[Rating: Solid Rock Fist Up]
In Theaters Friday, November 22
It’s tough out there right now, so maybe this isn’t the best time to go see a movie about the inescapable dominance of bullies and misinformation. There’s enough of that out in the world without drowning in the same pool of despair when going to the movies, yet Wicked provides a lifeline for the troubled, and a toe-tapping one at that. An alternate history that recontextualizes The Wizard of Oz through the eyes of Elphaba, aka, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), the movie’s steady/strong musical foundation gives it enough heft to carve out a life for itself on the big screen, and even provides a glimmer of hope befitting its fairy tale roots.
Wicked is really Wicked: Part 1, and as it lumbers out of its first act and through seven principal lead introductions, it is easy to understand why it has been broken into two chunks. Most of the movie comes through a flashback story as told by Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande), who explains that she met Elphaba on the first day of school at Shiz University. The audience watches as Elphaba, who is only at Shiz to help her paraplegic sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), settle in, gets drafted into the university by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who recognizes Elphaba’s raw sorcery talents.
At Shiz, Glinda and Elphaba struggle to get along as roommates, yet bond over their shared affection for a new student, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), and sympathy toward a talking goat professor, Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage). It’s tough for the young women, though, as Elphaba battles discrimination due to her green skin, and Glinda suffers the indignity of being second-best at something (sorcery) for the first time in her charmed life. Both score a shot at realizing their dreams when they get an invitation to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), though, which is where the meatier portions of Wicked reside (and where, regrettably, the movie ends).
Because again, this is just Part 1. And yet for any sting of anticipation for what’s to come, there’s more than enough salve, here: mostly in the form of the musical numbers and Erivo’s work in the lead. Grande does a fine job as Glinda and seems comfortable performing her songs, but Erivo is nothing short of a revelation as Elphaba. Benefitting from her West End and Broadway background, the actress doesn’t just sing “The Wizard and I” or “Defying Gravity,” she attacks them. And while nothing could replace the experience of seeing someone sing these pieces live, Erivo’s take on the role gets a person in a movie theater seat as close to that as humanly possible.
John M. Chu is no stranger to Broadway adaptations, and just like his work on 2021’s In the Heights, the director effortlessly transcribes the rhythm and energy of the original in Wicked, merging the terrestrial roots of the source material with a dazzling cinematic reimagining. Where it was just one New York borough before, Wicked requires the creation of an other-worldly (yet still familiar) setting with talking animals, flying broomsticks, and women in bubbles. Granted, no one could accuse this movie of looking “real” in a practical sense, yet Chu deploys the effects well, and never asks too much of them.
Indeed, a talking goat and flying monkey don’t come off as “real” in any tangible sense, yet neither do they look cheap, and the fantastical appearance of the creatures and backgrounds rendered with CGI pairs well with the tone and tenor of the larger effort. And as for that tone, it remains breezy throughout, which feels like a necessity considering the weighty themes lurking in the corners of this thing. As already mentioned, it’s a weird time to be talking about misinformation campaigns, naked discrimination, and minority persecution, yet Wicked successfully spins a fairytale yarn using timely themes without bogging the effort down with too many stops in bummer town.
Chu doesn’t have to work all that hard to pull this off, either, as the musical numbers are what kept the original Broadway show sold out for years, and they find a good home in this adaptation. The production design, costume, and hair/make-up departments all deliver as well, and give Wicked the look of a big-budget Hollywood adaptation befitting the musical’s stature and pedigree. And besides all of that, it’s just plain fun and scored to music that’s no less entertaining and nourishing.
So maybe this is the best possible time to watch Wicked, what with the movie’s open-ended denouement and promise of hope amidst the overwhelming gloom. The bad guys have tricked the whole world into believing a lie and the good are suffering at the hands of the dishonest, yet everything is not as it seems and there are still a few fighters left to push back against the…well, wicked.
“Obvious Child” is the debut novel of Warren Cantrell, a film and music critic based out of Seattle, Washington. Mr. Cantrell has covered the Sundance and Seattle International Film Festivals, and provides regular dispatches for Scene-Stealers and The Playlist. Warren holds a B.A. and M.A. in History, and his hobbies include bourbon drinking, novel writing, and full-contact kickboxing.
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