Broadway to the silver screen
By EMILY TUMBRINK
Scene Music Critic
One of the most daring motion picture releases of 2002, the movie-musical "Chicago" successfully makes the difficult transition from the stage to the silver screen. Firmly based on the musical by Fred Ebb, John Kander and Bob Fosse that was originally released in 1975 and returned to Broadway in 1996, the movie is a glossier version of the original, with flashy costumes and big name actors. One of the most distinct features of the movie is its seamless incorporation of the original Broadway music into the action of the plot mainly by converting the musical numbers into fantasy sequences that occur in the mind of Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger). Although we do not get a sense of this aspect of the movie from its soundtrack, the music is strong enough to stand on its own; listening to the soundtrack is nearly as enjoyable as watching the film itself.
What makes this movie and its soundtrack such a success is its impeccable casting. Rather than using professional singers and dancers, the casting directors chose actors and actresses to play the main roles. Catherine Zeta-Jones began her career as a chorus girl and dancer, making her an obvious choice for the role of Velma Kelly, the chorus girl turned murderess who tries to turn her crime into publicity for her stage career. Renee Zellweger, though a less obvious choice, surprises with her sultry portrayal of Roxie Hart, the aspiring chorus girl who kills the man she is having an affair with when he tells her she has no chance at stardom. Queen Latifah convinces with her role as the corrupt prison matron, "Mama" Morton who helps prisoners if they pay her, singing, "When you're good to mama, mama's good to you." Richard Gere plays the sleazy lawyer who gives the jury the "razzle dazzle" and claims he can win any case for a fee of $5,000.
The soundtrack's "Roaring `20s" jazz music really gives the feeling you are watching the performances in a "noisy hall where there's a nightly brawl," as Velma Kelly sings in "All That Jazz."
Perhaps the strongest track on the album is "Cell Block Tango." It is sung by various female prisoners who try to justify their crimes, all of which involve the murders of their husbands or lovers, claiming that "he had it coming … it was a murder but not a crime."
The only weakness in the album occurs on the last two tracks, an R&B version of "Cell Block Tango" by Latifah, Macy Gray and Lil' Kim that luckily did not appear anywhere in the movie, and Anastacia's "Love is a Crime" that was played over the credits. Neither of these tracks stay true to the jazzy 1920s feel of the rest of the album, but instead jump on the "hip hop-equals-cool" bandwagon.
Luckily these two songs do not completely detract from the songs that precede them. The original music is timeless, as is proven by the long-running success of the musical. Overall, the movie soundtrack is enjoyable and deserves repeated listens.
Contact Emily Tumbrink at
tumbrink.1@nd.edu/
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, February 18, 2003
