All That Jazz

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Many audiences may not necessarily know the work of Bob Fosse, but everyone sure as shit knows his name. It’s a name that has haunted musicals for decades, sparking images of total showstoppers that trade in the family-friendly colour and fun of the Golden Age and replaces it with the dark and seedy ‘dance macabre’.

All That Jazz is the captivating and intimately autobiographical movie that Fosse made shortly after recovering from open-heart surgery. The film follows Fosse’s chain-smoking, pill popping, womanizing alter ego Joe Gideon, a man so driven by his work he ignores all else: his daughter, his girlfriend, and even the alarming pains in his chest. Flashing backwards and forwards between his troubled childhood as a burlesque club performer and flirtatious backstage conversations with his personal angel of death, Angelique, the film is a captivating and alarmingly intimate look into the darker corners of showbiz and those struggling in its grip.

Competition, ambition, and the price of being a creative genius suck the life and colourful tone right out the title –which instantly makes one think of the roaring ‘20s a la Chicago- and replaces it with a jagged and glamour-less depiction of men and women crumpling underneath the weight of their careers.

As can be expected there are a number of truly memorable sequences in Fosse’s signature jazzy style dripping with blends of erotica and hidden characters; the most breathtaking of which is Joe’s hospital hallucinations as he contemplates his life while coming out of surgery starring his ex-wife, his lover, and –in a very mature performance to the point of being disturbing- his daughter.

Alongside the gritty story and the spectacle of the musical numbers are a series of gripping performances that elevate the piece to a most incredible work of musical drama. 

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The film won four Academy Awards and –for any buffs interested in the history of movie musicals- it’s been critically placed alongside Cabaret as the two best musicals in three decades. Dark, disturbing, and eerily prophetic All That Jazz is an incredible film.

Starring: Ray Schneider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Cliff Gorman, Ben Vereen, Erzsebet Foldi, Michael Tolan, Max Wright, William LeMassena, Irena Kane, Deborah Geffner, Kathryn Doby, Anthony Holland, Robert Hitt, and John Lithgow