Number 26: Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly in "Chicago" (Best Supporting Actress Ranking)

Oscars for performances in musical seemed to be a factor of previous – until finally Catherine Zeta-Jones demonstrated impressively how wonderful a overall performance in a musical can be and acquired a effectively-deserved Oscar for it. She produces a believable evening-club diva, arrogant and bossy and performs her musical figures with as significantly energy and fascination as one can probably obtain. Velma Kelly is probably not the most challenging role in the performing section – but Catherine Zeta-Jones confirmed how much her singing and dancing is component of this character and that these scenes should not be brushed apart too very easily. Besides getting technically ideal, Catherina Zeta-Jones invests these scenes with just as much characterizations as she does in the non-singing scenes – that ‘F*** you’-search she provides the cops at the stop of ‘All that Jazz’ or her wonderful desperation for the duration of ‘I can’t do it alone’ are just two illustrations.

General, her rendition of ‘All that Jazz’ is 1 the greatest opening figures ever and from that instant on she dominates absolutely everyone all around her anytime she is onscreen. Even just searching at her legs whilst she walks into her club offers some form of thrill. And even even though you have six fantastic ladies in the ‘Cell Block Tango’, Catherine Zeta-Jones is nonetheless the highpoint. Her strong ‘He had it coming’ is a single of people times when you understand how powerful she genuinely is in this role. And ‘I cannot do it alone’ is absolutely nothing more than a showcase for every thing Catherine has to offer you: excellent appears, wonderful voice, great dancing skills! 

The character of Velma is undoubtedly of secondary significance to Roxie in Chicago and Catherine Zeta-Jones does not have any accurate scenes to screen a deeper side in Velma, but she crafts Velma intelligently as a accurate diva, a ‘queen bee’ who out of the blue finds herself pushed back again to the 2nd row. Functioning in the atmosphere of Chicago, Catherine Zeta-Jones properly refused to obtain any sympathy by trying to area a tear at a excellent moment but instead targeted on the bitchy and entertaining aspect of Velma, that way making her a lot a lot more fascinating and long lasting. And Catherine Zeta-Jones’s expertise for comedy should also not be undervalued – her ‘shit’ when Roxie pretends to be expecting or her scene in the witness stand, when she has to go through the diary and says ‘I’m a small out of practice’ and dramatically begins ‘What a laugh…’ are just excellent.

Catharine Zeta-Jones introduced a lot of power and rhythm to Chicago and created a very worthy winner of that coveted award.