What if Chicago were about Chicago?

Rating: 6/10 (25 December 2006)

The main problem with this picture is that it tries to be about the music business instead of focusing on the people who sing. That's why the original Broadway effort worked well and this movie adaptation doesn't. This can not be an indictment of Berry Gordy Jr. and Motown and also be about people achieving their dreams.
Two easy choices from the musical, but not in the movie I think makes my case. When we hear Curtis sing "When I First Saw You", we don't hear the duet with Deena where we find she's not a pretty innocent. When we hear Clarence sing to Effie "I Miss You, Old Friend", we don't hear the duet with Effie where Clarence wins her over with the fact he's changing and so is she.
All told, I gave this a 6 because I liked the original music and it reminded me of an excellent musical called "Dreamgirls". This gets a 4 for character development and a 2 for factual context. Motown's contribution to American life was far greater then this film implies. Payola was not as important as this film implies.
Finally, anyone who saw or heard Jennifer Holliday as Effie can not possibly believe that Jennifer Hudson brings anything new to the role. Perhaps better editing would have overcome the lack of physical presence on songs like "And I Telling You, I'm Not Going", too much arm fluttering.