Once every 5-10 years, a Broadway play becomes a sensation that bleeds into the general populous. BLMM (Before Lin Manuel Miranda), the two most recent sensations were Book of Mormon (can’t wait for THAT movie), and…Wicked. With it’s clear ties to Hollywood history, it was only a matter of time before jumping from stage to screen. Jon M. Chu has tackled a big flashy musical before, so the game director pairs with an eagerly game cast, ready to play the biggest musical game the big screen has seen in a long time. Well, except for the Eras Tour, but Taylor’s in her own league, obvi.
The movie opens at the end of The Wizard of Oz, where, [SPOILER ALERT] the Wicked Witch of the West has died from Dorothy’s Water attack. Munchkinland celebrates, but also finds out Glinda (Ariana Grande) the Good Witch might have been friends with the Wicked Witch. Glinda shows up and confirms those rumors, telling the tale of how she met Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) aka our Wicked Witch at Shiz University. The story takes all sorts of turns, introducing us to previously unknown key players, like Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), a goat professor at the school, Dean of Sorcery Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), suave Prince Fiyero Tigelaar (Jonathan Bailey), Elphaba’s sister Nessa (Marissa Bode), and of course, the Wizard of Oz himself (Jeff Goldblum), making everyone perhaps rethink how they feel about Dorothy’s version of events.
Jon M. Chu has been slowly earning his directing chops, readying himself to take on Wicked’s big reputation. He finds all sorts of ways to make the musical feel as electric as everyone wants it to be. Oz is already a step removed from reality, so the CGI doesn’t take you out of the movie, allowing him to show big sweeping vistas for the bigger musical numbers. For the more grounded story/character work, most of the sets everyone was working on are real built sets, which you can see especially in the dorm room squabbles between Elphaba and Galinda (pre name change), or an incredible library sequence introducing Prince Fiyero. Chu really pulled all the punches as well: the opening number in Munchkinland is one giant practical set, with hundreds of extras paying homage to old school Hollywood, setting the vibes sweetly right away, letting the audience know there in for something nostalgic…but with a modern twist as well.
The cast seems invigorated by the time and investment Chu and the studio made for Wicked to work. As such, everyone is on their A game, as I secretly believe every great actor wants to rock a giant old school Hollywood Musical. Even Peter Dinklage, as a CGI goat professor, gives the movie the emotional gravitas it needs to deliver on his subplot with minimal time to do it. Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum give their elegance and charm mostly to Wicked; they can’t really sing, but they make the movie feel important. Jonathan Bailey was born to play some sort of fairy tale Prince; he nailed it in Bridgerton, and he does a more exaggerated spin here, understanding how to use his hunky physique to goofy perfection. But Wicked falls apart if Elphaba and Galinda aren’t cast right. Thankfully the movie soars thanks to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Erivo’s performance is the more expected one; she already proved she could sing and act, so she just does it bigger and better here. Like the story wants, Erivo makes us believe Elphaba isn’t really evil, she’s just the fall guy for a system in place that doesn’t like different things, playing everything dry and sarcastic, but secretly hurt and interior, with ever growing confidence. Defying Gravity is the big musical number, and Erivo nails that banger, soaring the audience out of their chairs into the sky with her. The big surprise though is Ariana Grande as Galinda. I don’t know what it says about her that she completely relates to the entitled, self-absorbed, privileged incarnate Glinda the Good Witch, but I doubt there’s a better casting choice made this year. Grande IS Galinda, invigorating the screen with most of the movie’s best humor, unafraid to sacrifice herself on the alter of dignity to make Elphaba look good by comparison (Erivo and her are completely at home in the snarky opposites approach). But it’s in the quiet moments between Grande and Erivo that that annoyingly Betty Boop voice she inhabits really is how she wants to be on the inside, helping prop up her distressed roommate and becoming almost the linchpin for Wicked to propel into it’s second half.
Wicked is long, but Jon Chu uses the 2 hour 40 minute runtime to give ample time for each story to take hold and set itself up properly, leading to the big epic concluding musical finish he wants you to feel as you leave the theater. When a musical is done right like this one is, you’re bopping along to the beats, excited to see what comes next, along with a crowd as eager as you are. If you dare to go see Wicked, know each musical number is about 2-3 minutes, so you can sneak in a pee break on one you don’t think you’ll like, and try to see it in a big packed theater, where hopefully you’ll get a sing along or two, transporting you back in time to Hollywood’s glory days of the past. Popular: Wicked’s gonna be pop u u lar…