So who was this Bob Fosse? He was selfish, cynical and remarkably sensitive -- another artist who could get away with being hateful because of his ability to see and create beauty, because of his awareness. But then American critics too get away with a hell of a lot these days. They dump their opinions on the page and forget to clean them up. I haven’t read one critique yet that pointed out that the film is postmodern! “All That Jazz” is post-modern and post-modern was the perfect medium for Fosse: it’s skeptical, unreligious, unaccountable and playful. Bob Fosse’s outer life, apparently, was the same way, and his inner life, more complicated than that and deeper, is given to us in pieces. He lets you experience his life without actually spelling it out for you (he spells out a great deal in hard words about himself but many things are only hinted at). This, again, is what critics seem to miss – that the so-called flaws in the film might be necessary because they add to its complexity and contradictory nature and because there’s more to Bob Fosse than womanizer, addict, workaholic. It’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek! It’s supposed to be tedious in parts and riveting/haunting in others! That’s the way the life he’s describing is. There’s no way Fosse would have intended the film to be perfect in a Hollywood way. He wanted it to be perfect in an artistic way – subtle, uneven, light, funny, a little silly, and deeply disturbing. That is the “formula” for a perfect art film, the perfect art film being what most accurately reflects real life. According to several American critics, the film is self-indulgent, annoying in parts, and too long. To them a film is a product, something for their gratification. They look up at the screen without looking up at the film unless, of course, it “does” something for them -- thrills, delights, makes them cry at just the right moments. They are used to so many commercials and commercials are usually thrilling and sentimental. The majority of online reviews seem to think there’s something gracious and magnanimous about granting that “All That Jazz” is unique and moving in some way and leave it at that: great choreography, intriguing performances, impressive attempt. This is due not to a lack of intelligence of the reviewers but, apparently, their lack of interest in the deeper subject matter.