I thought the movie was much better than the play. The movie's style does not replicate the revival's minimalist sets and costumes. It is much more extravagant, thankfully. What is so brilliant about the movie, though, is that it is theatrical. The musical numbers are staged, performed on a vaudeville stage with an audience rather than in the context of the story. It gives it an almost dreamlike quality that is just mesmerizing on the screen. The movie is all the better for it--praise for Rob Marshall's direction. The best numbers in the movie are still the best ones from the musical: All That Jazz and Cell Block Tango. (I admittedly thought Nowadays was very good in the movie too). Cell Block Tango would've been very different if filmed in the prison. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger are both phenomenal. In a musical you're obviously looking at the singing and dancing, but in the non-musical scenes as well, they are acting. Their desperation (for fame) comes through.
