It’s been about 37 years since the Wicked cast began their press tour in support of the new movie adaptation of the Broadway musical. (Which is itself an adaptation of a novel. Which is inspired by a movie. That was based on a book.) But now that it’s finally in theaters, we can all talk about it instead of just speculate about it. The biggest takeaway: It’s so good! Thank goodness! Congratulotions to all involved.
I published my proper review earlier this week, which, to stay on theme with the interminable running time of the movie (2 hours and 40 minutes—one of the few legitimate things to complain about) and its endless marketing campaign, is way way too long. But hey, I’m a theater gay and this is the Wicked movie—of course I was going to ramble on overenthusiastically, whether or not people are still paying attention. In any case, read it here. (Give me those precious clicks!)
What I wanted to do here instead is offer the CliffsNotes version of the things that, if you happen to be curious about the film, you should know. In other words, what people have been asking me about in the week since I made getting to see the Wicked movie early my entire personality.
Yes, Ariana Grande really is perfect as Galinda. (The Galinda/Glinda name is a whole thing. Go ask the closest gay about it.) Because Kristin Chenoweth put such an indelible signature on the character as the original Galinda, it can be easy to simply replicate her flirts, flounces, and flourishes and still get a rousing response. Grande really shows her musical theater bonafides in the way she pays homage to the Galindas before, but very much makes the part her own with a screwball tenacity that adds a bit more sophisticated humor and grit to the part.
The film forcefully ends any discussion over whether this needed to be two parts—each act of the musical is a standalone movie—with its “Defying Gravity” finale. Director Jon M. Chu reimagines the roof-shattering number as a nearly 15-minute action sequence. Elphaba and Glinda (no longer with the “Ga”) are chased through the Wizard’s Emerald City castle, attacked by flying monkeys, attempt a hot air balloon heist, and climb up the scaffolding of a belltower, all while singing verses of the song. The battle-cry belt that is the song’s climax is actually interrupted by thrilling sequences of Elphaba zooming through the sky on her broom. There’s a scene of Grande as Glinda staring at Erivo singing as she evades flying monkeys that was so powerful, I got chills. Obviously the movie was going to end after that. You can’t just casually move on to the next scene.
Beyond the dazzling visuals, set design, and effects, there were two scenes that really drove home for me how a cinematic adaptation of the musical enriches it. The first was “What Is This Feeling?” which begins with a split-screen of Galinda and Elphaba as they duet, a film trick that amplifies the humor of the song.
The second is the Ozdust Ballroom interlude of “Dancing Through Life,” when Elphaba nervously, yet excitedly arrives, thinking she’s going to finally be accepted, only to realize that she was set up to be bullied. Chu takes his time in this scene, with each aching second that passes jackhammering at your heart even more forcefully. Erivo’s more tender, wounded approach to Elphaba really justifies itself in this sequence, matched by a guilt-ridden, heartbroken Grande.
All of the viral videos of the actresses breaking down in tears during interviews starts to make sense after you’ve seen how intense their emotional connection is during these scenes. Fellow Ozians, I cried pretty much throughout this entire section of the movie, and I am not ashamed to admit it.
And while Grande and Erivo are truly fantastic, I think the biggest buzz from moviegoers after they see this is going to be something along the lines of, “Holy hell, Jonathan Bailey!!!” Forgot whatever twister it was that brought Dorothy Gale and her witch-crushing house to Munchkinland. That’s a drizzly rain cloud compared to the seismic weather event of sexual magnetism and relentless charisma that is Bailey’s performance as Fiyero in this film.
It’s not just my embarrassing middle-school-girl-like crush on him that is saying this. It is the kind of, “Oh wow, that is a movie star” kind of revelation is so exciting and rare. His Fiyero is a self-aware pansexual cad who has giddy chemistry with every living thing he encounters, and whose charm streak is matched by an emotional intelligence we typically don’t afford daffy Prince Charming types. And you can see that he is having an absolute blast through every acrobatic dance step of “Dancing Through Life.”
Fans of the stage production will be glad to know that the movie has, to the best of its ability, “fixed” the worst part of the show: Dr. Dillamond, the professor who is also a goat who is being silenced by the government. “Something Bad” is reimagined as a puppet show that turns out to be really eerie and unsettling, making it more vital to the plotline in which Elphaba becomes radicalized. (I am bracing myself for the inevitable thinkpieces about “How the Wicked Movie Is a Timely Rallying Cry Against Fascism.”)
Yet there is one thing the movie doesn’t manage to improve. If you’re going to take a bathroom break, I heartily recommend doing it when the Wizard shows up and starts singing “A Sentimental Man.” Apologies to Jeff Goldblum, but it’s simply a snooze, arriving unfortunately at the exact time you’re going to pull out your phone and be like “OK, this movie is taking forever already…how much time is left?”
I could go on and on. (Who has 45 minutes to talk with me about the staging of “I’m Not That Girl”?) But I think these are the major talking points. If you care to find me to talk more in depth, look to the Western sky find me on social media and let’s dish.
