It is almost impossible to imagine now, but back in the early 2000s, the movie musical was basically a corpse. It was dead. Hollywood wouldn't touch it. Then came Velma Kelly. When we talk about Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago, we aren't just talking about a lucky casting choice or a decent performance; we are talking about the moment a genre was shocked back to life by a Welsh woman with a bob haircut and a terrifyingly sharp sense of rhythm.
People forget how much was on the line.
Miramax was gambling. Rob Marshall, the director, was a Broadway guy taking his first crack at a feature film. And Catherine? She was already a star from The Mask of Zorro, but nobody knew if she could actually carry a massive, technical, dance-heavy production while being eight or nine months pregnant by the time the awards circuit rolled around. Honestly, she didn't just carry it. She owned it.
The "All That Jazz" Problem
There is a specific kind of pressure that comes with opening a movie. The first ten minutes of Chicago are basically a masterclass in establishing "the stakes." If Catherine Zeta-Jones doesn't nail "All That Jazz," the entire movie collapses. You’ve seen it, right? The smoke, the sweat, the way she looks at the camera like she’s about to either kiss you or kill you.
She did her own dancing. That matters.
In an era where we are used to digital doubles and heavy editing to hide a lack of rhythm, Zeta-Jones was the real deal. She had been a London stage kid. She grew up in the West End. You can't fake that kind of leg extension or the way she hits the "button" at the end of a number. It’s muscle memory. It's years of grueling rehearsals in dusty studios before the fame ever showed up.
Why Velma Kelly was the Harder Role
Most people gravitate toward Roxie Hart because she’s the "protagonist," or at least the one we follow. Renée Zellweger was great—don't get me wrong. But Velma? Velma is the engine. She starts the movie at the top of the mountain and spends the rest of the film sliding down it.
Playing a "has-been" while you are currently at the absolute peak of your physical powers and beauty is a weird psychological tightrope to walk. Zeta-Jones played Velma with this desperate, jagged edge. It wasn't just about being a "vamp." It was about the fear of being replaced. Every time she looked at Roxie, you could see the gears turning: Is this the girl who takes my spotlight?
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The Physicality of the Performance
Let’s get into the weeds for a second.
The choreography by Rob Marshall (and the ghost of Bob Fosse) is notoriously difficult. It’s all about isolations. Moving one finger while the rest of your body is a statue. Tilting a hat at a very specific 45-degree angle. Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago understood that Fosse isn't just about big jumps; it’s about the stillness.
She was famously pregnant during the later stages of the press tour and parts of the process, which makes the sheer athleticism of the "I Can't Do It Alone" sequence even more mind-boggling. She’s literally flipping and jumping while carrying a future human being. It’s legendary.
The Bob Haircut that Launched a Thousand Salon Visits
Stylistically, the movie was a reset button. The 1920s look became "the thing" again overnight. But it wasn't just the clothes. It was the attitude. Zeta-Jones brought a silent-movie-star energy to a 21st-century medium. She used her eyes as much as her feet.
If you look at the "Cell Block Tango," which is arguably the best-directed musical sequence of the last thirty years, Catherine is the anchor. She’s the one who sets the tone. "He had it coming." She says it with a smirk that convinced half the audience that, yeah, maybe he did.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Oscar Win
There’s a segment of film historians who think she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar just because the movie was a juggernaut. That is total nonsense.
She won because she was the most "electric" thing on screen that year. Usually, the Academy rewards "most" acting—lots of crying, lots of prosthetics, lots of yelling. Zeta-Jones won for precision. She won for the way she breathed during a dance break. She won because she managed to make a cold, murderous vaudevillian the most charismatic person in the room.
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Interestingly, she was actually offered the role of Roxie Hart initially. She turned it down. She wanted Velma. She wanted "All That Jazz." She knew that the secondary character often has the most meat on the bone. It was a brilliant career move that solidified her as a powerhouse rather than just another leading lady.
The Impact on the Industry
Before Chicago, movie musicals were considered "niche" or "for kids." Disney did them, sure. But a gritty, sexy, cynical musical for adults? No way.
Because of Catherine’s success, the floodgates opened. Suddenly, we had Dreamgirls, Les Misérables, Hairspray, and La La Land. You can draw a direct line from the success of Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago to the fact that musical films are a staple of the box office again today. She proved that if you treat the material with respect and hire people who actually know how to dance, the audience will show up.
Behind the Scenes: The "I Can't Do It Alone" Hustle
One of the most impressive things about her performance is the solo number "I Can't Do It Alone." It’s a desperate plea for a partnership, but she’s doing both parts of the dance herself.
Think about the technicality of that.
You are pretending to be two people. You are jumping over invisible hurdles. You are trying to convince an audience (and Roxie) that you are worth their time while you are visibly exhausted. Catherine reportedly rehearsed that specific number until her feet bled. That's the part the "effortless" performance hides—the sheer, unadulterated work.
- The Hair: She insisted on the short bob because she didn't want her hair flying in her face during turns. She wanted people to see her expressions.
- The Voice: She didn't use a "pop" voice. She used a Broadway belt. It was brassy, loud, and unapologetic.
- The Chemistry: Her dynamic with Richard Gere (Billy Flynn) was built on mutual professional respect. They both knew they were out of their comfort zones, and that tension translated beautifully to the screen.
The Legacy of Velma Kelly
Honestly, when you look back at the film now, it hasn't aged a day. The editing is still snappy, the songs are still earworms, and Catherine is still the Queen.
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She didn't just play a character; she created an icon.
If you go to a theater school today, students are still studying her "Cell Block Tango" entrance. They are still trying to figure out how she managed to be that menacing and that alluring at the same time. It’s a lightning-in-a-bottle moment.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Students of Film
If you want to truly appreciate what she did, don't just watch the movie once.
- Watch the "All That Jazz" sequence on mute. Look at her body language. Observe how she uses her shoulders and wrists to convey power. It’s a masterclass in non-verbal storytelling.
- Compare her performance to the original Broadway cast recordings. Notice how she adjusts the phrasing to fit the camera. Stage acting is big; film acting is small. She found a way to be both.
- Research the Fosse style. If you’re a dancer or a fan of movement, look into "The Amoeba" or "The Soft Shoe." You’ll see those exact movements mirrored in her performance.
- Check out the 20th Anniversary retrospectives. Many members of the cast and crew have recently done interviews (around 2022-2023) discussing how Catherine was the "captain" of the rehearsal process.
The reality is that Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago is one of those rare instances where the right actor met the right role at the exact right moment in history. She wasn't just a star; she was the catalyst for a whole new era of cinema.
Next time you see a high-budget musical on the big screen, remember the woman in the black bob. She’s the reason it’s there. To get the most out of your next viewing, pay close attention to the final duet, "Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag." The synchronization between her and Zellweger is terrifyingly perfect. It took six weeks to film that one sequence alone. Six weeks for a few minutes of footage. That is the level of commitment that wins Oscars.
If you are looking to dive deeper into her career, your next move should be watching her early West End footage or her performance in Traffic to see the range she was working with at the time. It makes the transition into Velma Kelly even more startling. There was no "pretty girl" safety net here; she went for the throat.
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