Critics have claimed that "Chicago" will revive the movie musical. Some have even called it the year's best film. Others, closer to the mark, have called it the movie event of the year.

Whether the movie musical can really be revived is debatable, but the other claims are undeniably untrue: "Chicago" is neither this year's best film nor biggest movie event. What it might be, though, is the most fun movie of the awards season.

Two women, sultry flapper Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and straying housewife Roxie Hart (Rene Zellwegger), have committed murder and vie for headlines, while paying sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) to get them out of jail.

"Chicago" has several great musical numbers, a fantastically talented supporting cast (Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly are the standouts) and a remarkably competent script, given that the musical was long considered to be inadaptable to film. The script has its flaws — a cast of fine actors should not be given such clichéd dialogue, and certain conventional themes are belabored — but it serves its purpose of linking the songs together coherently. The "Dancer in the Dark"-inspired strategy of turning the musical numbers into fantasy sequences achieves this admirably.

Director Rob Marshall deserves quite a bit of the credit for the success of the film. "Chicago" demands a garish, showy style. If Marshall had been more self-indulgent, he might have produced something akin to Baz Lurhman's "Moulin Rouge," which frequently had the effect, both musically and visually, of yelling in the audience's face. Instead, Marshall has made sure that the showmanship in the musical numbers reflects the media's glamorization of the female killers. This makes the film's most garish moments also its most subtle.

"Chicago" may not be art, but it is enjoyable, and, after all, what more can we ask?

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