For the second time in a row, a much-loved & much-hated musical takes the stage in our list of contentious films: 2002′s Oscar winning Chicago. Its FCQ is pretty high, at 47.28. (FCQ is the Film Contentiousness Quotient — details on the math can be found here).
It might be surprising that the film which was chosen as the year’s best is so controversial amongst Criticker users — but considering that it’s chock full of sparkly song and dance numbers, perhaps not. Musicals are films which rarely appeal to everyone, but Chicago’s haters are unusually full of vehemence. Amusingly so, in fact.
Chicago’s plot is pretty simple: a couple of murderesses scheme and compete for fame from within the penitentiary. But of course, the plot is mostly there as a structure to connect the various musical numbers. The cast includes John C. Reilly (arguably, the show-stealer), Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger and Queen Latifah, all of whom sing and dance with varying degrees of success.
This was Rob Marshall’s first film, and although the Best Picture Oscar must be nice, he’ll only truly be able to sleep well if Criticker users decide once and for all, whether Chicago was great or terrible. So, which is it?
Chicago
- Great! (52%, 13 Votes)
- Terrible! (48%, 12 Votes)
Total Voters: 25
Loading ...Here are a couple battling opinions from Criticker users.
Sapphire: “Flamboyant, sizzingly sexy retelling of the classic Bob Fosse stage musical. Superlative in every way. Great cast (Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah & John C. Reilly). The most striking performance, though, belongs to Catherine Zeta Jones (who also won an Oscar). Her Velma is a force of nature that can not be denied.”
jenna: “THE WORST MOVIE IN CINEMATIC HISTORY! A DISGRACE! RUBBISH! INSULTING! STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT! ”
In the last poll, you voted on Across the Universe, Julie Taymor’s musical tribute to the Beatles. By a decent margin, it passed the test… it’s GREAT!
And here’s our up-to-date list of the top 10 most contentious films at Criticker:
1. Eyes Wide Shut – FCQ 56.91 – Poll Result: GREAT!
2. Across the Universe – FCQ 56.18 – Poll Result: GREAT!
3. The Rocky Horror Picture Show – FCQ 55.41 – Poll Result: GREAT!
4. Stay – FCQ 51.86 – Poll Result: GREAT!
5. Dumb & Dumber – FCQ 49.84 – Poll Result: GREAT!
6. Saw – FCQ 49.81 – Poll Result: TIE!
7. The Butterfly Effect – FCQ 49.6 – Poll Result: GREAT!
8. Brotherhood of the Wolf – FCQ 49.37 – Poll Result: GREAT!
9. King Kong – FCQ 49.1 – Poll Result: GREAT!
10. I Am Sam – FCQ 48.37 – Poll Result: TERRIBLE!
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