I may be making a lofty statement when I say I think I've seen the most successful blockbuster of the year...and that blockbuster is Wicked. Musical films are horribly challenging to achieve in the 21st century, so when I left the theater feeling happy, playful, and invigorated, it felt like Wicked did the impossible.
The whole idea for this film started with the novel, Wicked by Gregory Maguire published in 1995. This novel was then loosely adapted into a stage musical which premiered on Broadway in 2003. When this musical was introduced to the world, heads exploded for every theater lover and gay man. Wicked is still selling tickets in New York City today, making it the fourth longest-running Broadway musical in history. So this film adaptation has a dauntingly popular history to maintain.
Telling the origin story of the famous witches of Oz (Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West) could easily just be a fluffy, vapid tale of young women learning to be friends with each other and embracing their natural gifts. But Wicked does so much more than that. It surprisingly has convincing emotional depth with subplots on cruelty toward animals and the mistreatment of people who are different. So this adaptation is not all roses and daisies like Mamma Mia (2008) or The Greatest Showman (2017).
The two stars leading this film, Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, 2019) and Ariana Grande (pop singer of the last decade), are expertly cast in their roles both giving great moments of comic timing, sensitive affection, and vocally commanding high notes. Cynthia Erivo is skeptical, conscientious, and annoyed as Elphaba meeting her opposite in Glinda played by Ariana Grande with a brightly campy vanity.
When I first learned Director Jon Chu was leading this film adaptation, I was sad because Jon Chu directed the terrible romance, Crazy Rich Asians (2018). But he also directed the Broadway musical adaptation of In the Heights (2021), and when I remembered that, I breathed a sigh of relief. This film is sparkly and endearing when it needs to be, and it's dark and introspective when it needs to be, so viewers are taken through a smoothly nuanced story arc of varied moods. It might be this variety that keeps Wicked so entertaining.
This film is two hours and 40 minutes long, and I know that's a challenge for many people. I know that's a long time. But the film maintains such great energy, and the songs are so infectious, I didn't think about its length ONCE. I was completely transported.
Parts of Wicked hearken back to the golden era of movie musicals from the famous MGM studio of the 1950s and 60s like An American in Paris (1951), Kiss Me Kate (1953), or The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). It has some traditional large ensemble scenes of synchronized song and dance, but it also has beautifully intimate scenes that keep the story grounded. Similarly to Steven Spielberg's West Side Story (2020), Wicked feels impressively cinematic with lots of CGI and large, decorative set designs. Its editing is also more traditional by avoiding lots of rapid cuts during the musical numbers like in Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Chicago (2002).
Supporting characters played by Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once, 2022) and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic World Dominion, 2022) are disappointingly forgettable and clearly are not singers who can magnify their respective vocal moments. The twist at the end when the two leading ladies meet the Wizard in the Emerald City is predictable, lacking a satisfying surprise (partly because it's awfully close to the truth revealed in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz). But I'm still glad I saw this film. When you get the chills listening to Cynthia Erivo's powerful soprano, you will understand why Wicked might be the film of the year.
