Chicago (2002 film)

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Chicago
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Rob Marshall
Produced by	Bob Weinstein Harvey Weinstein Craig Zadan Martin Richards
Written by	Maurine Dallas Watkins Bob Fosse Fred Ebb Bill Condon
Starring	Renée Zellweger Catherine Zeta-Jones Richard Gere Queen Latifah John C. Reilly Taye Diggs Christine Baranski
Music by	Music John Kander Lyrics Fred Ebb Score Danny Elfman
Cinematography	Dion Beebe
Editing by	Martin Walsh
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date(s)	Limited December 27, 2002 United States January 24, 2003 Germany February 27, 2003
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United States Germany
Language	English
Budget	$45 million
Gross revenue	$306,776,732

Chicago is a 2002 American film adaptation of the satirical stage musical Chicago, the film explores the themes of celebrity and scandal in Jazz age Chicago. Directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall, and adapted for film by screenwriter Bill Condon, Chicago won six Academy Awards in 2003, including Best Picture. The film was the first musical film to win the Best Picture Oscar since Oliver! in 1968.

Chicago centers on Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, two criminals-of-passion who find themselves on death row together in 1920s Chicago. Velma, a vaudevillian, and Roxie, a housewife with aspirations of having the same profession, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows. The film stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, and Richard Gere, also featuring Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Christine Baranski, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Colm Feore, and Mýa Harrison.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 History 4 Musical numbers 5 Reception 5.1 Box office 6 Awards 6.1 Wins 6.2 Nominations 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Plot

The film takes place in Chicago, circa 1927. Naive Roxie Hart visits a nightclub where star Velma Kelly performs ("And All That Jazz"). Hart is having an affair with Fred Casely in hopes that he will get her a gig as a vaudeville star. Velma is arrested after the show for murdering her adulterous husband and sister Veronica after finding them in bed together. Fred meets Roxie at the nightclub and they go home, both very drunk. They make love and then Fred reveals that he lied about his connections in show business and he only wants Roxie for sex. After Fred dismisses Roxie's chances for success in show business she grabs a gun off her dresser and shoots Fred three times. She then tries to make her husband Amos, who is even more naive than her, take the fall ("Funny Honey"). However, the police and Amos (realizing she has been unfaithful to him) see through her ruse and Roxie is arrested and sent to the Cook County Jail.

Once Roxie arrives and is booked, she is sent to Murderess' Row to await trial, under the care of the corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton, who supplies her girls with cigarettes and other materials if she is paid well enough ("When You're Good to Mama"). Roxie meets Velma in jail as the woman in charge, and learns the stories behind the other women in Murderess' Row ("Cell Block Tango"). Roxie decides that she wants Velma's lawyer Billy Flynn to get her off ("All I Care About"), and convinces her husband to talk to him. Billy decides to take Roxie's case and get her off by making her a star.

Flynn and Roxie manipulate the press at a press conference, reinventing Roxie's identity to make Chicago fall in love with her ("We Both Reached for the Gun"). Roxie becomes the new infamous celebrity of the Cook County Jail, much to Velma's disgust and Mama's delight ("Roxie"). Velma, desperate to get back into the limelight, tries to talk Roxie into opening a vaudeville act with her once they get out of jail ("I Can't Do It Alone"). Roxie haughtily refuses and mocks Velma as Velma mocked Roxie earlier. Roxie and Velma become locked in a rivalry to outdo each other in stardom. The tables are turned on both women, however, when a new killer named Kitty – a wealthy woman who killed her husband and both of his mistresses – enters the scene.

Roxie manages to steal back attention by claiming to be pregnant, which is falsely confirmed by a doctor (whom she seduced), much to Amos' delight; however, nobody notices that he even exists ("Mister Cellophane"). A Hungarian inmate, whose guilt is highly questionable, is considered guilty and hanged after losing her final appeal, which fuels Roxie's desire to be free. Roxie's trial date approaches, and she and Billy begin to plan their strategy to find her innocent of murder using her star power and sympathy vote ("Razzle Dazzle"). Her trial proceeds and becomes a media spectacle, fed off the sensationalist reports of newspaper reporter and radio personality Mary Sunshine. The trial goes Roxie's way, until Velma shows up with Roxie's diary and, in exchange for amnesty, reads incriminating entries that Roxie claims to never have written. Using some quick talking, Billy manages to get Roxie off the hook and she is proclaimed innocent. However, Roxie's publicity is short lived: as soon as the trial concludes, the public's attention turns quickly to a new murderess. Roxie leaves the courthouse after discovering that Billy wrote the false diary entries, and sent the journal to Velma to get Miss Kelly off death row. Roxie reveals to Amos she faked her pregnancy for the fame. It is implied, but never stated, that Amos leaves her at this point.

With nothing left, Roxie once more sets off to find a stage career, with little success ("Nowadays"). However, she is soon approached by Velma, who is willing to revive a two-person act with Roxie. Roxie refuses at first, because of the hatred that they share for each other, but relents. The two murderesses, no longer facing jail time, finally become the enormous successes they have been longing to be ("Nowadays"/"Hot Honey Rag").

[edit] Cast

• Renée Zellweger as Roxie Hart
• Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly
• Richard Gere as Billy Flynn
• John C. Reilly as Amos Hart
• Christine Baranski as Mary Sunshine
• Queen Latifah as Matron "Mama" Morton
• Taye Diggs as Bandleader
• Dominic West as Fred Casely
• Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. Borusewicz
• Colm Feore as Harrison
• Lucy Liu as Go-to-Hell Kitty Baxter
• Chita Rivera (cameo) as Nicky (original Velma on Broadway 1975)

[edit] Production

The film is based on the hit musical Chicago, the original Broadway production of which (in 1975) was not well-received by audiences due to the show's cynical tone. The minimalist 1996 revival was much more successful, however, and the influences of both productions can be seen in the film version. The original production's musical numbers were staged as vaudeville acts; the movie respects this but presents them as Roxie's fantasies, while scenes that take place in "real life" have a hard-edged realism.

Chicago was produced by the American companies Miramax and The Producers Circle in association with the German company Kallis Productions. Chicago was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The courthouse was in Osgoode Hall. Other scenes were filmed at Queen's Park, former Gooderham and Worts Distillery, Casa Loma, the Elgin Theatre, Union Station, the Canada Life Building, the Danforth Music Hall, and at the Old City Hall. All vocal coaching for the film was led by Toronto-based Elaine Overholt, whom Richard Gere thanked personally during his Golden Globe acceptance speech.

Producers were at first hesitant to cast Queen Latifah as Matron "Mama" Morton, as a black woman would not have been given a position as jail warden in the 1920s.

Catherine Zeta-Jones was originally meant to keep her hair long for the role of Velma Kelly, but she had it cut short so that viewers could see her face more clearly and therefore would be certain that she performed her own routines.

[edit] History

The movie is based on the Kander and Ebb Broadway musical, Chicago, which was based on the Maurine Watkins play, Chicago, which was in turn based on the stories of two Jazz-era killers, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner.

The film follows a similar plot to William Wellman's 1942 film Roxie Hart, starring Ginger Rogers as Roxie and Adolphe Menjou as Billy Flynn. However, the only singing or dancing were performances by Rogers.

The film was to have been the next movie project for legendary stage and film choreographer and director Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the original Broadway production. Although he died before the film was made, the influence of his distinctive jazz choreography style can be detected throughout the film. In particular, the parallels to Cabaret are numerous and distinct. He is thanked in the movie's credits.

The satiric presentation of a criminal underworld that mirrors the "respectable" world of daily life goes back to The Beggar's Opera.

[edit] Musical numbers

1. "And All That Jazz" – Velma Kelly and Company
2. "Funny Honey" – Roxie Hart
3. "When You're Good to Mama" – Matron "Mama" Morton
4. "Cell Block Tango" – Velma, Mona, and Girls
5. "All I Care About" – Billy Flynn
6. "We Both Reached for the Gun" – Billy, Roxie, Mary Sunshine, and Reporters
7. "Roxie" – Roxie
8. "I Can't Do It Alone" – Velma
9. "Mister Cellophane" – Amos Hart
10. "Razzle Dazzle" – Billy and Company
11. "Class" – (Velma and Mama) (This song, performed by Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones, was filmed, but it was cut from the film. The scene was later included on the DVD release and the film's broadcast television premiere on NBC in 2005, and the song was included on the soundtrack album.)
12. "Nowadays" – Roxie
13. "Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag" – Roxie and Velma
14. "I Move On" – Roxie and Velma (over the end credits)

[edit] Reception

Chicago was received with very positive reviews. On the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently garners an 87% "Certified Fresh" approval rating,^[1] and a 92% (also "Certified Fresh) approval rating when narrowed down to include only the reviews of top critics; the notable critic Roger Ebert called it "Big, brassy fun."^[2] On Metacritic, the film averaged a critical score of 82% (indicating "universal acclaim") and averaged a user score of 7.9 out of 10.

[edit] Box office

The film grossed $306,403,013 worldwide and has the highest gross of any film never to reach #1 or #2 in the weekly box office charts in the North American markets (Canada and United States -- where it peaked at #3).^[3]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Wins

• Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Catherin Zeta-Jones), Best Art Direction (John Myhre), Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood), Best Editing (Martin Walsh), Best Picture (Martin Richards), Best Sound^[4]
• BAFTAs: Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Best Sound^[5]
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Best Picture, Best Acting Ensemble^[6]
• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards: Best Picture^[7]
• Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Rob Marshall)^[8]
• Evening Standard British Film Awards: Best Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones)^[9]
• Florida Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Song (Cell Block Tango)^[10]
• Golden Globes: Best Actor - Musical or Comedy (Richard Gere), Best Actress - Musical or Comedy (Renee Zellweger), Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy^[11]
• National Board of Review: Best Debut Director (Rob Marshall)^[12]
• Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Best Costume Desgin (Colleen Atwood), Best Film Editing (Martin Walsh)^[13]
• Screen Actors Guild Awards: Best Actress (Renee Zellweger), Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Best Acting Ensemble^[14]

[edit] Nominations

• Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (John C. Reilly), Best Actress (Renee Zellweger), Best Supporting Actress (Queen Latifah), Best Cinematography (Dion Beebe), Best Director (Rob Marshall), Best Original Song (John Kander for I Move On), Best Adapted Screenplay (Bill Condon)^[15]
• BAFTAs: Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (Danny Elfman), Best Cinematography (Dion Beebe), Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood), Best Editing (Martin Walsh), Best Film, Best Make Up/Hair (Judi Cooper-Sealy), Best Actress (Renee Zellweger), Best Supporting Actress (Queen Latifah), Best Art Directon (John Myhre), David Lean Award for Direction (Rob Marshall)^[16]
• Chicago Film Critics Association Awards: Best Actress (Renee Zellweger)^[17]
• Golden Globes: Best Director (Rob Marshall), Best Supporting Actor (John C. Reilly), Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), (Queen Latifah), Best Screenplay (Bill Condon)^[18]
• Online Film Critics Society Awards: Best Breakthrough Filmaker (Rob Marshall), Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood), Best Editing (Martin Walsh), Best Ensemble, Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones)^[19]
• Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards: Best Acting Ensemble, Best Actress (Renee Zellweger), Best Cinematography (Dion Beebe), Best Director (Rob Marshall), Best Newcomer (Rob Marshall), Best Picture^[20]
• Screen Actors Guild Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Queen Latifah), Best Actor (Richard Gere)^[21]
• Writers Guild of America: Best Adapted Screenplay (Bill Condon)^[22]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chicago

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Chicago (2002 film)

• Official website
• Chicago at the Internet Movie Database
• Chicago at the TCM Movie Database
• Chicago at Allmovie
• Chicago at Box Office Mojo
• Chicago at Rotten Tomatoes

Awards and achievements
Preceded by A Beautiful Mind	Academy Award for Best Picture 2002	Succeeded by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Preceded by Moulin Rouge!	Golden Globe: Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy 2003	Succeeded by Lost in Translation

v • d • e Academy Award for Best Picture A Beautiful Mind (2001) · Chicago (2002) · The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) · Million Dollar Baby (2004) · Crash (2005) · The Departed (2006) · No Country for Old Men (2007) · Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Complete List · 1928–1940 · 1941–1960 · 1961–1980 · 1981–2000 · 2001–present

v • d • e Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Moulin Rouge! (2001) · Chicago (2002) · Lost in Translation (2003) · Sideways (2004) · Walk the Line (2005) · Dreamgirls (2006) · Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) · Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Complete List · (1951–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)

v • d • e Films directed by Rob Marshall Annie (1999) · Chicago (2002) · Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) · Nine (2009)