IN Chicago (12A) Renee Zellweger is sent to jail for murdering her no-good lover and trying to frame her hapless husband for the crime.

Behind bars, she meets her idol, media-hungry songbird Catherine Zeta-Jones.

They become enemies for the affections of lawyer Richard Gere and a media battle ensues with the pair scheming to land themselves on the front pages of the tabloids.

Big screen musicals are back in fashion thanks to Baz Luhrmann's swoonsome Moulin Rouge, and Rob Marshall's toe-tapping film has plenty of razzle dazzle of its own.

The cast look like they are having a ball, slinking through the elaborate choreographed numbers and going full gusto with memorable tunes.

Zellweger transforms her ditzy blonde into a fiercely determined media whore.

Zeta-Jones glowers and pouts as the fallen idol who resents the challenge to her domination. Gere looks ten years younger, beaming with uncontained joy as he tap dances through his big solos.

Occasionally, the film would benefit from a little less exuberance behind the camera but it's refreshing to see a director who is so obviously excited about his work.

That exhilaration translates into a wonderfully entertaining and sensual couple of hours behind bars.