“Wicked”: One of the Best Films of the Year?

The adaptation of the world-famous Broadway musical, and one of the most anticipated films of the year, has dealt with a fair share of controversies. But maybe the production can still make up for it.

Summary

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a young woman who is misunderstood for her green skin, gets a place at Shiz University, in the land of Oz. There she forms an unlikely but strong friendship with Glinda (Ariana Grande), the pretty and popular girl.

Just when she gets the chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of working with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Elphaba discovers a bitter truth about her hero. This brings the two friends to a crossroads, where they have to choose who they want to be.

A Bit of History

For those who have not heard of Wicked before the film was announced, I will give you some context.

The stage musical, of which this film is a direct descendant, is based on Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by American author Gregory Maguire, published in 1995. This novel presents a revisionist approach to the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, a beloved children’s classic. It also considers the sequels Baum wrote for his book and the famous 1939 film adaptation starring Judy Garland. Basically, a fan fiction.

Maguire wrote a biography of the Wicked Witch Dorothy faces in the original novel, whom he named Elphaba. Oz’s biggest villain is shown in a much kinder light, and the author uses the character to explore the nature of good and evil, as well as the topics of terrorism and propaganda. Some of the most adult aspects were modified in the musical version to make it more appealing to all audiences. In fact, friendship becomes one of the central topics in the theater adaptation.

The stage musical, with music by Steve Schwartz, premiered on Broadway in 2003, to great success. Wicked is today the second highest grossing Broadway musical of all time and has spawned many productions worldwide.

And now, let’s get straight into our main topic: the new movie adaptation.

A Surprisingly Good Adaptation

I’m going to be completely honest: I went to the theater ready to hate this film. Because the precedent Hollywood has established for musical production these past years is abysmal, because I can’t stand most of the people involved in the project, and because the promotion these past months gave me an awful vibe. Imagine my surprise when the thing turned out to be amazing.

I’ve never had the chance to see the show live, but I’m very familiar with the Broadway original cast recording. So the first thing I noticed about Wicked is that no songs were cut, and most of them were kept as similar as possible to that recording. There were some added details to the film here and there, but as far as I know, it’s a relatively faithful adaptation of the stage musical.

The production and costume design are a dream. The sets look astounding; they went all out to make the fantasy land of Oz as believable as they could.

And of course, the big musical numbers are on point. The staging of the opening song “No One Mourns The Wicked” was enough to convince me that Jon M. Chu knew what he was doing. When I talk about great musicals in cinema, this is what I mean. The scene looks elaborated. He shows you Ariana Grande in her pink dress, but also lets you enjoy a number of performers playing the Munchkins, and the huge choreography with which they celebrate the death of the wicked Witch of the West. All the musical moments are handled in an original and entertaining way.

I’m actually quite impressed.

Fun fact: Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth (who originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway) make a small cameo during the song “One Short Day”. Was it unnecessary? Probably yes. But it’s a little and harmless fan service; they don’t abuse it. If you know nothing about the musical, maybe you won’t even notice.

Part 1?

Spoiler: Wicked ends on a cliffhanger. Why? Because this film only adapts the first act of the stage musical. Just as Elphaba revels against the wizard and decides to find her own way, with the iconic song “Defying Gravity”, you’ll see a title card that reads “To be continued…”

Now, while I knew this before I went to the theater, I must say that the fact that Wicked was going to be a two part story was not clearly advertised. This is because the studio knows very well that breaking the story into parts loses them many spectators, who don’t want to pay to see only half a story.

I suspected the film was going to contain a lot of inconsequential plot additions or new songs as fillers, given that the running time is over two and a half hours. Luckily, I was wrong. The movie is long but very entertaining; it never stalls and makes the most of the time they have to focus on the characters.

The Casting Choices

For the most part, the production cast actors who could actually sing and dance. Jonathan Bailey, who I only knew as “that guy from Bridgerton”, was great as Fiyero. He was my favorite of the supporting cast. Marissa Bode, the actress playing Nessarose, also has a beautiful voice. Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum are not great singers, but as their characters barely participated in songs, I give it a pass.

But let’s address the most important issue: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, our protagonists.

The main reason I walked into this movie with no hope was because I don’t like either of them. All the press these actresses have been doing for the project has not helped to change my mind. It all felt very inauthentic; they spent interviews getting emotional over nothing and talking about how significant the film is for “women and queer people.” They really need to calm down.

However, in terms of their work in the film, I must admit both Erivo and Grande were a pleasant surprise as well.

Ariana Grande as Glinda

This performance was my favorite of the project. Even though I’ve always recognized that Ariana Grande has a great voice, I’ve never thought of her as a particularly good actress. In terms of public image, she looks like an insufferable and overacted person. But the thing here is, that Glinda is an insufferable and overacted character. So somehow, it was a perfect casting. Ariana is Glinda.

For context, Glinda is the vane and superficial popular girl, who always wants to be the center of attention and look perfect in front of her classmates. She has a high opinion of herself and always gets her way. Her friendship with Elphaba gives her some necessary character development. Ariana delivers a funny performance, even when she is not singing.

I could also notice that she was making an effort to sing every song the same as Kristin Chenoweth, which I appreciated. The fact that she is not a great dancer was well hidden, putting her in the background when she needed to do so. It was a good job.

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba

This is the performance I was expecting to enjoy the most, not because of Cynthia Erivo particularly, but because the character is my favorite of the two. And while Erivo is good, I feel she could have been better.

When it comes to acting, I believe it’s the same thing that with her co-star: she is her character. Elphaba is a misunderstood girl, who has always been excluded for being different. She has a strong resentment against the entire world, and a yearning for justice. I don’t know whether that is Cynthia Erivo’s experience, but at least she seems to believe it is.

Everything I’ve seen of her during the Wicked promotion shows she has the typical victim mentality that’s so trendy these days. That’s what her performance gives. But again, for this character in the first act of the story, it works. However, I would have liked her to transmit more vulnerability and sweetness. After all, Elphaba is the way she is because she has been mistreated all her life, but she is not an evil person.

My other very particular criticism is that I didn’t enjoy her singing as much. Having spent years listening to Idina Menzel in the original recording, I feel that something is missing. Even without ever seeing the Broadway show, Menzel transmits so much with just her voice, that I found Cynthia’s a little flat in comparison. This does not really reflect on the actress’ singing abilities, because she is truly a great singer; it’s just a personal preference of mine.

Is This a Woke Production?

As much as the promotion might have given that impression, the truth is that there are no explicitly woke elements in Wicked.

You’re going to observe that all the inhabitants of Oz are very “diverse” looking. And you’ve probably heard that they made a big deal out of hiring the first disabled actress to play Nessarose, a character who is in a wheelchair. But none of these things really affects the story as a whole. Everybody involved has the skills needed to play their part. 

Of course, Elphaba’s being bullied because of the color of his skin, the wizard trying to control Oz by manipulating the citizens, and the animals losing their right to speak, can give way to woke interpretations if you want to. I don’t doubt that is the reason the stars of the film, who are devoted liberals, believed they were making the most important movie ever. But those things were already part of the musical, they were not added to fuel a political message. I clarify this because if you’re not familiar with it, you may feel inclined to believe that is intentional.

Reception and Box Office Results

Despite the cringe-worthy promotion, Wicked has done exceptionally well in its opening weekend in theaters. In the domestic market, it hit $112.508.890 in only four days, finishing over Gladiator II, the other major release of the weekend. Adding the over $50.000.000 obtained internationally in the same period, the film reached a total of $162.415.707. The general response has been positive, with the critics and audience being on the same page for once. This alone seems to indicate the film will have no trouble making ends meet, given the reported budget of $145.000.000, but I can’t help but suspect that Universal‘s biggest investment for Wicked was in the marketing campaign. Let’s hope the effort pays off.

If you don’t like musicals at all, I recommend you skip this one. It’s going to be two and a half hours of torture for you. If, on the other hand, you enjoy a good musical, this is likely the best you’re going to see this year. After Mean Girls, Joker 2, and the horror that was Emilia Perez, us musical lovers needed something decent to finish 2024.

I was ready to destroy this project in my review, but this time around, Ariana Grande shut me up. Wicked is sure to make my top ten favorite films of this year.