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Revisiting "Chicago"

The Genius of Fred Ebb


"Chicago" won the Oscar for Best Picture; this was the first time since the sixties that a movie musical took home top prize.

(The first time since "Oliver!" -- a really weird choice.)

Critics have said that "Chicago" is not as strong as another movie musical that emerged a few years later--"Hairspray." And yet "Hairspray" didn't get the Oscar-love that "Chicago" had attracted. Maybe this is related to the Academy's general anti-comedy prejudice.

I really like "Chicago." I like the fabulous sets and costumes, and I like the chemistry between Renee Zellweger and her frenemy, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Zellweger is Roxie Hart, who murders her lover, then tries to turn the crime into a media opportunity. Zeta-Jones is a rival, who once murdered *two* people, and who is struggling to keep her own celebrity alive.

The two dismiss each other, plead with each other, attempt to work with each other, upstage each other. At one point, Lucy Liu threatens to claim the spotlight, so RZ's Roxie feigns a pregnancy. In the end, Roxie and Velma form a cynical just-for-show partnership, and each lends a dose of B-grade celebrity to the act. It's enough to get by.

All this is delightful, but then you have the supporting cast, including the capitalist, Matron Mama Morton:

The ones who climb the ladder
Are the ones the world adores...
So boost me up my ladder, kid....
And I'll boost you....up yours.....

There's the Johnnie Cochran-esque lawyer, Billy Flynn: "Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it....and the reaction will be passionate...."

And there is the lone decent soul, Mr. Cellophane, played beautifully by John C. Reilly in a clown's getup (.....and people forget that Reilly earned an Oscar nomination for this role)....

A human being's made of more than air...
With all that bulk, you're bound to see him there...
Unless that human being next to you....
Is unimpressive, undistinguished you-know-who....

I grew bored during the court scene, but I was re-inspired in the "Hot Honey Rag." I was also happy to see Christine Baranksi in the margins. This is a movie worth revisiting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKHzTtr_lNk
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