STORY STUDY - CRITERION WEEK “724. All That Jazz”

Cigarettes, drugs, Alka-Seltzer, sex, repeat. “It’s showtime, folks.”

Directed by Bob Fosse, and written by Fosse and Robert Alan Aurthur, All That Jazz is the semi-autobiographical fantasy story of Fosse’s life as a director, choreographer, and director. In the film, Joe Gideon is choreographing a musical on Broadway while editing a film, which apparently he is going over-budget with the amount of time he is spending on the final edit.

Behind the scenes and curtains, Joe is a chain-smoker, takes multiple medical drugs on the daily, and despite having a girlfriend, cheats any chance he gets. The film shows his condition worsening, with him in constant denial that anything is wrong.

The fantasy element is presented with Joe imagining talking to a woman in white. This is how the audience learns what Joe is thinking.

The film’s finale is an epic music variety show with him as the star giving a final song to the people in his life as audience members.

There’s shades of story and genre elements of another Criterion Collection, 8 ½ , with both protagonists having the same profession and is creatively stuck. Both even have many women in their lives with some scenes told in flashback.

Despite the glamorous musical numbers of this film, the film is a very uncomfortable look on the consequences of living in excess. The way Joe treats women, especially his confusion on why fidelity is important, is upsetting to look at. The way Joe disregards his own life when everyone around him wants him to get better, even the doctors who are trying to do their job, is absolutely frustrating. Once again, it’s all a cautionary tale.

There's not much to say about the projects that he's working on. Less so on the side of the musical because we never really know what's the story. There's a airline-themed music number that we see in its entirety, but that's it. However, the film project he works on, a stand-up special, has segments repeated over and over again that relates to him. The comedian, Davis Newman, sees himself as God, and he explains the five stages of grief, both of which Joe experiences.

I watched the film when the title was acquired by the Criterion Collection. The story, of course, interested me. Like with last week’s post on I’m Not There, this film’s blend of biographical and fantasy makes it unique, only this time, it’s a personal story by the writer/director.

All That Jazz is, let’s face it, a depressing film to watch. It’s a downward spiral of a man who clearly has it all, especially coming from someone who wants to be a working artist who is loved and relied upon by many people. Having said that, it’s an imaginative way to see how said artist sees how Death comes for him, and it looks so entertaining.