Roxi Hart is a wannabe vaudeville star who achieves fame when she kills her lying lover in a fit of pique. Velma Kelly is an established star who achieves infamy after killing her adulterous husband and sister. The two women both end up on Murderers’ Row, where they have to vie for the attention of the showman lawyer Billy Fynn, if they want any chance of escaping the hangman’s noose. And this being "Cicago" it’s all a literal song and dance.

I’ve never been a big fan of Renée Zellweger. I don’t know if it’s the alternately squeaky then husky voice or the disproportionately large head, but she normally annoys the hell out of me. Thankfully, her sub-Marilyn Monroe schtick suits the character of Roxie down to the ground. After all, she’s a fame-hungry gold-digger with a penchant for peroxide. But to her credit, she proves she can dance and belt out a tune when required and she looks good in the clothes of the period and even makes Catherine Zeta-Jones look a bit podgy on occasion.

Richard Gere is something of a dark horse when it comes to his musical abilities. We all know he can act, but most people have no idea he was in a touring production of "Grease" back in the seventies. Here he plays his usual smug lawyer-type (see "Pretty Woman" and "Red Square" for other examples). But here he gets to have a lot more fun with the character. I don’t think he has the greatest voice in the world, but he has got the style of the 20s down pat. It’s amazing that he can sound like a mono recording of Al Jolson in one song and like a cabaret singer in the next. And he performs admirably in an extraordinarily well choreographed tap dance routine, which is all the more remarkable for the fact that he had to learn to tap for the film.

John C Reilly excels as Roxie’s put-upon husband Amos. His hangdog expression speaks more than a thousand words and sums up the loving, gullible fool, as does his rendition of "Mister Cellophane", dressed as a clown. And who would have thought he’d have such an impressive singing voice? It’s a shame we don’t get to hear it more often.

Overall, the acting belies "Chicago’s" stage origins. There is no attempt at character development, but there rarely is in a musical. There is a definite lack of subtlety, which suits the overblown style of the whole shebang and you are never under the impression that what you’re watching is real. It takes a little while to get used to the big gestures, stagy performances and the occasionally stilted dialogue, but it is worth persevering.

The costumes are fantastic and encapsulate the decadence of the age. The women are outfitted in gorgeous embroidered silks and satins and their tiny stage costumes are generally covered in the most intricate beading. The men wear beautifully tailored suits and aren’t averse to the odd sequin or two during the musical numbers. The hairstyles and make-up raise the glamour stakes even higher.

Many of the songs have become modern classics and also add to the glam atmosphere of the film. Particular highlights for me included the aforementioned "When You’re Good to Mama" and "Mister Cellophane" and "Give ‘Em the Old Razzle Dazzle".