Roxie Hart is an inspiring chorus girl in Chicago during the “Roaring 20’s” who dreams of fame and headlining her own show. But her luck at getting any chances has been futile at best. Her unfaithful lover has promises to get her an audition at a famous nightclub in Chicago but he has been lying to her about his so-called connections. When she finds this out in a rage she shoots him and is arrested for murder. Once she arrives in prison she realized the rules have all changed as famous singer Velma Kelly is already there for killing her sister and husband. She is put on deaths row with the other women who are guilty of killing men for their own various reasons. But there is a lawyer Billy Flynn who they say has never failed to win a case and who could get her off. But the hitch is he is expensive and she must turn to her husband who she abandoned for her affair for help. If he can raise the money to hire Billy he will submerse her in a world of paparazzi and the media that he is already trying to use to get Velma off. She discovers that she loves the fame that surrounds her in being front-page news in a murder case and is hoping that it will not only set her free but also make her a star when she gets out.

The movie is based on the much beloved Broadway play of the same name. I had a hard time imaging it as a play though as the way they cut from the music to different scenes was done so masterfully that I am doubting the play could be better then this movie. I also had believed that the genre of musicals as movies was dead but again this movie proved me wrong. This is not the musical of the 1960’s and my parents this is a musical for today’s age much like Moulin Rouge. This is more risqué and at times seems to resemble a showgirl’s act in Las Vegas. The costuming and the set design have all the elements of a successful Broadway act while incorporating more modern themes. The movie is also doused in humor and you will find yourself laughing at the many themes and side jokes of the movie. But what makes this movie so superb is the music and acting. The music is incorporated right into the story and plot and jumps back and forth with relative ease adding to the plot of the movie quite well. In fact some of the musical numbers make the movie by itself adding a style and humor to the movie that the movie probably could not have survived without. And then there was the acting Jones and Zellweger who play the chorus girls seem to steal the show at times as not only can they sing but they brought a wonderful zeal to the movie. Zellweger by far takes the movie into her own hands and makes it an enthralling and entertaining movie. You cannot help but be drawn into her character and wondering what the outcome of her trial will be. If there was a downfall in the acting it might have been Gere who seems to be outshone by his female counterparts for much of the movie. Lucy Liu also drops in and her and Queen Latifah have the probably the funniest two parts in the whole movie. The music is superb, the plot and story is enthralling, the acting is entertaining and put all together they prove that the musical is definitely not dead.
4 stars out of 5