“Let me tell you the whole story.” That’s how Glinda (Ariana Grande) opens up “Wicked.” A lie, really, because she will only be telling you half the story – “Wicked” is just a part one, with the second movie slated to come out next year.
The decision to split the story into two films has been much litigated online, but now that the movie is out, I can definitively say “Wicked” would have been better as one film. But, to my great surprise, that’s one of only a few complaints.
Based on a musical that in turn was based on a novel by Gregory Maguire, “Wicked” is a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” that tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, also known as Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) before Dorothy came to Oz. The movie chronicles Elphaba’s friendship at school with Glinda the Good Witch, and her obsession – and eventual disillusionment with – the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum).
Full disclosure: I am a “Wicked” obsessive. “Wicked” debuted on Broadway in 2003 when I was just eight years old – a budding theater kid, ready to latch onto this thing with both hands and never let go. As a “Wicked” obsessive, I was nervous about this movie. With few exceptions, Hollywood has had a less than reputable record of movie musicals as of late, and this film’s cinematic predecessor is “The Wizard of Oz,” one of the best movies of all time almost a century later. Those are some big ruby slippers to fill.
“Wicked” is not perfect. Director Jon M. Chu’s aesthetic has never been a particularly majestic one, and the film comes nowhere close to the visual glory of something like “The Wizard of the Oz.” Also, the decision to separate the movies into the musical’s first and second acts – especially when this first movie clocks in at 15 minutes longer than the musical in full – causes “Wicked” to drag at moments, including one massively momentum-killing decision towards the end.
That being said, Chu is a capable musical filmmaker who knows how to make choreography and musical sequences look good on screen, a skill that is missing from so many modern musicals as of late. That combined with an exceedingly talented cast that fully buys into the “Wicked” mythos, with all the earnestness and passion that entails, makes for a fairly magical time at the movies.
“Wicked” opens in Munchkinland after the events of “The Wizard of Oz,” the film then moving to a long, extended flashback to show the events of before. The munchkins are celebrating the Wicked Witch of the West’s death, simultaneously lauding praises upon their benevolent leader, Glinda. So much of the aesthetic of “Wicked” has a hazy, computer generated feel. But the Munchkinland set felt theatrical – a practical set where the actors could move around and really exist in their surroundings. “Wicked” doesn’t always take this approach, and often feels too dark in relation to the colorful facade it tries to project, its pinks and greens shrouded in soft shadow. But when the movie leans into a look that feels more tactile, it gives its imaginative elements a sense of reality, and something to hold onto.
The real calling card of “Wicked” is its cast. Every performer – from the ensemble to the leads – feels totally on the same page in terms of tone and energy. However, no matter how good anyone else is, none of this would work if Grande and Erivo weren’t completely locked into one another. As Elphaba, Erivo is stellar, one of the best in the business at really acting through her singing, and communicating depths of emotion with slight changes in her vocal tone. Grande is doing something a little different than I’ve seen actresses playing Glinda do in the past, injecting more neediness and slivers of insecurity in her big comic moments and slapstick-style humor. Through Grande, Glinda’s affection for Elphaba comes through much earlier than it usually does in the show, for the most part outshining Glinda’s love for herself. It’s an interesting choice, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves in the second film.
That, however, brings me back to the main rub; to judge “Wicked” as a whole, it is essential to see the whole. Pacing issues plague the movie throughout, with one huge example happening right at the film’s end. “Defying Gravity” ends the first act, and therefore ends this first movie. That song – sung by mostly Elphaba as she makes the decision to break away from the Wizard, standing up for what she thinks is right – is a rallying cry. It’s one of composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz’s best works, a masterclass in using music to build momentum until it blasts through the rafters in those last bars.
In the movie, Erivo sings the hell out of it – but the song’s final, raging moments are filled with these elongated gaps in the action, breaking up the song’s energy and propulsion. If the intention was to leave us gasping for more, those momentum breaks stop that from fully coming to fruition.