Born out of a midnight tape recorder session held by show creator Michael Bennett and a handful of Broadway background dancers in which they discuss their personal and professional experiences with a wine-fueled frankness, “Chorus Line,” as represented in the film, becomes a prime example of the transmutation of life into art. Because the characters in the play are based on real-life individuals and because many of these individuals are involved in the current casting process, the filmmakers draw pointed parallels between the historical and present day footage suggesting the sometimes odd permutations that a work of art assumes throughout its long history. Especially striking are a series of cuts between dialogue spoken on the original tapes and those same lines being sung by the auditioners. Since many of these contestants are in similar positions to those of the chorus members on the tapes, scuffling to work their way out of Broadway anonymity and earn their big break, these words take on a fresh resonance, some 35 years after the fact. Never is this continuity of purpose more clear than in the film's sentimental highlight. Auditioning for the part of Paul (a role based on Bennett himself), Jason Tam delivers a heart-stopping monologue that touches on the character's (and subject's) start in burlesque theater, his homosexuality, and his relationship with his parents. As Tam punctuates his lines with wholly credible crying jags, the filmmakers cut to Bob Avian—the original show's choreographer and a longtime associate of its creator—sitting at the audition table, a solitary tear coursing down his cheek. Michael Bennett died of AIDS-related lymphoma in 1987, but thanks to the lasting bit of popular art he had the vision to create, his experiences continue to communicate, spoken and sung by a new generation of devoted performers.” – Slant Magazine.