"Chicago" packs a punch

[+ deej]

I finally saw this movie this evening.

 

LOVED IT!

 

WILL SEE IT AGAIN! WILL PROBABLY BUY THE DVD!

 

It's packed with surprises, not the least of which is that the cast can carry it.

 

CZJ and Renee Zelleweger are TOTALLY believable as 2nd-rate vaudeville performers, and the real surprise is that they actually sing pretty well.

 

I found it funny that the credits go out of there way to say "Richard Gere's singing and dancing was performed by RICHARD GERE" etc.

 

I just loved this movie! Yes, it has video editing aimed at the MTV generation, but it works. Yes, it has flaws.

 

But I just loved the movie. I've waited to see this movie for many years and I was prepared to hate it. I just can't hate it.

 

Razzle Dazzle, indeed. Bring me more movies like this!

[Guest globjock]

I saw it yesterday. Great stuff! This is one movie that made a perfect translation from the stage.

[btmstudnyc]

Chicago, Lion King, Hairspray

 

I LOVED IT. The movie is truer to the original Chicago onstage..not the watered down one on Broadway now(good but not a punch) I rank the movie along with Lion King and Hairspray as my all time favorites for pure visual excitement.

(meaning last 10 years Favs.)

 

Oh...just to tick you off Jack...LES MISERABLES>>>>>>makes me MISERABLE to even think about it....NO, I dont agree with you....it is not uplifting....when you see Hairspray on Tuesday...you finally will understand exactly where Im coming from.

 

JIM

If it dont fit, force it

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[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

My Kind Of Town ...

 

For the same reason that the trailers and the commercials show a great deal of spoken words and little of the singing, the editing is, as others have surmised, very "modern." I saw Moulin Rouge after the Oscars and enjoyed it much more than I expected, but I think it is more an exempler of something with very rapid, quick cuts, which do not feature the dancers or movements but simply provide visual stimuli.

 

Chicago's editing was not as obtrusive, and particular in numbers like the Cell Block Tango, it was clear it helped pace the story and at least did not minimize the dancing and movement simply for visual effect.

 

I think it had some truly great moments, particular the press conference, where I really enjoyed Ms. Baranski, the court room scene and the tap dance. Yes, Richard Gere really cannot sing well but these numbers worked very well, as did his spoken/acted performance, in ways that a more musically talented stage actor may not have achieved.

 

It is also clearly a matter of name presence in the casting. I also agree RZ did well, as her performance improved musically, to the last number where she held her own nicely with CZJ. If you look at that number closely, she dances very well, and while it is a duet, and her voice is not a focal point, neither is it hidden nor overwhelmed by Ms. Zeta Jones.

 

I think it will win a number of awards, possibly even Best Picture, although, surprising to me, I must admit I liked Moulin Rouge better partly because the story engaged me more, it was visually more stimulating, and the performances overall were stronger.

[+ Charlie]

Oh, dear! I fear I am very out of step on this one--perhaps I'm no longer gay.

 

I went to see the movie yesterday (in an empty theater--just six other customers) because I had nothing else to do and the weather here in Philly is still dreadful. I had never seen the show and didn't even know what it was about, so I had no preconceptions. I really enjoyed the singing and dancing, but whenever it stopped I was thoroughly bored. The concept is so thin any thirteen year old could grasp it without help, and all the characters are predictable cardboard figures. Latifah and Baranski are talents that seemed completely wasted on the material. I thought it was a slick attempt to make platitudes appear profound.

 

And, no, it's not just that I'm still bitter because, after our brief fling forty years ago, John Kander stopped calling me.