December 3, 2002. Copyright, 2002, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Murder, corruption Š and all that jazz
By Mark Samms

Graphic News: London, December 3, 2002: It has been a long time coming, but the movie version of Bob FosseÕs stunning musical Chicago is being released just in time to become a serious Oscar contender.

With the popular and critical acclaim accorded to Moulin Rouge still reverberating around the industry, song and dance has returned to the movie mainstream with a vengeance.

Insiders are already making favourable noises about Chicago, which was first mooted as a movie 15 years ago. The process was accelerated five years ago after its stunning stage revival on Broadway and in London.

The story is set in 1930s Chicago and revolves around a vaudeville performer Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger), who is desperate to be a star, and Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who already enjoys the kind of adulation she craves, albeit while serving time as a convicted murderess.

Roxie is soon facing a murder charge herself, but the lure of the spotlight remains strong. Both womenÕs infamy is exploited by slick lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) but Roxie, as the new face in the tabloids, begins to eclipse her more illustrious inmate.

Then triple murderes Go-to-Hell Kitty (Lucy Liu) arrives at the prison, leaving Roxie and Velma to work together as they scheme their way back into the hearts of the popular press. Britney Spears was once strongly rumoured to be in the running for the role of Go-to-Hell Kitty, but lost out to Liu.

The movie is full of show-stopping set numbers like Razzle Dazzle, All That Jazz and Cell Block Tango, and director Rob Marshall is happy to acknowledge the influence of the late Bob Fosse in both the look and choreography of the movie.

Think of Cabaret -- for which Fosse won an academy award in 1972 -- and the dark beauty and dramatic impact of Chicago will immediately become apparent.
/ENDS

Release dates:
December 12: World premiere, Los Angeles
December 27: U.S., UK (limited release)
January 9: Argentina
January 17: U.S., UK (general release)
January 23: Australia
February 13: Netherlands
February 26: Belgium, France
March 13: Russia