All That Jazz Movie Review

All That Jazz (1979)

Rent All That Jazz on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Robert Alan Aurthur and Bob Fosse
Directed by: Bob Fosse
Starring: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Cliff Gorman, Ben Vereen
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A semi-autobiographical fantasy based on aspects of Fosse's life and career through the character of the womanizing, drug-using dancer Joe Gideon and his sordid career.

Verdict
This is  how Fosse sees his life and work, which adds weight to the narrative. Gideon wants to be great, and we see a man preoccupied by ego. Nearly everything he does comes back to that, and Scheider truly carries this movie as Gideon. He relentlessly works on a play and a movie simultaneously, chasing greatness and legacy. The prospect of death plagues him; will he have time to fulfill his potential before it's over?
Watch it.

Review
You quickly get the sense that Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is hard working and has more than a few vices, planning a show and editing a movie. He's burning the candle at both ends, working hard, playing hard, and unconcerned about anything that doesn't bring him pleasure. He loves the job and he loves womanizing.

The main plot is inter-cut with scenes with at first what seems like an angel that we later realize is the grim reaper. Of course Gideon sees death as a woman. This is the only time where he speaks candidly about his life and faults. I couldn't help but think about The Seventh Seal. Only in death is Gideon completely honest.

Roy Scheider plays Joe Gideon

Every morning we see Joe awake, looking more haggard. He's running himself ragged and flirting with visions of death the entire movie. He's committed to his work and we see how he's neglected his wife and daughter, and later his girlfriend. He tells them what they want to hear, and the only time he admits that is when he's talking to death. Joe ends up in the hospital due to the exertion, but it doesn't cause him to slow down. It seems that Joe is just never satisfied. He's always focused on the next project, and I'd guess that's part of the reason he goes through so many women.

Joe focuses everything into his work, good and bad. Joe is a stand-in for Fosse, and this hints at how you have to sacrifice everything to be great. Joe certainly thinks about his legacy. No one works this hard still despite all the successes unless they're building something. His hope is that his work will be remembered. This becomes more hallucinatory later in the movie as Joe imagines fanciful dance numbers. Thinking about death leads him through the five stages of grief, which links directly to the monologue in his movie. Joe tries to reconcile his life and eventual death. Were the sacrifices worth it?