No one can deny that movie musicals have grown popular at an exponential rate over the past two decades, engaging audiences much better than many other genres. Among the movie musical classics is Chicago, Rob Marshall’s 2002 production based on the 1970s play, which is widely considered to be one of the best 21st-Century musicals. With an all-star cast led by Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, and Richard Gere, all great actors whose careers have gone on to success, Chicago was triumphant in several ways, not the least of which is that it successfully captured all the best features of the musical when adapting it to the silver screen, which is not always the case with film adaptations.
Chicago is set in the 1920s and follows the story of Roxie Hart (Zellweger), a housewife and wannabe entertainer who fantasizes about making it in the cabaret show business just like her idol, Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones). However, after being accused of murdering her lover, Hart is sent to jail, where she meets Kelly, who was also imprisoned for murdering her husband and sister upon discovering their affair. They must fight, aided by attorney Billy Flynn (Gere), to avoid eternal damnation by using their newfound fame. Upon its release, Chicago was extremely well received by critics and audiences alike, and went on to garner a number of awards. Among the most important recognitions, it won an Oscar for Best Picture, a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), and a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
One of the most interesting aspects of the movie, besides its impressive cast and settings, are its musical numbers. Some of them even became true cinema classics. This article will go over the best musical numbers of the movie, ranking them from worst to best.
8 Mister Cellophane
Miramax
The musical performance that kicks off this ranking is “Mr. Cellophane,” sung by Amos Hart (John C. Reilly), Roxie’s husband. Although it is not the most impressive performance in the film, it is a special place given to a character who usually goes unnoticed and considers himself to be invisible. Over the course of his performance, Amos gains the audience’s attention, starting off a bit shy and by the end completely stealing the spotlight. At the same time, his performance shifts when he discovers that the child Roxie is supposedly carrying is not his, causing him to step aside. Being on a dimly lit and empty stage, his performance is even more powerful.
7 Funny Honey
“Funny Honey” is a hit song performed by Roxie and Amos Hart, and it happens right after the woman murders her lover out of rage because he lied to her about his supposed contacts in the entertainment business. What’s interesting about this performance is that, in the midst of it, Amos goes from utterly trusting his partner, going so far as to blame himself for her crime, to discovering her infidelity and getting completely enraged. Roxie, for her part, remains in the belief that no matter how good or bad her decisions are, her husband will still support her because, as she believes, he is head over heels for her.
6 We Both Reached for the Gun
Among the main characters in Chicago is Billy Flynn, the city’s most famous lawyer. His strategy for winning cases is to make his client a star, thus gaining the interest of the locals, the media and, indirectly, the money he craves. For that, Flynn is completely in charge of all communications, specifically asking his clients to keep quiet about anything he hasn’t instructed them to say. Yet Roxie, blinded by her incipient fame, decided to go against his orders, something that annoyed him greatly. From that moment on, a parallel was made between the press conference and the performance of “We Both Reached for the Gun,” in which Billy handles Roxie like a puppet, leading to a terrific scene.
5 Razzle Dazzle
After one of the inmates is sentenced to hang, Roxie fears that perhaps things won’t turn out as well as she hopes. However, Billy Flynn, who has never lost a case, reassures her that, in fact, the trial is like a circus in which she is the star. In the middle of their conversation, an analogy is drawn between a musical performance and the trial itself, and the audience is able to see how, ultimately, he is the real star, whose performance, meticulously planned down to the smallest detail, manages to convince the jury of his client’s innocence.
4 Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag
“Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag” is among the top-ranked due to the potential of the characters who play it. Following a long period of hostility, Velma and Roxie discover that they cannot succeed on their own: no matter how many times they audition, they are rejected over and over again. Therefore, Velma, who is out of prison, asks Roxie once again to join her in a duet. The latter, realizing that she has already lost all the notoriety gained from her case, ends up accepting, on the premise that they don’t have to be friends in order to work together, and the two of them perform the best show of their lives, thereby setting their careers in the entertainment industry on the right track.
3 All I Care About
From the very first appearance of lawyer Billy Flynn on screen, he is portrayed as a humble man, who is not interested in expensive coats or diamond rings: he only cares about love. However, as the performance of “All I Care About” unfolds, and the audience gets to see Billy interacting with the prisoners, it can be inferred that the reality is far from what the man says. His actions show that, in fact, the only thing he is interested in is money. So much so that he doesn’t even remember his clients’ names until they are actually interesting to him.
2 Overture / And All That Jazz
“Overture / All That Jazz” is extremely important for the movie as it serves as the opening scene, which in itself represents an important burden. However, the performance lives up to expectations, from the direction and filming to the choreography and the performances of the actors. The song is impeccably performed by Velma Kelly, and it does a great job of setting up some of the storylines that will later unfold throughout the film, delving into Velma and her sister’s situation, Roxie’s relationship with Fred, and her dreams of being a star. At the same time, the audience can already catch a glimpse of Velma’s personality, who despite murdering her sister and her husband a few minutes before, and knowing that the cops are after her, manages to pull off a stunning performance and not be affected in any way.
1 Cell Block Tango
There is no doubt that “Cell Block Tango” deserves the first position in this ranking for many reasons. On one hand, it is, along with “All That Jazz,” the most remembered song of the musical, performed by dancers and entertainers from all over the world in many different shows. Beyond that, it is a powerful, carefully thought-out performance that recounts the stories behind the imprisonment of every one of the inmates. They each have their own moment to shine, and each story is beautifully crafted and performed, taking advantage of the scenery and bright red handkerchiefs to signify each murder. It remains an immaculate performance of a song so catchy that remains stuck in the audience’s minds to this day.
