The success of a movie musical can be judged directly by how painful it is for recovering musical theater kids to keep their lips shut and their feet firmly planted on the ground. When it comes to “Wicked,” let’s just say mission accomplished.
I had high expectations when I walked into my screening of “The Wizard of Oz” prequel. Add me to the list of annoying “Wicked” enthusiasts who nostalgically reminisce about singing “Defying Gravity” during a high school recital and daydream about a chorus POPS concert medley that, oddly enough, included “Dear Old Shiz” and “Dancing Through Life.” Yes, I very much am “That Girl,” and I won’t apologize for it.
Given that we’ve waited over 20 years to see this adaptation grace the big screen, a rather unfair question the movie faces is whether or not it was worth the wait. We’ve had two decades to build it up in our heads, and I think a lot of us secretly need a justification for the “why now?” of it all. Well, we got it. Not only are the visuals a stunning feat that would have been impossible a decade or two ago, but the plot is more timely than ever given the current political landscape.
After the credits finished rolling (there’s no post-credits scene), my friend and I turned to each other and said, “I didn’t expect to love it this much.” We were prepared to have our high hopes dashed and were pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. Would it have been nice to see Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda) and Idina Menzel (Elphaba) preserved in the roles they originated on Broadway back in 2003? Sure. But there are plenty of clips showcasing that era of the “Wicked.” It’s time to embrace the new Shiz class, and this cast has more than earned their tassels.
Ariana Grande: Broadway meets pop princess
After Ariana Grande was announced as Glinda (formerly known as Galinda), many fans, myself included, worried that her vocals would be too pop-ified. As we expected, there is a decent amount of that in her musical numbers, but Grande makes it work.
By nature, Glinda is an overdramatic attention-seeker and every single actress who’s brought the character to life has had fun making Glinda’s quirks her own. Grande’s Glinda manages to pay homage to Chenowith’s version of the character while putting her own entertaining spin on the vocals and characterization.
People may discount Grande because everyone loves to mock pop stars for whatever (sexist) reason. However, Grande got her start in the musical theater world. She may add pop-y trilling to some of the notes, but she can belt those finales like nobody’s business. I wrote down two words after her “No One Mourns the Wicked” inhumanly high note: Damn, girl.
Additionally, many “Wicked” fans were apprehensive about Grande’s iteration of “Popular” after the singer shared a preview of the performance. I was one of them. In that short audio clip, the vocal choices sound a bit clunky, and fans of the musical criticized her for trying to sound too much like Chenoweth.
All of these are valid concerns based solely on this one-minute clip. But it’s not the full picture. As soon as we hear the entire song and watch the accompanying scene, it’s an instant hit. Grande’s acting choices are nothing short of delightful here, and the musical affectations pair perfectly with every overdramatic thing Glinda does in the number. I don’t think it will stand as strong on its own as a part of the soundtrack, but it’s absolute perfection on-screen. Glinda may have a little pop flourish in the “Wicked” movie, but Grande completely owns it.
Cynthia Erivo is unlimited
There’s no better word to describe Cynthia Erivo’s vocals than “powerhouse.” Elphaba is an incredibly complex character. She’s strong and fierce, yet deeply empathetic and vulnerable all at once. Anyone who plays the not-so-wicked witch has to simultaneously portray a number of contradictory personality facets. Erivo does it seamlessly.
In “The Wizard and I,” we see her vocally fun and quirky side, while songs like “Defying Gravity” are basically passionate rallying cries for outcasts. One of my favorite movie moments comes when Glinda realizes that Elphaba does actually care about what other people think of her but pretends not to.
Despite Elphaba’s cold bravado, a good chunk of the musical focuses on her journey to actually accept and love herself. That’s the payoff we’re waiting for — and one Erivo delivers on a platter at the end of “Defying Gravity.” Watching Elphaba embrace her younger self is such a powerful image for the rest of us outcasts who could learn a thing or two from her. If you can make it through that number without chills or getting teary-eyed, you might just be the Tin Man.
Erivo has such a gorgeously powerful theater voice and I wish her numbers took away some of the pop-y frills to stay truer to the original. Her songs absolutely don’t need jazzing up, and doing so detracts audiences from the impact of Elphaba’s emotional journey. Even songs like “I’m Not That Girl” suffer from this trend, as the melancholic sentiment gets a bit too overpowered in what should be a very stripped-down and raw song.
However, Elphaba’s “So if you care to find me” lyric is a good example of pop treatment done really well with a strong payoff. So, there’s a case for it on occasion, but I think it’s overdone — although not enough to severely impact the performance. It just slightly bugged me. Naturally, the breathtaking harmony when Elphaba and Glinda sing together is nothing short of the physical manifestation of their chemistry and on-screen magic.
Putting the emerald in Emerald City
“Wicked” didn’t pull any punches in building its world. Everything from the first 20 seconds of the movie right to the final moments is lush with stunning imagery, special effects, brilliant costumes/hair, and small homages to “The Wizard of Oz,” which helps connect the two projects. I was oddly charmed by the use of “The Wizard of Oz” font for the title card, which I wasn’t expecting — but it absolutely works.
It’s quite palpable that every decision in this movie was made with attentiveness and love for the source material. Between the bright colors and the impeccably designed Royal Palace of Oz, you really feel transported to a land that feels both old and new. When it comes to Emerald City, both the city and its people are essentially “The Hunger Games” Capitol — but make it green and steampunk.
My only aesthetic hangup was the design of the talking Animals. Naturally, in the stage rendition, the Animals are humanoid because humans play them. Duh. It was a bit jarring to see CGI animals walking and talking (we’re looking at you, Nanny Bear). I did mostly get used to it by the time Dr. Dillamond came onto the screen, though. If there’s a better way to do this kind of thing, we haven’t found it yet.
'Wicked' isn’t confused about being a musical
One of the major drawbacks of movie-musicals lately is the refusal to fully embrace the musical part of the movie-musical concept. Sometimes, trailers don’t even want to admit when there’s singing and don’t tease a single bar. “Wicked” doesn’t have this problem. Everyone involved in all levels of this production has fully embraced the musical’s origins and they know precisely who their audience is. The “Wicked” movie is a musical through and through, and the soundtrack more than proves it.
Anyone who’s seen “Wicked” on Broadway can tell you that the entire show is 2 hours and 45 minutes. That’s precisely how long the movie is — except this is just Part 1. I expected the film to feel like it was dragging and that I would pinpoint a bunch of useless things added to max out the run time. It wasn’t like that at all. I have a terrible attention span, and I didn’t feel compelled to look at my nonexistent watch once.
I can’t think of a single scene I would have cut or shortened (but maybe this is a hot take). The entire movie flows seamlessly and there’s a perfect balance of music and dialogue to keep things running smoothly. I assumed correctly that Part 1 would cut off in the same place as the musical’s intermission.
But even without a break, I didn’t mind the long run time in the slightest, which is pretty rare for me. However, the second half has less plot and musical numbers, so I might change my tune on this if Part 2 is as long as this one. All in all, “Wicked” defies gravity, and I’ll be impatiently waiting for the second half.
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