Broadway Legend Joined: 5/25/05
Uma Thurman had BETTER get a nomination for this one.
Her version of "If You've Got It, Flaunt It" gave Catherine Zeta-Jones' "All That Jazz" a SERIOUS run for its money. And I can't have been the only one who thought of Ginger Rogers during her romantic dance with Broderick, as she twirled all over the set in blue chiffon. (Of course, she can't really sing, but neither could Ginger--does anyone CARE?)
The movie itself is divinely silly--I wept from laughing and had to force myself not to applaud. Nathan and Matthew's final duet is almost as touching as "Brokeback Mountain". And the damned CLOSING CREDITS are funny. The audience I saw it with stayed all the way through them to the priceless gag at the end.
Ginger could sing! she didn't have a very memorable voice, but she's very pleasant to listen to in her early muscials and with Fred Astaire.
But I understand what you're trying to say, they have a lot of presence.
I soooo disagree with you. I LOVED the movie, but thought Uma was the low point. Her acting was decent, not great. Her dancing was fine, and her singing was AWFUL. How you can say she gave Catherine Zeta-Jones a run for her money is beyond me.
And that scene with the blue dress was based on the old Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire musicals; Mel Brooks loved that genre, so it's meant to bring to mind exactly that.
I know it's popular on here to bash Uma, because she's not "of the theatuh" but I thought she was the best thing in the movie.
i haven't seen the movie yet. uma usually is a wonderful actress but singing wise she doesn't have the greatest voice but it's not the worst either. she didn't come close to blowing zeta-jones away vocaly.
Catherine blew Uma out of the water. Uma's performance was okay but Catherine's was sensational.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/25/05
That shot of her flipping off the desk into a split--heart-stopping.
For her first movie musical role (I think), Uma did a decent job, in my opinion. I think Catherine Zeta-Jones did much better in Chicago, though.
WOW! I think Catherine takes the cake in Chicago! She is better than Renee, Richard and Queen, shes absoluetly fabulous! And I thought Uma did ok in The Producers, but she can't sing at all, and to compare her to someone who stole the entire movie and won an Oscar is a bit of an uphil fight.
Personally, I didn't think Uma was such a standout. She was kind of 'blah' for me, like I didn't hate her nor love her. She was just ... there.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/04
I agree with almostxfamous. She was just there.
And comparing her to Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago? That's borderline blasphemy right there.
Uma better than Catherine? Are you kidding? Catherine Zeta Jones was freakin phenomenal in Chicago and to compare Uma to Catherine is just ridiculous
Swing Joined: 11/30/05
The flip from the desk to the splits made me love Uma. And her fake accent was alright. I do hope she gets a nomination, even if it wasn't amazing.
And I laughed through the entire movie, obnoxiously so. So did everyone else. And we all applauded. It's hard not to, after the marching swastika kick line.
I just got home from watching the movie for the first time and although I thought it was a bad movie, I think Uma Thurman was one of the few things I liked about it. However, it's completely absurd to compare her performance to Catherine Z. Jones, I mean, not at all.
while i disagree about blowing catherine away i must say uma hit the nail on the head for ulla. the point, for me at least is that she ISN'T a great singer. Cady was vocally divine however if an actress walked in and sang like that (and belted with virtually no discernable accent) she would never get cast in a show meant to flop.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/05
eh. Uma's Ulla bored me. She was the least memorable part of the movie for me.
She's a good actress, but her performance wasn't over-the-top enough.
I enjoyed Uma as Ulla, but if she gets a nomination over better performances (Amy Adams, etc.), I will be royally pissed.
I had a problem with her accent. It seemed like she had a problem keeping it consitent- she kept slipping back into an American one. Maybe it was hard for her to do a fake accent as opposed to an authentic one. I found it very distracting.
Broadway Star Joined: 3/23/05
Catherine Z-J was horribly mis-cast in Chicago. I believe that for the Roxie/Velma relationship to work Velma MUST be older and wiser than Roxie. Hence why Roxie aspires to being like Velma. I didn't think she was glamorous enough nor did she demand your attention when performing. If Uma isn't as good as her then she must be diabolical.
Not diabolical, just BLAH.
Uma was awful. She sang like a frog, although she looked stunning. Gary Beach deserves a nomination. He stole the show, as always.
I thought Beach was terrific too (as usual, as you said) as was Roger Bart. Heck, I think they were all good in it--except Uma. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
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