Movie Review: Wicked

By John Corrado

Wicked is the long-in-development film adaptation of the Broadway musical from over two decades ago, with director Jon M. Chu (In the Heights, Crazy Rich Asians) finally bringing this Wizard of Oz prequel story to the screen.

Well, Act One of it anyways; the film is a two-parter, with Act Two (officially titled Wicked: For Good) being released next year. Regardless, Wicked: Part 1 (that’s what the film’s official title card reads) is very good on its own terms.

Fashioned as a prequel to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, and the L. Frank Baum book on which it was based, Wicked is the origin story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande), before they became known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

The story begins after the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. She has been “melted” by a girl named Dorothy, and Glinda has arrived in her bubble to share the news in Munchkinland. The overture of “No One Mourns the Wicked” plays, as an effigy of the green Elphaba is burned in the town square, providing a mirror to “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead” from the original film. This scene will be recontextualized over the course of the musical.

A villager asks Glinda about her friendship with Elphaba, and from here the backstory is revealed. The story serves to humanize the Wicked Witch and paint her as a misunderstood villain. Elphaba has faced a lifetime of ostracization, including by her own father Governor Thropp (Andy Nyman), due to being born with green skin. Much of the film takes place at Shiz University, where Elphaba and Glinda meet as rivals and reluctant roommates. Glinda wants to become a sorceress, but it’s Elphaba who catches the attention of Dean Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh).

The thematic backbone of Wicked is about discrimination, and how it can be weaponized by those in power to divide and conquer (the LGBTQ undertones are part of why it has resonated with so many people over the years). Seeping into the foreground of the story is the creeping authoritarianism of the governing Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), a charlatan who lords over Oz from the Emerald City. This includes the increasing persecution of talking animals in Oz, like Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), a goat who teaches history at the university.

The arc of “loathing” to friendship to betrayal between Elphaba and Glinda is the emotional crux of the story. Erivo and Grande have big shoes to fill in taking over these roles that were originated by Idnia Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth on Broadway, but they are able to develop their own dynamic together that really works onscreen. Erivo brings a lot of emotion to her portrayal of Elphaba, who has put up walls but just wants to be loved and accepted. Grande’s comic timing as Glinda is impeccable, finding a balance between spoiled mean girl and charming ditz.

Jonathan Bailey is as magnetic as you’ve heard in the role of Prince Fiyero, a love interest to both that they meet at Shiz, with his musical number “Dancing Through Life” being a highlight of the film. The big musical moments like “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” land onscreen thanks to Chu’s direction, having already showed an eye for song and dance numbers in previous films like In the Heights and two of the Step Up movies. The tactile production design often impresses, as do the costumes.

If there’s one complaint about Wicked, it’s that the washed out lighting and colour grade does mute the look of the film at times; Chu has stated that it was an aesthetic choice to make things more “realistic,” but the original is a Technicolor classic, so it’s easy to wish that the colours popped more here. But it’s a minor gripe about a film that otherwise delights the senses.

Being a part one, Wicked can feel like half a movie, culminating with the big moment from the end of Act One that anyone who knows the show expects. The film is also long at 160 minutes, which is about the length of the entire two-act Broadway show. But the runtime flies by pretty quickly, and the film keeps us fully engaged through the story and performances. There are also a lot of little nods to the original Wizard of Oz that are fun to spot for fans of the 1939 film. It’s a very solid adaptation, and it simply feels good to have a big movie musical like this doing so well at the box office again.

Film Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)