Chicago (2002)

Chicago is a 2002 musical black comedy crime film based on the 1975 stage musical, which in turn originated in the 1926 play. It explores the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Chicago during the Jazz Age. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere. Chicago centers on Roxie Hart (Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones), two murderers who find themselves in jail together awaiting trial in 1920s Chicago. Roxie, a housewife, and Velma, a vaudevillian, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Rob Marshall, who also choreographed the film, and was adapted by screenwriter Bill Condon, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.

Chicago received critical acclaim, with particular praise for the performances of the cast. The film went on to win six Academy Awards in 2003, including Best Picture, making it the first musical to win Best Picture since Oliver! in 1968. For her performance, Zeta-Jones won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the British Academy Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. Zellweger won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical,and Gere won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Chicago was the tenth-highest-grossing film of the year domestically in the United States.

Plot

In 1924, vaudeville star Velma Kelly performs ("Overture/All That Jazz") at The Onyx, a Chicago nightclub; the spotlight highlights the empty place where Velma's sister is missing awkwardly from the double act. Seeking stardom, housewife Roxie Hart watches Velma perform as she awaits furniture salesman Fred Casely, with whom Roxie is having an affair because he promised to introduce her to the nightclub's manager. After the show, Velma is arrested for killing her husband and sister, who she had caught in bed together. Roxie is disappointed when Casely fails to introduce her to the Onyx manager.

A month later, Casely admits to Roxie that he lied about his connections to sleep with her but is now tired of the affair. Enraged, she shoots him dead. She convinces her gullible husband, Amos, to take the blame, telling him she killed a burglar in self-defense. However, when evidence of Roxie's infidelity is uncovered, Amos recants and tells the police that Casely was dead when he arrived home ("Funny Honey"). Roxie is arrested, with District Attorney Martin Harrison declaring she faces execution by hanging.

At the Cook County Jail, Roxie is sent to Murderess' Row, supervised by the corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton ("When You're Good to Mama"). Roxie learns the backstories of the other women there, including her idol, Velma ("Cell Block Tango"), who rebuffs her attempts at friendship. On Morton's advice, Roxie engages Velma's lawyer, the brilliant Billy Flynn ("All I Care About"). Flynn and Roxie manipulate the press, reinventing Roxie as a virtuous Southern woman corrupted by the city's decadent nightlife. A "repentant" Roxie claims she had the affair with Casely because Amos neglected her for work, but Casely jealously attacked her when she chose to remain with Amos ("We Both Reached for the Gun"). The press extolls the story, and Roxie becomes an overnight sensation ("Roxie"), praised by the public as a tragic heroine. Unhappy at losing the public's attention, Velma tries to convince Roxie to join her act, replacing her murdered sister ("I Can't Do It Alone"); now the more popular of the two rivals, Roxie snubs her.

When wealthy heiress Kitty Baxter is arrested for murdering her husband and his two mistresses, the press and Flynn instantly shift their focus to her. To Velma's exasperation, Roxie quickly regains the spotlight by claiming pregnancy. The press ignores Amos ("Mister Cellophane"); to generate more sympathy for Roxie, Flynn convinces Amos that the child is Casely's and that he should divorce Roxie in her predicament. Roxie decides to fire Flynn, believing she can now win on her own. However, when Katalin Helinszki, a Hungarian woman on Murderess' Row (the only inmate who insists on her own innocence), becomes the first woman in Cook County history to be executed by hanging, Roxie realizes the gravity of the situation and rehires Flynn.

Flynn turns Roxie's trial into a media spectacle ("Razzle Dazzle") with the help of sensationalist newspaper reporters and radio personality Mary Sunshine. Flynn discredits witnesses, manipulates evidence, and even stages a public reconciliation between Amos and Roxie when she claims the child is his. Mama and Velma find Roxie's diary, containing incriminating entries, and offer it to the prosecution as evidence in exchange for amnesty in Velma's own case. Flynn discredits the diary, implying from its legalistic language that it was written by DA Harrison, who planted it as evidence ("A Tap Dance"). Though Roxie is acquitted, her fame is eclipsed moments later when another woman-who-shot-her-husband shoots her own lawyer outside the courthouse. Flynn admits to Roxie that he tampered with her diary himself to incriminate the DA and to free his two clients simultaneously. Loyal Amos is excited to be a father, but Roxie cruelly reveals that she faked her pregnancy.

Roxie pursues a vaudeville career with limited success ("Nowadays"). The similarly unsuccessful Velma reapproaches Roxie to suggest performing together as a novel double act featuring two murderesses. Though initially refusing, Roxie accepts when Velma points out that they can perform together despite their mutual dislike. The two stage a spectacular performance ("Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag"), receiving a standing ovation from an enthusiastic audience that includes Flynn, Morton, the jurors, and other acquitted murderesses.

Cast

Renée Zellweger as Roxie Hart, a housewife who aspires to be a vaudevillian, and is arrested for the murder of her deceitful paramour Fred Casely. Charlize Theron, Marisa Tomei, Christina Applegate, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Milla Jovovich, and Jennifer Aniston were considered for the role.

Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly, a charismatic vaudevillian who is arrested for the murders of her husband Charlie and sister Veronica after catching them in bed together

Richard Gere as Billy Flynn, a duplicitous, greedy, smooth-talking lawyer who turns his clients into celebrities to gain public support for them. Michael Jackson was considered for the role, but Harvey Weinstein heavily objected to the idea of casting Jackson as he felt more attention would be paid to him than the rest of the cast. John Travolta was offered the role but turned it down.

Queen Latifah as Matron "Mama" Morton, the corrupt but nurturing matron of the Cook County Jail

John C. Reilly as Amos Hart, Roxie's naïve, simple-minded but devoted husband

Lucy Liu as Kitty Baxter, a millionaire heiress who briefly outshines Roxie and Velma when she kills her husband and his two mistresses

Taye Diggs as the bandleader, a shadowy, mystical master of ceremonies who introduces each song

Colm Feore as Martin Harrison, the prosecutor in both Roxie and Velma's court cases

Christine Baranski as Mary Sunshine, a sensationalist reporter

Dominic West as Fred Casely, Roxie's deceitful paramour and murder victim

Mýa Harrison as Mona, a prisoner on Murderess' Row who killed her artist boyfriend Al Lipschitz via strangulation after discovering he had multiple affairs

Deidre Goodwin as June, a prisoner on Murderess' Row who killed her husband Wilbur by stabbing him ten times with her kitchen knife after he angrily accused her out of jealousy of having an affair with the milkman

Denise Faye as Annie, a prisoner on Murderess' Row who killed her boyfriend Ezekiel Young by poisoning his drink with arsenic after discovering he was a Mormon with six different wives

Ekaterina Chtchelkanova as Katalin "Hunyak" Helinszki, a Hungarian prisoner on Murderess' Row who insists she is innocent and does not speak English except for two words: "not guilty"; regardless, she is hanged

Susan Misner as Liz, a prisoner on Murderess' Row who killed her husband Bernie by shooting him twice in the head after he would not stop popping his gum

Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. Borusewicz, the Harts' neighbor from across the hall

Chita Rivera as Nickie, a prostitute. Rivera originated the role of Velma in the Broadway musical Chicago in 1975; her appearance in the film is a cameo.

Production

Development

The film is based on the 1975 Broadway musical of the same name, which ran for 936 performances. A film adaptation of Chicago was to have been the next project for Bob Fosse, who had directed and choreographed the original 1975 Broadway production and had won an Oscar for his direction of the film version of Cabaret (1972). Although he died before realizing his version, Fosse's distinctive jazz choreography style is evident throughout the 2002 film, and the credits include a brief dedication to Fosse, his wife Gwen Verdon, and Broadway producer Robert Fryer. The minimalist 1996 revival of the musical proved far more successful, having played more than 10,601 performances (as of December 3, 2023), holding records for longest-running musical revival, longest-running American musical on Broadway and second longest-running show in Broadway history. Its runaway success sparked a greater appreciation of the 1975 original production and renewed stalled interest in a long-anticipated film, which incorporates the influences of both productions.

The original production's musical numbers were staged as vaudeville acts; the film respects this but presents them as cutaway scenes in the mind of the Roxie character, while scenes in "real life" are filmed with a hard-edged grittiness. The musical itself was based on a 1926 Broadway play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a journalist who had found her inspiration in two real-life Chicago trials she had covered for the press, about two real-life Jazz-era murderers Beulah Annan (Roxie Hart) and Belva Gaertner (Velma Kelly). The George Abbott-directed production, starring Francine Larrimore and Juliette Crosby, ran for 172 performances at the Music Box Theatre, and within a year was adapted to a silent film, in which Gaertner herself had a cameo. Chicago was produced by American companies Miramax Films and The Producers Circle in association with the German company Kallis Productions. Roxie Hart, also known as Chicago or Chicago Gal, is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou and George Montgomery. The film is an adaptation of the 1926 play.

Filming

Principal photography took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and ran from December 2001 to April 2002. The courthouse scene was shot in Osgoode Hall. Other scenes were shot at Queen's Park, the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery, Casa Loma, the Elgin Theatre, Union Station, the Canada Life Building, the Danforth Music Hall, and the Old City Hall.

Music

Several songs from the musical's original score were cut from the film, primarily due to the musical numbers being figments of Roxie's imagination. "Tap Dance", "A Little Bit of Good", "I Can't Do It Alone" (reprise), "My Own Best Friend", "I Know a Girl", "Me and My Baby" and "When Velma Takes the Stand" were removed, and "Class", while filmed and recorded for the soundtrack album, is a deleted scene on the DVD, as well as part of an "extended version" from the film's 2005 broadcast premiere on NBC. An instrumental of "Me and My Baby" can be heard in its spot, where Roxie enjoys the renewed fame after claiming she's pregnant.

"Overture / All That Jazz" – Velma, Company

"Funny Honey" – Roxie and Amos

"When You're Good to Mama" – Mama

"Cell Block Tango" – Velma, Cell Block Girls

"All I Care About" – Billy, Chorus Girls

"We Both Reached for the Gun" – Billy, Roxie, Mary, Reporters

"Roxie" – Roxie, Chorus Boys

"I Can't Do It Alone" – Velma

"Chicago After Midnight" (score)

"Mister Cellophane" – Amos

"Razzle Dazzle" – Billy, Company

"Class" (deleted scene) – Velma and Mama

"A Tap Dance" – Billy

"Nowadays" – Roxie

"Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag" – Roxie, Velma

"I Move On" (end credits) – Roxie, Velma

"All That Jazz (reprise)" (end credits) – Velma, Company

Release

Chicago held its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 10, 2002. In North America, the film opened in limited release at 77 theaters on December 27, 2002. It expanded through the following weeks before reaching a peak of 2,701 theaters by the weekend of March 28, 2003, the first weekend after the Academy Awards.

Home media

Chicago was released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (under the Miramax Home Entertainment banner) on DVD in Region 1 (USA, Canada, and US territories) on August 19, 2003. It was released in Full Screen and Widescreen. In addition to this release, a two-disc "Razzle Dazzle" Edition was released over two years later on December 20, 2005, and later, on Blu-ray format, in January 2007 and, in an updated release, in May 2011. The release provides a feature-length audio commentary track with director Marshall and screenwriter Condon. There is also a deleted musical number called "Class", performed by Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah.

Reception

Box office

Chicago grossed $170.7 million in the United States and Canada, as well as $136.1 million in other territories. Combined, the film grossed $306.8 million worldwide, which was, at the time, 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). Worldwide, Chicago was the highest grossing live action musical with $306 million, a record that was then broken by Mamma Mia!.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of 260 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "A rousing and energetic adaptation of the Broadway musical, Chicago succeeds on the level of pure spectacle, but provides a surprising level of depth and humor as well." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

The cast received widespread acclaim for their performances. Tim Robey, reviewer for The Daily Telegraph, labeled Chicago "the best screen musical for 30 years". He also stated that it has taken a "three-step tango for us to welcome back the movie musical as a form". Robey also wrote "this particular Chicago makes the most prolific use it possibly can out of one specific advantage the cinema has over the stage when it comes to song and dance: it's a sustained celebration of parallel montage". Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "big, brassy fun". However, other reviews claimed that there were issues with the film being too streamlined, and minor complaints were made about Marshall's directing influences.

Accolades

Legacy

With Moulin Rouge! (2001) and 8 Mile (2002), Chicago is often credited with ushering a re-emergence of the musical film genre in the 21st century.

Japanese rock band Buck-Tick named their 2010 album Razzle Dazzle after the film's song of the same name.

In February 2025, The Washington Post ranked Chicago at number 2 on its list of "The 25 best movie musicals of the 21st century," with Naveen Kumar describing it as "a perfect marriage of theatrical flair to the power of moviemaking."

In July 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 134.

Notes

References

External links

Chicago at IMDb

Chicago at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

Chicago at Box Office Mojo

Chicago at Metacritic

Chicago at Rotten Tomatoes

Chicago at the TCM Movie Database (archived)