeing the show performed live might make it worthwhile, but on the big screen it just appears flat. Next, I'm very glad you brought up "Moulin Rouge" because this film has to be compared to it. Unfortunately for "Chicago," it can't hold a candle up to "Moulin Rouge." Never in a million years did I think I would like a film starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, yet it is one of my favorites. "Chicago" doesn't come close.
Jones and Zellweger gave tremendous performances. While I don't believe "Chicago" was a very good film, I think it provided the perfect atmosphere for these two actresses to shine. That being said, while they acted brilliantly, I still believe that neither can compare to Nicole Kidman in "Moulin Rouge." Furthermore, Gere gives nowhere near as good of a performance as McGregor. I think that my admiration for "Moulin Rouge" shows that I am not against musicals in general; only ones as predictable and as slow as "Chicago."
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6
If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Moulin Rouge, Jerry Maguire, Entrapment, Primal Fear, The Mothman Prophecies, Bringing Down the House