Whether you’ve been holding space for the lyrics of “Defying Gravity” or seeing clip after clip of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande crying during interviews, it’s been impossible to escape the hype surrounding the release of “Wicked.” As a lover of the Broadway musical, I was very excited for this release. However, I was concerned about what might be changed after learning that “Wicked” only covers Act 1 of the original’s plot, with a second movie coming out next year. How were they going to drag out Act 1 into the same length as the full musical? Luckily, when I went to see it, my expectations were exceeded.
The pacing of the movie actually worked incredibly well. The run time was two hours and 40 minutes, and for the most part, I felt like the story didn’t drag. The ending felt a bit slow, but otherwise I appreciated that the extended length allowed them to flesh-out some scenes from the musical and incorporate every song from the original soundtrack, as oftentimes musical-to-movie adaptations have to cut songs.
Now, I have to talk about Erivo and Grande. They played Elphaba and Glinda respectively, and these characters are the core of the musical. Not only do the actresses need to be great individually, they need to have the right chemistry in order to nail the development of their friendship. Erivo and Grande did not disappoint. I knew Erivo would be amazing due to her extensive Broadway experience, and she has a powerhouse voice that is perfect for Elphaba. Her first big solo moment is “The Wizard and I,” and I was simply in awe of how effortless her belting was. For Grande, she surprised me with how amazing she was as Glinda. I was worried that I was going to watch and think “that’s just Ariana Grande,” but no, I saw Glinda the entire time. She was hilarious, and she killed it vocally — right out of the gate in “No One Mourns the Wicked” she stuns. Then of course, the chemistry between Erivo and Grande was undeniable. Their growth from enemies to best friends was illustrated beautifully and made me cry a couple of times.
Generally, I was glad to see that actual singers were cast in this movie. Too many times we’ve had musical-to-movie adaptations in which actors with limited musical abilities were cast solely due to their “star power.” But everyone in “Wicked” sang wonderfully! Shoutout to Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero especially.
One other stellar part of the movie was the choreography during big ensemble numbers, specifically “What Is This Feeling?” and “Dancing Through Life.” The ensemble members were focused, sharp, and in-sync with each other. I also loved how they made use of props and unique aspects of their environments within the dances. I’ve already gone to YouTube to rewatch “What Is This Feeling?” a couple of times because the choreography was so enthralling.
After showering “Wicked” in praise, I do have to admit that not everything was perfect. One big drawback for me was how the movie looked at times. To elaborate, several scenes looked washed-out, which confused me because a huge part of the draw of “The Wizard of Oz” — what “Wicked” serves as an unofficial prequel to — was the use of technicolor, which made every shot pop. I think “Wicked” could’ve been inspired by that with its color-grading. Then other times, the shots were so backlit that I genuinely had some difficulty seeing the characters’ faces. I don’t think we needed so many lens flares in one sitting. Personally, these issues didn’t detract from my experience severely, but it’s important to point out.
Overall, I highly recommend that you see “Wicked.” This is one of the best musical-to-movie adaptations I have ever seen, and I think there’s something for evereyone to enjoy. I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 Big Oles!
