Chicago

Chicago is a 2002 American musical crime comedy-drama film based on the stage-musical of the same name, directed by Rob Marshall and adapted by screenwriter Bill Condon, with music by John Kander. The film stars Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere.

The film won six Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

Plot
Nightclub sensation Velma (Catherine Zeta-Jones) murders her philandering husband, and Chicago's slickest lawyer, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), is set to defend her. But when Roxie (Renée Zellweger) also winds up in prison, Billy takes on her case as well, turning her into a media circus of headlines. Neither woman will be outdone in their fight against each other and the public for fame and celebrity.

Cast

 * Renée Zellweger as Roxanne "Roxie" Hart
 * Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly ("Cicero")
 * Richard Gere as Billy Flynn
 * Queen Latifah as Matron "Mama" Morton
 * John C. Reilly as Amos Hart, Roxie's
 * Christine Baranski as Mary Sunshine
 * Taye Diggs as The Bandleader
 * Colm Feore as Harrison
 * Lucy Liu as Kitty Baxter
 * Dominic West as Fred Casely, Roxie's lover
 * Mýa as Mona ("Lipschitz")
 * Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. Borusewicz
 * Chita Rivera as Nicky
 * Susan Misner as Liz ("Pop")
 * Denise Faye as Annie ("Six")
 * Deidre Goodwin as June ("Squish"),
 * Ekaterina Chtchelkanova as the Hunyak (Katalin Helinszki) ("Uh Uh")
 * Conrad Dunn as Doctor.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 85% approval rating, based on 251 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critical consensus states: "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." On Metacritic, the film holds an average score of 82 out of 100, based on 39 critical reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

The cast received widespread acclaim for their performances. Tim Robey, writer for The Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom, labeled Chicago as "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 said "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 called it "Big, brassy fun". However, other reviews claimed that there were issues with the film being too streamlined, and minor complaints were made toward Marshall's directing influences.