Chicago

Rating: ****
Cast: Rene Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere
Direction: Rob Marshall
Life''s a lavish cabaret, old chum. In the livewire, sumptuously designed, seductive tradition of stage musicals turned into blockbuster movies comes Chicago.
And the heartening news is that it''s a zinger. Inventive, witty and stylish throughout its length of two hours-plus, it joins the league of such classy entertainers as Bob Fosse''s Cabaret (1972), All That Jazz (1979) and Baz Luhrmann''s more recent Moulin Rouge (2001).
Adapted in fact from Fosse''s stageplay, this bitter-sweet Valentine to the Windy City is set in the 1920s when crime and show business were two sides of the same greenback dollar. So what''s the difference from the earlier kick-a-leg musicals? Plenty. For one, the dancing and the storytelling are so deftly segued that we wonder how on earth film debutant director- choreographer Rob Marshall managed to achieve the manic, remix blend. Also, the focus is on a woman, a wannabe vaudeville artiste who aims literally to get away with murder.
That''s Roxie (Zellweger) with oodles of moxie for you. On being conned by her paramour, she pumps him with bullets and lands in jail where she is snubbed by her idol, the dance hall queen Velma (Zeta-Jones). Both have killed men in cold blood. Apart from that, they''re as unalike as day and night.
Roxie''s simple to a fault, while Velma''s a virtual female Machiavelli. Enter a smooth-talking lawyer (Gere) who''s never lost a case in his life. In Roxie, he sees a potential media heroine. Not surprisingly, the newspapers are manipulated into glorifying the mousy Roxie into a front-page Joan of Arc.
A sinner turns into a saint. But for how long? The courtroom sequence, accompanied by a superb tap dance by the lawyer, is one of the film''s several high points. In addition, there are such marvellous moments as Velma''s persuasive let''s-become-sisters-in- arms routine as well as a razzmatazz turn by the Eartha Kitt-like jail warden (Queen Latifah, chomping up the scenery) before the blinding lights.
Technically astonishing in every department from the chic set designs and the virtuoso cinematography to the super-slick editing, this film keeps the adrenaline pumping. Although the music and the lyrics may not be immediately catchy, they''re saucy and snappy while they last. The film has amassed Oscar nominations galore, including a Best Supporting Actor thumbs-up for John C. Reilly as Roxie''s cuckolded husband. Gere has been left out of the race, alas, despite his entirely charming impersonation of an immoral lawyer.
Zeta-Jones performs with enormous gusto. Zellweger as an American Bridget Jones is outstanding. Chances are that the film, as well as these two unquestionably gifted actresses, will be deservedly feted at the Oscar ceremony on Monday.Win or lose, Chicago is hot, hip and happening. Dance to it.