It’s all ‘About Schmidt;’ ‘Chicago’ razzle-dazzles

Nicholson subtle, yet powerful in ‘Schmidt’

When I walked into the local Cineplex over the weekend, I brought

with me a dose of skepticism about the film that I was about to

watch. After all, how could a movie about a retired insurance actuary

making a cross-country tour in his Winnebago be the stuff of Golden

Globe nominations and Oscar buzz?

But only a short while into “About Schmidt,” I was a believer.

Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates have done it again.

Nicholson, who plays Warren Schmidt, delivers a subtle, yet

powerful performance as a man who looks back at a lifetime of playing

it safe and realizes that he has never done anything of any value.

Schmidt decides that he must take up a cause and eventually sets

out in his 35-foot Winnebago Adventurer to save his only daughter,

Jeannie (Hope Davis), from marrying a mullet-haired waterbed salesman

and pyramid scheme promoter named Randall (Dermot Mulroney).

Along the way, Schmidt writes letters to a 6-year-old Tanzanian

orphan named Ndugu, whom he “adopted” for $22 a month after seeing an

ad on television.

Schmidt doesn’t pull any punches as he fills little Ndugu in on

his thoughts about the young punk who took his position at the

insurance company, the life he can’t stand anymore and the good for

nothing “nincompoop” that his daughter is about to marry. The tragic

comedy of Schmidt’s life is presented to the audience and Ndugu

throughout the film in these letters.

After several hilarious misadventures in the RV parks, small towns

and kooky tourist attractions across America’s heartland, Schmidt

finds his way to the home of Roberta, the mother of the groom-to-be

played by Kathy Bates. Bates, who has made a career out of playing

quirky characters, outdoes herself in this role. She even goes as far

as a nude scene in which her character tries to seduce a horrified

Schmidt in her Jacuzzi.

I won’t tell you how the wedding turns out for the same reason

that I have purposely left out the comic twists encountered

throughout the film.

“About Schmidt” is a film filled with rich characters who cannot

be done justice and great dark humor that would only be spoiled by

such a cursory review. Go see “About Schmidt” for yourself and see

what all the buzz is about.

* RYAN GILMORE is a Costa Mesa resident and movie fan.

Gere shines in the offstage ‘Chicago’

Stage director/choreographer Rob Marshall’s adaptation of Bob

Fosse’s critically acclaimed 1975 Broadway musical, “Chicago,” is

part Hollywood, part Broadway, but all show business and then some.

The film’s glitz and glamour entice you to enter a world of sex,

showmanship and deceit. The film’s satirical view on celebrity, along

with Bill Condon’s fast-paced, edit-filled screenplay and Marshall’s

choreography and creative casting, makes it easy to stay for a while.

Accused of murdering her lover, wannabe cabaret singer Roxie Hart

(Renee Zellweger) is incarcerated on Murderess Row in Cook County

Jail. Other “he-had-it-coming” cellmates, including her idol, the

vaudevillian star Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), surround her.

Roxie and Velma become rivals, jockeying for the attention of the

press and the silver-tongued, sleazy, but charming Billy Flynn

(Richard Gere), who constantly brags he’s never lost a case for his

female clients.

Once vulnerable and impressionable, Roxie quickly learns that to

win her case, she must first win over the press and woo public

sentiment. It’s not difficult with Flynn’s exploitation, as stylishly

revealed in the show-stealing press conference number in which the

reporters, supported by puppet strings, question Roxie as Flynn’s

ventriloquist’s dummy.

Although everyone in the movie is corrupt, we still like them.

Above all, the audience needs to root for Roxie’s release even if

she’s guilty as sin. Zellweger’s portrayal is magical. She transforms

Roxie from a bewildered, naive victim into a shrewd

do-whatever-it-takes con artist.

We view the scintillating theatrical world through Roxie’s eyes,

as the film cuts back and forth in the middle of musical numbers to

events unfolding off-stage in the dreary reality of 1920s Chicago.

With conventional stage blocking and choreography, the musical

numbers are filmed in a style reminiscent of earlier Hollywood

musicals, allowing the audience to experience live theater.

In view of Marshall’s theatrical background, one might expect him

to cast actors well known for their theatrical work. There are no

stand-ins; each actor performs his or her own song and dance routine.

Even though Zellweger and Zeta-Jones give brilliant performances,

it’s Gere’s campy musical numbers that stand out. Encircled by

burlesque women, he sarcastically croons, “All I Care About is Love,”

while, off stage, he’s being fitted for an expensive hand-tailored

suit. He convinces his clients that the way to get away with murder

is to “Razzle Dazzle” the jury. Gere not only performs an impressive

tap dance both on stage and in the courtroom, but he even gives us a

finale with a surprising plot twist.

Supporting characters also vie for the spotlight: Queen Latifah,

as the prison warden, belts out “When You’re Good to Momma.” John C.

Reilly, as Roxie’s meek and stupefied husband, wails “Mr.

Cellophane.”

I haven’t seen “Chicago” on Broadway or even in Los Angeles when

the touring company visited the left coast. So, with no knowledge of

the characters or plot, what is my judgment of this stage-to-screen

interpretation of “Chicago?” I was razzle-dazzled, of course.

If you can’t make it to Broadway this weekend, head to “Chicago”

-- the next best thing.

* JULIE LOWRANCE, 40, is a Costa Mesa resident who works at a

Newport Beach overnight aircraft advertising agency.