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A lot of people forget that the story behind the musical Wicked comes from a book by Gregory Maguire, and one of the more interesting aspects of the film version of the stage musical is that some of what was featured in the book and taken out for the stage has been put back in. The result is that this most recent version of the tale of Elphaba, the green-skinned witch who would later become the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz, feels padded out with special effects, extended chase scenes, and unfamiliar subplots which are actually taken from the original novel. After 20 years of being one of the most beloved musicals of all time, Wicked (here written by Dana Fox and original musical book writer Winnie Holzman) finally makes its fully fleshed-out movie debut, directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights).
The story is a prequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz, giving us the backstory of both Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande-Butera), both of whom were once school friends at Shiz University in the land of Oz—something of a magical training academy. Being her very distinct color of green, Elphaba has always felt like an outcast, being bullied by everyone she crosses paths with; her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is her only defender. Both sisters end up at the school, where one of the teachers, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), takes an interest in Elphaba because her magic skills have already started manifesting whenever she gets emotional.
Aside from the fact that the powerhouse Erivo has one of the most perfect voices on earth (she’s already got Grammy, Emmy, and Tony awards), the genius in casting a Black woman in the role of Elphaba (originated on stage by Idina Menzel) is that it adds an extra layer of meaning to the way she’s treated by her fellow students, including Glinda. The discrimination because of skin color and the near-constant verbal tauntings sting that much more, and heightens an already fairly emotional journey for the character.
Grande as Glinda is funny, shrewd, and manipulative, and she plays the role knowingly and with such energy you can’t help but be charmed and slightly terrified of her, all at once. And even though she too is put off by Elphaba’s strange ways, the two ultimately become close after they're forced to be roommates. One of the many dramas on campus and in Oz is a movement involving the animals in the community, all of whom can talk and are seen as equals to humans. Some unseen force has started a quiet war against the animals, and the idea of one (for example, a goat professor named Dillamond, voiced by Peter Dinklage) teaching children seems repellant to some. Being an outcast herself, Elphaba empathizes with the animals and vows that if she ever gets to meet the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), she’ll ask for animals to be returned to their rightful place in society as her one true wish.
The film has a weak romantic subplot involving a rich young man named Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and some supporting characters (including SNL’s Bowen Yang as another student) that don’t really amount to much, but the music and primary performances are exceptional in this story about two women attempting to discover who they really are, at first together as friends and then separately, culminating in Elphaba and Glinda finally making their way to Oz to meet the mysterious Wizard and finding out the truth about him and what he stands for. The film features songs like “Popular” (one of the great tunes about privilege and ambition) and the literally soaring “Defying Gravity,” which concludes what turns out to be the first of this two-part movie adaptation (Wicked Part Two comes out in a year), performed beautifully. The live vocals considerably stirred my soul.
The fact remains that the film is far too long, and an abundance of pointless special effects, elaborate sets, and unnecessary filler is noticeable in places, making the film feel bloated (Part Two better by 90 minutes, max). Even still, it’s easy to adore so much of what is here. The flying monkeys are still terrifying, and for those who have somehow never seen the stage musical or read the book, it’s still a mystery where things go from here, and finding out why Elphaba broke bad is going to be a great reveal for many. As with any musical done in the traditional Broadway mold, you either turn yourself over to the majesty of it all or you don’t. Wicked makes it pretty easy to surrender oneself to it all, and perhaps even shed a tear in the process.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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