Chicago (2002 film)

In 1924, chorus girl Roxie Hart watches lead Velma Kelly perform ("Overture/All That Jazz") at The Onyx, a Chicago theater. Seeking stardom, Roxie begins an affair with furniture salesman Fred Casely, who claims to know the manager. After the show, Velma is arrested for killing her husband Charlie and sister Veronica, after finding them in bed together.

A month later, Casely admits that he lied in order to sleep with her. Enraged, Roxie shoots him dead. She convinces her gullible husband, Amos, to take the blame, telling him she killed a burglar in self-defense. As Amos confesses, Roxie fantasizes a musical number devoted to her husband ("Funny Honey"). However, when the detective brings up evidence of Roxie's affair with Casely, Amos recants; Roxie furiously admits the truth and is arrested. Ambitious District Attorney Martin Harrison announces he will seek the death penalty.

At Cook County Jail, Roxie is sent to Murderess' Row, supervised by the corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton ("When You're Good to Mama"). Roxie meets her idol Velma, but her friendship is rudely rebuffed. She learns the backstories of the other women there, including Velma ("Cell Block Tango"). 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 an originally virtuous Southern woman corrupted by the fast life of the city; she claims that she had the affair with Casely because Amos was always working, but repented and left Casely for Amos, and Casely jealously attacked her ("We Both Reached for the Gun"). The press believe the story; praised by the public as a tragic heroine, Roxie becomes an overnight sensation ("Roxie"). Velma, unhappy at losing the public's attention, tries to convince Roxie to join her act, replacing the sister that she murdered ("I Can't Do It Alone"), but Roxie, now the more popular of the two rivals, snubs her just as Velma originally snubbed Roxie.

Meanwhile, wealthy heiress "Go-to-Hell" Kitty Baxter,[5] is arrested for murdering her husband and his two mistresses, and the press and Flynn focus more on her. To Velma's surprise, Roxie quickly steals back the fame by claiming pregnancy. Amos is ignored by the press ("Mister Cellophane"), and Flynn, to create more sympathy for Roxie, convinces him that the child is Casely's, and that he should divorce Roxie in the middle of her predicament. Roxie over-confidently fires Flynn, believing she can now win on her own. However, when Katalin Helinszki, a Hungarian woman on Murderess' Row (who happens to be the only inmate to protest and insist 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.

Roxie's trial begins, and Billy turns it into a media spectacle ("Razzle Dazzle") with the help of the sensationalist newspaper reporters and radio personality Mary Sunshine. Billy discredits witnesses, manipulates evidence and even stages a public reconciliation between Amos and Roxie when she claims the child is his. The trial seems to be going well for Roxie until Velma appears with Roxie's diary, reading incriminating entries in exchange for amnesty in her own case. Billy discredits the diary, implying that Harrison was the one who planted the evidence ("A Tap Dance"). Roxie is acquitted, but her fame is eclipsed moments later when another woman, who had also shot her own husband, shoots her lawyer just outside the courthouse. Flynn tells her to accept it, and admits that he tampered with her diary himself, in order to incriminate the DA and also free two clients simultaneously. Amos remains loyal and excited to be a father, but Roxie cruelly reveals that her pregnancy is false, and he finally leaves her.

Roxie does become a vaudeville performer, but is very unsuccessful ("Nowadays"). The similarly-unsuccessful Velma reapproaches Roxie to suggest performing together as a double act consisting of two murderers. Roxie initially refuses, but later accepts when Velma points out that they can perform together despite their mutual resentment. The two stage a spectacular performance that earns them praise from the audience and the press ("Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag"). The film concludes with Roxie and Velma receiving a standing ovation from an enthusiastic audience (which includes Flynn, Morton, the jurors, and other acquitted murderesses), and proclaiming that, "We couldn't have done it without you".

• 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. Jennifer Aniston was considered for the role.[6]
• Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly, a charismatic vaudevillian who is arrested for the murders of her husband Charlie and sister Veronica after finding 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.[7]
• 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.
• Christine Baranski as Mary Sunshine, a sensationalist reporter.
• 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.
• Lucy Liu as Kitty Baxter, a millionaire heiress who briefly outshines Roxie and Velma when she kills her husband and his two mistresses.
• Dominic West as Fred Casely, Roxie's deceitful paramour and murder victim.
• Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. Borusewicz, the Harts' neighbor from across the hall.
• Chita Rivera as Nicky, a prostitute. Rivera originated the role of Velma in the Broadway musical Chicago in 1975; her appearance in the film is a cameo.
• Mýa as Mona, a prisoner on Murderess' Row who killed her artist boyfriend Al Lipschitz via strangulation after discovering he had multiple affairs.
• Susan Misner as Liz, a prisoner on Murderess' Row who killed her husband Bernie by shooting him twice in the head after he wouldn't stop popping his gum.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ekaterina Chtchelkanova as Katalin 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.

Chicago, along with the 2001 musical Moulin Rouge! and the hip hop centered film 8 Mile in 2002, is widely considered to be responsible for ushering a re-emergence of the musical film genre in the 21st century.[52] Following the success of Chicago, many movie musicals have been produced for theatrical release, with several adapted from stage productions for Broadway and London's West End, including Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, Rent, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Mamma Mia!, Nine, Les Misérables, Rock of Ages, The Last Five Years, Into the Woods, Cats, In the Heights, Dear Evan Hansen, tick, tick... BOOM!, West Side Story and more. The 2013 film Sunshine on Leith was also adapted from a stage production, originating with Scotland's Dundee Repertory Theatre.

Japanese rock band Buck-Tick named their 2010 album Razzle Dazzle after the film's song of the same name.[53]

The revived interest in musicals has also brought remakes or sequels to earlier films, including Beauty and the Beast in 2017 (a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1991 animated feature, itself adapted for 1994 Broadway), the 2018 films: Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (a sequel to 2008's Mamma Mia!), A Star Is Born (a fourth version of the film following earlier productions in 1937, 1954, and 1976) and Mary Poppins Returns (a sequel to 1964's Mary Poppins), and 2019 films: Aladdin (a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated feature, itself adapted for Broadway in 2011) and The Lion King (a photorealistic live-action adaptation of Disney's 1994 animated feature, itself adapted for Broadway in 1997). Notable original and biographical musical films have also been released to critical and commercial success since Chicago's run, including Walk the Line (2005), Once (2006), Enchanted (2007), La La Land (2016), Rocketman (2019), and Annette (2021). Other original and biographical musical films released to commercial success with mixed critical reception, includes Across the Universe (2007), The Greatest Showman (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Yesterday (2019), Aline (2020), and more.

Many of Chicago's cast and crew have gone on to work in succeeding musicals, including director Marshall (Nine, Into the Woods, Mary Poppins Returns), writer Condon (writer/director for Dreamgirls, director for Beauty and the Beast, writer for The Greatest Showman), costume designer Atwood (Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods), and actresses Zeta-Jones (Rock of Ages), Latifah (Hairspray), and Baranski (Mamma Mia!, Into the Woods).

Wikiquote has quotations related to Chicago (2002 film).

• Chicago at IMDb
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