Chicago

Chicago, directed by Rob Marshall, in an on-screen adaptation of the popular Broadway musical Chicago. Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) dreams of being a star in 1920's Chicago. When she meets a man who promises to make her famous she'll do anything to please him, which includes sleeping with him. Eventually Roxie realizes he's been lying to her, she kills him. This lands Roxie in jail alongside multiple women who murdered their significant other when they realized they were cheating. One of these women being Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who was also a big star until she caught her sister sleeping with her husband and killed them both.

Chicago did a great job of showing how much America idolizes criminals. Roxie realized this and used that fame to boost her life once she got out of jail. To do so, she had her husband hire Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), a lawyer who'd never lost a case. Flynn then changed Roxie's story, making it something the media couldn't resist, bringing her to the front headlines of every newspaper. This caused competition between Roxie and Velma, who was previously Flynn's client. When Roxie believes she's losing the attention of the press, she lies and says she's pregnant which gets her plenty of new attention. Even after Velma and Roxie are released from jail they're still idolized. The two were able to become famous with a two woman show telling about their crimes and trials. America still idolizes criminals. For example George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, sold the gun he used that day for $250,000.

This movie also shows how the law isn't always fair. As mentioned before, when Roxie first enters the jail, she meets six women who sing "Cell Block Tango" and tell Roxie about the crimes that landed them in jail. All but one of these women admit to committing the crime. That same woman, Hunyak (Ekaterina Chtchelkanova), was ruled guilty and became the first woman to be hanged in Illinois. This ruling may have been due to her inability to speak English but shows that the justice system doesn't only punish the guilty.