Review: Wicked

This one should be pretty popular.

Wicked is an adaptation of one of the most commercially successful Broadway musicals of all time. It has new actors stepping into performances made iconic by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. By making the leap to the big screen, it puts itself on the same playing field as its inspiration – which just happens to be one of the most beloved movies ever made. It has mighty big ruby slippers to fill. 

And, powered by two fantastic lead performances, John M. Chu’s adaptation fills them perfectly. A giant, funny and moving spectacle, Wicked is a highly satisfying bit of pure entertainment. Instead of being disappointed that this “Part One” only tells half the story, I imagine fans will be delighted to know there’s more waiting in a year. 

Adapted from the musical that was spun off from the 1995 novel that was itself inspired by L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the classic 1939 film, Wicked tells the “true story” of the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is an outcast among her family, the green-skinned product of an affair. Her father, the mayor of Munchkinland, wants nothing to do with her and instead dotes over his wheelchair-bound daughter, Nessarose, and blames Elphaba both for his daughter’s handicap and her mother’s death in labor. When Elphaba has an outburst while dropping Nessarose off at Shiz University, she attracts the attention of headmistress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who thinks her powers might help bring change to the land of Oz. Elphaba is paired with a self-centered and vapid fellow student, Galinda (Ariana Grande), and the two must see if they can overcome their hatred and become friends. 

The play runs about 2 hours and 45 minutes with an intermission; the film runs almost exactly the same length, but only covers half of the story. Going in, I was worried that Chu had padded out the story to justify giving Universal two giant Thanksgivings at the box office. But aside from a few minor beats and a handful of new songs – most of which seem more like snippets than full-blown musical numbers – Wicked doesn’t draw out the story so much as let it breathe. It slows down to give some of the plot beats – particularly the animal rights intrigue that seems a bit rushed through on stage – more time to grow and focuses on the relationships between the characters to give added emotional depth. 

Pop star Grande is the big draw, and she’s fantastic. It’s a big, broad and very funny performance; Galinda is vain and narcissistic, but comes by it so honestly that she can’t help but be adorable. It’s probably no surprise that Grande nails her big musical numbers – “Popular,” of course, being the standout. But what’s more delightful is her verbal dexterity in Galinda’s sing-song speech and her comedic timing, all without losing sight of an integrity and goodness that too often gets lost in the vapidity.

Erivo is perhaps even better, speaking volumes with a look and giving Elphaba dignity that makes her arc moving and tragic. Erivo brings a wry humor to the role, but she’s even better at suggesting the sorrow and intelligence in Elphaba, a longing to be accepted that she keeps behind walls because she’s so used to being dismissed. Erivo can’t quite hit the high notes like Menzel, but she still  has a strong singing voice and holds her own well in both the dramatic and musical scenes. It’s a great performance, and the chemistry between Erivo and Grande is reason enough to see the movie. A moment where the two bond at a party is beautifully, and as Erivo lets the tears fall, I found it getting quite dusty in the theater. 

Chu is one of the great directors of spectacle, with a career spanning everything from the Step Up movies to Now You See Me 2 and a G.I. Joe sequel to the megahit Crazy Rich Asians. His last film, In the Heights, was a boisterous big-screen musical that was unfortunately ignored by audiences in a post-pandemic world. I don’t think Wicked will suffer the same fate; this movie’s going to make all the money. And while Chu is sometimes hampered by garish CGI, he brings his effervescent touch. The musical sequences are lavish and lively – this is the rare modern film that never seems ashamed to be an old-fashioned movie musical – in particular the very funny “Popular” and “Dancing Through Life,” which takes place in a library with rotating book stacks. The film’s finale, “Defying Gravity,” hits all the right emotional moments and sends audiences out eager for more. While there are CGI misfires, there are also big, sprawling and whimsical sets – the Wizard’s chamber with a miniature Oz is a wonderful bit of set dressing – and the supporting cast is a lot of fun. I particularly liked Jonathan Bailey’s mix of self-absorption and hidden sweetness as Fiyero, who finds a place in both leads’ hearts, and while Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum (as the Wizard) aren’t known for their singing voices, they bring much-needed gravity via shorthand to their characters, figures of authority who might have more going on than they initially reveal. He even has some fun cameos in store for Chenoweth and Menzel, singing alongside the actresses stepping into their shoes. 

You can’t escape the fact that Wicked is part one; it ends on a cliffhanger and a “To Be Continued” card, and I suppose that holds me back a bit from being able to say it’s great. But its final scene gives Elphaba an ending to her arc, and the film doesn’t feel incomplete – it ends at the same moment the play heads into intermission, and produces the same result: there’s a bit of closure but a desire to see what happens next. We’ll have to wait a bit longer than 15 minutes, but I suspect audiences will eagerly show up next November. Wicked’s the kind of big, crowd-pleasing bit of entertainment we don’t get anymore, and it should prove quite (ahem) popular with audiences.