The power of this Wicked's story, music, production and performances easily override any hiccups along the way.
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This can be dangerous to admit on the internet, but I am a musical theater nerd. I was performing in shows from elementary school all the way through college and as such have a great appreciation for musicals and musical theater with a greater than average knowledge of shows. But you didn't need to be a theater nerd to know Wicked. Since it's initial run, Wicked has been a Broadway and touring mainstay thanks in part to its strong female leads, Stephen Schwartz's score and one of the most famous songs in Broadway history "Defying Gravity." And despite all of this, I was more than a bit hesitant about a Wicked movie.
One of the big reasons is that Hollywood has lost the plot with a number of its recent musical adaptations. Either the casting isn't a hundred percent (you really need voices for some parts), the production puts the emphasis on something that doesn't work or robs the material of its appeal (see Tom Hooper's adaptations of Les Mis and Cats), or the studio seems to be afraid of admitting that they pumped money into a musical for some reason (see Joker 2: Folie A Deux and even some of the advertising for Wicked).
But thankfully, this production decided to put the time, effort and talent forward to make an adaptation that could/should work. And man this movie doesn't just work, it often soars.
The Setup
Told in flashback after the Wicked Witch of the West's end in The Wizard of Oz, we follow the lives of Elphaba, a woman with green-tinted skin and untapped magical power, and Galinda, a lifelong social climber. An unlikely pair that are forced to room together an ultimately begin to bond. But Elphaba's desire to unravel a conspiracy and fight a corrupting influence in Oz, may push the duo apart...
Being chronically online as much as I am, and especially around the movie world online, I've seen a number of...let's call them ungenerous critiques of this film. Specifically around director Jon Chu and aspects of Ariana Grande's performance. So I'm going to address those first, before getting into why I think this movie rules.
Common Critique #1: Jon Chu's Direction
So first things first. What is it about Jon Chu's direction that people don't like? I'd say there's two things about his direction that I would tweak. The first is his shot selection. Fans of musicals tend to like wide shots with minimal cuts during the big numbers. The wide shots gives the choreography and background dancers time to shine and gives each number a sense of scale and scope. Same goes for solo numbers where the director decides to zoom in on faces versus letting the actor play things out.
Chu isn't terrible in this regard, he's nowhere close to Tom Hooper's close-ups in Les Mis, but there are a number of sequences and shots where you wish he would pull back the camera, use a tracking shot, or let the entire cast be seen on screen at once.
The second is the editing, specifically when the movie starts and stops musical numbers, that often kills momentum a lot of these songs should have. But as I'll address quickly, the script, story, songs and performances override all of this by a wide margin.
Common Critique #2: Ariana Grande's Performance
I think I'm going to chalk this one up to direction more than Ariana Grande herself. Because she definitely has the pipes and acting chops for this role. The thing about Galinda is that she's not an inherently bad person. She's careless and has a lot of trouble empathizing with Elphaba. But she definitely understands what it's like to constantly pretend in public. That's what she's done her whole life. Her strongest moments are when that perky masks slips just a bit or when she's able to be genuinely enthusiastic and that cartoonish aspect of her performance works. The in-between is where it's a bit rougher and I think she should've probably been told to tone it down or underplay a few more lines. Then again, part of the reason she might be getting so many critiques is because she's playing next to Cynthia Erivo. So let's get to the good stuff.
Holy S*** Cynthia Erivo
One of my favorite things when watching a movie is to know exactly how talented someone is and still be blown away by them. Which is exactly what happened with me watching Erivo in this movie because she nails every damn moment. Something Erivo seems to inherently understand is the interplay or different levels of expression between dialogue and singing. Especially on screen. Especially in this show.
Erivo's line delivery for most of this movie is very measured. Quiet, confident line deliveries that are aimed to avoid offending anyone. Something I imagine a queer black woman living in America can relate to all too well. So when the songs come in, and she can truly reveal her emotions, it packs a giant punch. Because there's sooo much weight and emotion in her voice. Not only that but she makes all of these songs her own.
Something I fall into when I'm singing a famous song or a song from a musical is trying to match the cadence or the original recording. Eviro does the exact opposite. She comes up with her own little runs and reads for every song. Different words get different emphasis than Idina Menzel's original recording. And just...f*** me what a powerful voice.
Something I fall into when I'm singing a famous song or a song from a musical is trying to match the cadence or the original recording. Eviro does the exact opposite. She comes up with her own little runs and reads for every song. Different words get different emphasis than Idina Menzel's original recording. And just...f*** me what a powerful voice.
The Production (Sets, Casting, Score)
I've been singing this movie praises without having seen it. Which can be very risky for a big-budget blockbuster like this. But turns out I was right to have faith, because this production put a lot of money into the right things.
Almost all of our locations are built around gigantic sets with intricate costume design with some notable standouts (namely the library used in "Dancing Through Life"). This is especially helpful when the movie leans a little heavier on CGI or CGI created characters to give this world a sense of being tactile and real. A great example is "Popular" which uses a series of a practical props versus a montage.
And as much as the casting directors nailed Elphaba and Glinda, the rest of the cast is stacked with actors that are so well suited to their parts. Michelle Yeoh as a trusted headmaster fits nicely into her long career of guardian/maternal figures, Jeff Goldblum is exactly who you want to play a charming huckster, and Jonathan Bailey vacillates between nihilistic chaos king and a future revolutionary on a dime. Great all around.
And as much as the songs work as is, Stephen Schwartz and company pumped the score and backing for the songs waaaay up in great ways that give each song either more movie-esque bombast or pulse.
The Script (Yes, Really)
Without getting too into the weeds about this movie's reveals, and what's to come in the second movie, this story was always going to hit hard. Because it's about intolerance. In particular how intolerance is used as a means of mass manipulation to scapegoat vulnerable people. And most damningly, how those who have already experienced intolerance and viewed its ignorance firsthand, are often some of the best people to identify society's wrongs.
My go-to analysis of the show and the movie is that while everyone wants to believe that they're Elphaba, a radical outsider that will stand up to injustice, possibly at great personal cost. They are most more likely Glida. Someone is generally well-meaning, but also centered on their own experience, quick to give the wrong people and organizations the benefit of the doubt, and just as quick to adopt performative allyship.
Wicked really captures what it's like to not only to be othered, but also our human desires to avoid drama, even if something awful is happening right in front of us.
There's also a lot of little additions, changes, and expansions on elements from the stage show that make use of the movie-level scope that reinforce the themes and character moments including a great addition to the show's signature song.
The Verdict: Too Powerful to Deny
While there's always room for nitpicks, the power of this show's story, music, production and performances easily override any hiccups along the way. Can't wait for For Good. 8/10
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