In 1924,vaudeville starVelma Kelly performs ("Overture/All That Jazz") at The Onyx, a Chicago nightclub; the spotlight highlights the empty place where Velma’s sister is missing awkwardly from thedouble act. Seeking stardom, housewifeRoxie Hart watches Velma perform as she awaits furniture salesman Fred Casely, with whom Roxie is having an affair because he promised to introduce her to the nightclub's manager. After the show, Velma is arrested for killing her husband and sister, who she had caught in bed together. Roxie is disappointed when Casely fails to introduce her to the Onyx manager.
A month later, Casely admits to Roxie that he lied about his connections to sleep with her but is now tired of the affair. Enraged, she shoots him dead. She convinces her gullible husband, Amos, to take the blame, telling him she killed a burglar in self-defense. However, when evidence of Roxie's infidelity is uncovered, Amos recants and tells the police that Casely was dead when he arrived home ("Funny Honey"). Roxie is arrested, with District Attorney Martin Harrison declaring she faces execution by hanging.
At theCook County Jail, Roxie is sent to Murderess' Row, supervised by the corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton ("When You're Good to Mama"). Roxie learns the backstories of the other women there, including her idol, Velma ("Cell Block Tango"), who rebuffs her attempts at friendship. On Morton's advice, Roxie engages Velma's lawyer, the brilliantBilly Flynn ("All I Care About"). Flynn and Roxie manipulate the press, reinventing Roxie as a virtuous Southern woman corrupted by the city's decadent nightlife. A "repentant" Roxie claims she had the affair with Casely because Amos neglected her for work, but Casely jealously attacked her when she chose to remain with Amos ("We Both Reached for the Gun"). The press extolls the story, and Roxie becomes an overnight sensation ("Roxie"), praised by the public as a tragic heroine. Unhappy at losing the public's attention, Velma tries to convince Roxie to join her act, replacing her murdered sister ("I Can't Do It Alone"); now the more popular of the two rivals, Roxie snubs her.
When wealthy heiress Kitty Baxter is arrested for murdering her husband and his two mistresses, the press and Flynn instantly shift their focus to her. To Velma's exasperation, Roxie quickly regains the spotlight by claiming pregnancy. The press ignores Amos ("Mister Cellophane"); to generate more sympathy for Roxie, Flynn convinces Amos that the child is Casely's and that he should divorce Roxie in her predicament. Roxie decides to fire Flynn, believing she can now win on her own. However, when Katalin Helinszki, a Hungarian woman on Murderess' Row (the only inmate who insists on her own innocence), becomes the first woman inCook County history to be executed by hanging, Roxie realizes the gravity of the situation and rehires Flynn.
Flynn turns Roxie's trial into a media spectacle ("Razzle Dazzle") with the help of sensationalist newspaper reporters and radio personality Mary Sunshine. Flynn discredits witnesses, manipulates evidence, and even stages a public reconciliation between Amos and Roxie when she claims the child is his. Mama and Velma find Roxie's diary, containing incriminating entries, and offer it to the prosecution as evidence in exchange foramnesty in Velma's own case. Flynn discredits the diary, implying from its legalistic language that it was written by DA Harrison, who planted it as evidence ("A Tap Dance"). Though Roxie is acquitted, her fame is eclipsed moments later when another woman-who-shot-her-husband shoots her own lawyer outside the courthouse. Flynn admits to Roxie that he tampered with her diary himself to incriminate the DA and to free his two clients simultaneously. Loyal Amos is excited to be a father, but Roxie cruelly reveals that she faked her pregnancy.
Roxie pursues a vaudeville career with limited success ("Nowadays"). The similarly unsuccessful Velma reapproaches Roxie to suggest performing together as a novel double act featuring two murderesses. Though initially refusing, Roxie accepts when Velma points out that they can perform together despite their mutual dislike. The two stage a spectacular performance ("Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag"), receiving a standing ovation from an enthusiastic audience that includes Flynn, Morton, the jurors, and other acquitted murderesses.
Catherine Zeta-Jones asVelma Kelly, a charismatic vaudevillian who is arrested for the murders of her husband Charlie and sister Veronica after catching them in bed together
Richard Gere asBilly 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, butHarvey 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.[10]
Queen Latifah as Matron "Mama" Morton, the corrupt but nurturingmatron of the Cook County Jail
John C. Reilly as Amos Hart, Roxie's naïve, simple-minded but devoted husband
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
Mýa Harrison as Mona, a prisoner on Murderess' Row who killed her artist boyfriend Al Lipschitz via strangulation after discovering he had multiple affairs
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
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
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
Susan Misner as Liz, a prisoner on Murderess' Row who killed her husband Bernie by shooting him twice in the head after he would not stop popping his gum
Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. Borusewicz, the Harts' neighbor from across the hall
Chita Rivera as Nickie, a prostitute. Rivera originated the role of Velma in the Broadway musicalChicago in 1975; her appearance in the film is a cameo.
The film is based on the 1975 Broadwaymusical of the same name, which ran for 936 performances.[11] A film adaptation ofChicago was to have been the next project forBob Fosse,[12] who had directed and choreographed the original 1975 Broadway production and had won anOscar for his direction of the film version ofCabaret (1972). Although he died before realizing his version, Fosse's distinctive jazz choreography style is evident throughout the 2002 film, and he is thanked in the credits. The minimalist 1996 revival of the musical proved far more successful, having played more than 10,601 performances (as of December 3, 2023), holding records for longest-running musical revival, longest-running American musical on Broadway and second longest-running show in Broadway history. Its runaway success sparked a greater appreciation of the 1975 original production and renewed stalled interest in a long-anticipated film, which incorporates the influences of both productions.[13]
The original production's musical numbers were staged asvaudeville acts; the film respects this but presents them ascutaway scenes in the mind of the Roxie character, while scenes in "real life" are filmed with a hard-edged grittiness.[14] The musical itself was based on a 1926 Broadwayplay byMaurine Dallas Watkins, a journalist who had found her inspiration in two real-life Chicago trials she had covered for the press, about two real-life Jazz-era murderersBeulah Annan (Roxie Hart) andBelva Gaertner (Velma Kelly). TheGeorge Abbott-directed production, starring Francine Larrimore and Juliette Crosby, ran for 172 performances at theMusic Box Theatre, and within a year was adapted to asilent film, in which Gaertner herself had a cameo.Chicago was produced by American companiesMiramax Films and The Producers Circle in association with the German company Kallis Productions.Roxie Hart, also known asChicago orChicago Gal, is a 1942 American comedy film directed byWilliam A. Wellman and starringGinger Rogers,Adolphe Menjou andGeorge Montgomery. The film is an adaptation of the 1926 play.
Several songs from the musical's original score were cut from the film, primarily due to the musical numbers being figments of Roxie's imagination. "Tap Dance", "A Little Bit of Good", "I Can't Do It Alone" (reprise), "My Own Best Friend", "I Know a Girl", "Me and My Baby" and "When Velma Takes the Stand" were removed, and "Class", while filmed and recorded for the soundtrack album, is adeleted scene on the DVD, as well as present as part of an "extended version" from the film's 2005 broadcast premiere onNBC. An instrumental of "Me and My Baby" can be heard in its spot, where Roxie enjoys the renewed fame after claiming she's pregnant.
Chicago held its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 10, 2002.[2] In North America, the film opened inlimited release at 77 theaters on December 27, 2002.[4] It expanded through the following weeks before reaching a peak of 2,701 theaters by the weekend of March 28, 2003, the first weekend after the Academy Awards.[4]
Chicago was released byBuena Vista Home Entertainment (under the Miramax Home Entertainment banner) onDVD in Region 1 (USA, Canada, and US territories) on August 19, 2003. It was released in Full Screen and Widescreen. In addition to this release, a two-disc "Razzle Dazzle" Edition was released over two years later on December 20, 2005, and later, onBlu-ray format, in January 2007 and, in an updated release, in May 2011. The release provides a feature-lengthaudio commentary track with director Marshall and screenwriter Condon. There is also adeleted musical number called "Class", performed by Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah.
Chicago grossed $170.7 million in the United States and Canada, as well as $136.1 million in other territories.[4] Combined, the film grossed $306.8 million worldwide,[4] which was, at the time, the highest gross of any film never to reach #1 or #2 in the weekly box office charts in the North American markets (Canada and United States—where it peaked at #3). Worldwide,Chicago was the highest grossing live action musical with $306 million, a record that was then broken byMamma Mia!.[17]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 87% of 260 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "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."[18]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[19] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[20]
The cast received widespread acclaim for their performances. Tim Robey, reviewer forThe Daily Telegraph, labeledChicago "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 also wrote "this particularChicago 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".[21]Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "big, brassy fun".[22] However, other reviews claimed that there were issues with the film being too streamlined, and minor complaints were made about Marshall's directing influences.[23]
WithMoulin Rouge! (2001) and8 Mile (2002),Chicago is often credited with ushering a re-emergence of the musical film genre in the 21st century.[58]
Japanese rock bandBuck-Tick named their 2010 albumRazzle Dazzle after the film's song of the same name.[59]
In February 2025,The Washington Post rankedChicago at number 2 on its list of "The 25 best movie musicals of the 21st century," with Naveen Kumar describing it as "a perfect marriage of theatrical flair to the power of moviemaking."[60]
In July 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition ofThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 134.[61]
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