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Chicago: (John Kander/Danny Elfman) Those naughty girls of the
windy city were back with force in 2002, destined to sing and strip their way to
Oscar gold. The early 2000's were suddenly a time when flamboyant musicals (and the
predictable religious backlashes against them) were back in vogue, due mostly to
the stunning success of
Moulin Rouge in 2001. The story of
Chicago
had come a long way since its 1975 debut. A 1996 New York City Center's "Encore!"
series revival moved to the big Broadway lights in 1997 and, throughout 2002, hit
the big screen in an equally popular movie musical form. The feature version of
John Kander and Fred Ebb's music and lyrics was a long time in the making, and
although the film itself, like
Moulin Rouge, turned into more of a
fantasy-based event, the original music from the show stayed largely intact. The
production's main attraction (other than the plethora of scantily clad women) is
its zippy and highly spirited 1920's-era Chicago jazz. The musical numbers by
Kander are rambunctious, dynamic, and ranging in personality from seedy to
downright vulgar. Their authenticity in tone, especially in the application of wild
brass performances throughout, is remarkable in every number. Humor in the lyrics
is the key to the story, and once again, the movie version holds true enough to the
original play for purists to be satisfied (even though some songs are combined into
single numbers to condense the narrative). Catherine Zeta-Jones, as Velma, is
fortunate enough to have had some professional singing experience, and thus
performs with confidence. Renée Zellweger, as Roxie, has a more amateur (and
mousy) voice, but she compensates with the attitude she injects into every verse,
which not surprisingly adds to the swinging appeal of the songs in which she
performs. It would seem, in fact, that Zellweger, along with rap artist Queen
Latifah, improve their respective songs the most through their mere enthusiasm and
affinity for their parts. Richard Gere's voice is adequate, and his sleazy
inflection is intriguingly appropriate for his character. In sum, the vocal
performances hide whatever deficiencies in talent they may slightly exhibit with
precise inflective style and the often rowdy accompaniment of the percussion and
brass elements.
The songs are so consistent in their 1920's character that each
has a hand in creating a remarkable whole. Like
Moulin Rouge, it's difficult
to point to a single song as the defining number of the production, though for most
viewers there will be some likely candidates. The high class song that serves in a
title role, so to speak, is "And All that Jazz," Zeta-Jones' acclaimed opening
piece. Better remembered by mainstream viewers is the very catchy and well-layered
"Cell Block Tango," an extremely well recorded song that is lengthy in its humorous
character rotation. Zellweger's confidence begins to exert itself in "Funny Honey"
but erupts in "Roxie," when her character and song take center stage. One of the
later laughers, "Class," is performed by Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah with a great
spirit of lamentation, though this piece was for some reason cut from the final
edit of the film. This song's beauty is countered by its profane topics and
language, which are not only a central part of all the songs, but a definite plus.
The album, by the way, has no explicit language sticker to warn wayward prudes. To
counter the loss of "Class" in the picture, Kander and Ebb added the song "I'll
Move On" as a duet for Velma and Roxie. The songs, on the whole, are so consistent
in their accuracy for the period that casual listeners need not choose a favorite.
Those overwhelmed by the raucous nature of the majority of them may attach
themselves to a piece like "Mister Cellophane," which tones back the story to the
level of slight melodrama. The ensemble of performers that assists in the
background instrumental accompaniment for the singers is consistent with the size
of a group that may have actually been in the kind of club seen in the film. It is
a miniature orchestra that relies, much like the vocalists, on the spunk and
pizzazz of the swing in the composition itself to provide the necessary
environment. The film did, unfortunately, add a few contemporary adaptations and
additional pop material that did detract from the package. The Queen Latifah remix
of "Cell Block Tango," renamed "He Had It Comin'," is a truly hideous rap
adaptation of that song, and was met with almost universally negative criticism at
the time. In this case, Latifah had only herself to blame. The end credit piece by
Anastacia, "Love is a Crime," is adequate, but the film would have been better
served by resisting the temptation to modernize the swing of the original songs and
instead provide a strong medley of Kander's material.
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Film score devotees were initially curious to see that veteran
composer Danny Elfman was listed on the posters and advertisements for this film,
and even Elfman himself was surprised by how quickly this project came up for him.
With the film late in production, it was realized by director Rob Marshall (and
likely others) that a handful scenes outside of the realm of singing needed score
to serve as bridges. Elfman proceeded to write new music for about four scenes,
along with one source cue, which amounted to fifteen minutes of total score
material. His contribution is an excellent match for Kander's original songs, and
Elfman collectors will recall from his work on
Dick Tracy that he can really
swing in the genre of 20's jazz when the opportunity arises. Elfman was happy to
provide a last-minute recording for that genre, and two cues (representing exactly
half of his fifteen minutes for the film) are offered on the album presentation.
The exuberance in these cues exposes the obvious fact that the composer must have
enjoyed the sessions; the level of dynamic spirit in this material is about as
thoroughly upbeat as anything the composer has ever written in his diverse career.
While speculation existed that Elfman might be nominated for major awards due to
voters' mistaken associations with the names on the project, it should be noted
that like
Evita in 1996 and
Moulin Rouge (unfairly) in 2001,
Chicago didn't qualify as having enough new, original material for the film
to be considered eligible. Enthusiasts of the musical's history will be pleased by
the performances in the film, though you really have to be able to tolerate lengthy
doses of that style of rambunctious jazz in order to enjoy
Chicago in any of
its incarnations. For film score and Elfman collectors, the two score cues will
likely not be worth the price on album, but his music will be a riot in the context
of the film. The two modern songs inserted at the end of the product are an
inexcusable finale to an otherwise strong adaptation. The mixing of the album's
songs is sometimes executed with gain levels so high that it causes distortion; the
instrumental recording during the conclusion of "Class" suffers particularly from
this unfortunate blunder. Overall,
Chicago, along with its recent
predecessors, reaffirmed the hopes of longtime fans of musicals that the genre was
indeed not dead, but this production was not destined to extend such successes in
Hollywood over the remainder of the decade. As such,
Chicago is fondly
remembered as an attractively singular event.
**** Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download
The insert includes extensive credits. The CD advertised that it would
"unlock" extra footage and interview material.
