The cinematic musical has never really died, although there have been times over the last three decades when it has not seemed to be in the best of health. The golden age of the genre was in the fifties and sixties; in the latter decade four of the ten "Best Picture" Oscars went to musicals ("West Side Story", "My Fair Lady" "The Sound of Music" and "Oliver!"). Like a number of other seemingly-established genres (such as the Western) the musical suffered a decline in the seventies and eighties; those two great films "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Cabaret" from the early seventies seemed to be the end of the line. (If I were to be asked for my favourite musical of the eighties, it would probably be something as obscure as "Absolute Beginners"). That, however, was not the end of the story. Many of the genres which had gone out of fashion made at least a partial comeback in the nineties. Alan Parker's "Evita" in 1996 was in my view the first great musical for over twenty years. Although it has not been followed by as many imitators as devotees of the genre might have hoped for, there have nevertheless been some good examples, notably "Chicago", the first musical to take "Best Picture" since 1969.
Most of the classic musicals of the past were either light-hearted comedies like "An American in Paris" or serious dramas like "West Side Story". "Chicago", however, does not fit into either category, being a black comedy that deals with serious topics such as murder, the death penalty and the judicial system in an ironical way. The plot, set in the jazz-age Chicago of the Twenties, concerns Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, two young women accused of crimes of passion. Velma is a showgirl who murdered her sister and her husband after finding them in a compromising position. Roxie, a housewife with showbiz ambitions of her own, murdered her lover after discovering he had lied to her about his theatrical connections. Both hire to defend them Billy Flynn, the city's leading lawyer, who tries to win public sympathy by turning them into media celebrities.
This film has been compared to another twenty-first century musical, Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge!", but in my view "Chicago" is far superior to that tasteless, meretricious movie. The main defect of "Moulin Rouge!" is not so much that it is irredeemably vulgar; honest vulgarity has its place, sometimes an honourable one, in the entertainment industry. "Moulin Rouge!", however, is the dishonest sort of vulgarity, the self-satisfied variety that takes itself seriously, never realising how trashy it is. There are elements of vulgarity in "Chicago", but it never falls into the same trap of taking itself too seriously. The tone is generally light and cynical; when it has serious points to make it does so in a satirical way. There is some sharp satire at the expense of lawyers and the media who attempt to exploit the notoriety of celebrity criminals for their own purposes; for some reason the initials "OJ" kept coming to mind.
Another reason why I found "Chicago" superior was the quality of the music. Unlike the earlier film it was originally written as a stage musical, with purpose-written songs. "Moulin Rouge!", by contrast, simply borrows various pop songs from the previous three decades, none of which were written as part of a musical and many of which seem out of place in that particular context, especially when performed by the likes of Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, neither of whom have particularly strong voices.
The music of "Chicago", however, written in the jazz style of the twenties, is lively with witty lyrics, the two most memorable numbers being "All That Jazz" and "Give 'Em the Old Razzle-Dazzle". The two female leads in are both clearly talented as singers and dancers. Catherine Zeta Jones is aggressively seductive as Velma, something that might surprise her fellow Britons who remember her as sweet little Mariette in "The Darling Buds of May" or as a rather soulful Eustacia in "The Return of the Native". In Hollywood, however, apart from adventures of the "Zorro" type, her forte seems to be cynical or satirical comedies like this one, "America's Sweethearts" or "Intolerable Cruelty". Renee Zellwegger, clearly hoping to exorcise the ghost of the frumpy Bridget Jones, plays Roxie with an intriguing mixture of sexuality and vulnerability. Richard Gere is not the world's greatest singer, but his relaxed, nonchalant style of acting makes him ideal for the role of the cynically mercenary Billy. There are also some good cameos, particularly from Queen Latifah as the corrupt prison warder Mama Morton.
The "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar for Catherine Zeta Jones was well deserved, but I was rather surprised by the "Best Picture" award. "Chicago" is a good film, but I am not sure that it is a better one than "The Two Towers" (which possibly suffered from being the middle episode of a trilogy) or "The Pianist". Nevertheless, there is much to enjoy in this entertaining black comedy. 8/10
Most of the classic musicals of the past were either light-hearted comedies like "An American in Paris" or serious dramas like "West Side Story". "Chicago", however, does not fit into either category, being a black comedy that deals with serious topics such as murder, the death penalty and the judicial system in an ironical way. The plot, set in the jazz-age Chicago of the Twenties, concerns Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, two young women accused of crimes of passion. Velma is a showgirl who murdered her sister and her husband after finding them in a compromising position. Roxie, a housewife with showbiz ambitions of her own, murdered her lover after discovering he had lied to her about his theatrical connections. Both hire to defend them Billy Flynn, the city's leading lawyer, who tries to win public sympathy by turning them into media celebrities.
This film has been compared to another twenty-first century musical, Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge!", but in my view "Chicago" is far superior to that tasteless, meretricious movie. The main defect of "Moulin Rouge!" is not so much that it is irredeemably vulgar; honest vulgarity has its place, sometimes an honourable one, in the entertainment industry. "Moulin Rouge!", however, is the dishonest sort of vulgarity, the self-satisfied variety that takes itself seriously, never realising how trashy it is. There are elements of vulgarity in "Chicago", but it never falls into the same trap of taking itself too seriously. The tone is generally light and cynical; when it has serious points to make it does so in a satirical way. There is some sharp satire at the expense of lawyers and the media who attempt to exploit the notoriety of celebrity criminals for their own purposes; for some reason the initials "OJ" kept coming to mind.
Another reason why I found "Chicago" superior was the quality of the music. Unlike the earlier film it was originally written as a stage musical, with purpose-written songs. "Moulin Rouge!", by contrast, simply borrows various pop songs from the previous three decades, none of which were written as part of a musical and many of which seem out of place in that particular context, especially when performed by the likes of Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, neither of whom have particularly strong voices.
The music of "Chicago", however, written in the jazz style of the twenties, is lively with witty lyrics, the two most memorable numbers being "All That Jazz" and "Give 'Em the Old Razzle-Dazzle". The two female leads in are both clearly talented as singers and dancers. Catherine Zeta Jones is aggressively seductive as Velma, something that might surprise her fellow Britons who remember her as sweet little Mariette in "The Darling Buds of May" or as a rather soulful Eustacia in "The Return of the Native". In Hollywood, however, apart from adventures of the "Zorro" type, her forte seems to be cynical or satirical comedies like this one, "America's Sweethearts" or "Intolerable Cruelty". Renee Zellwegger, clearly hoping to exorcise the ghost of the frumpy Bridget Jones, plays Roxie with an intriguing mixture of sexuality and vulnerability. Richard Gere is not the world's greatest singer, but his relaxed, nonchalant style of acting makes him ideal for the role of the cynically mercenary Billy. There are also some good cameos, particularly from Queen Latifah as the corrupt prison warder Mama Morton.
The "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar for Catherine Zeta Jones was well deserved, but I was rather surprised by the "Best Picture" award. "Chicago" is a good film, but I am not sure that it is a better one than "The Two Towers" (which possibly suffered from being the middle episode of a trilogy) or "The Pianist". Nevertheless, there is much to enjoy in this entertaining black comedy. 8/10