The show-stopping tune 鈥淒efying Gravity鈥 has never seemed more appropriate than it does in Jon M. Chu鈥檚 鈥淲icked,鈥 the exuberant new big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical.
The song about finding your wings celebrates a character鈥檚 airborne independence. In Chu鈥檚 鈥淲icked,鈥 it also salutes the lifting of what I call the Oz curse: the tendency of films inspired by Victor Fleming鈥檚 1939 classic 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz鈥 鈥 such as 鈥淭he Wiz,鈥 鈥淩eturn to Oz鈥 and 鈥Oz the Great and Powerful鈥 鈥 to attempt high flight before crashing back to earth, victims of their own hubris.
Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo premiered the highly anticipated film 'Wicked' in London Monday evening. (Nov. 18 / AP Video)
鈥淲icked,鈥 the first part of a planned two-movie prequel to the saga before Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion command attention, gets a lot of things right the failed Oz wannabes got wrong. Among other things, we discover the backstory of a witchy Oz rivalry and the genesis of the flying monkeys, sleep-inducing flowers and Yellow Brick Road.
The picture isn鈥檛 perfect (we鈥檒l get to that) but it respects the source materials 鈥 the stage musical derived from Gregory Maguire鈥檚 鈥淲icked鈥 novel, extrapolating from L. Frank Baum鈥檚 original novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” 鈥 while bringing its own energy to the proceedings.
The film鈥檚 most notable achievement is its charismatic lead casting of Cynthia Erivo (from Broadway鈥檚 鈥淭he Color Purple鈥) as Elphaba, and pop star Ariana Grande as Glinda, the fateful friends (with complications) whom we鈥檒l come to know as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
Erivo and Grande have the pipes to deliver the award-winning songs by composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz; they鈥檙e simply the best Oz tunes since the Fleming film. Erivo鈥檚 soulful power and Grande鈥檚 multi-octave glide sound great alone as well as when the two are harmonizing.
The pair also have the acting chops to carry a story that is more tragedy than comedy, one that poses an existential query voiced by a character: 鈥淎re people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?鈥
鈥淲icked鈥 points to the latter explanation, as Elphaba 鈥 whose rare green skin has made her an outsider, even within her family and a commendably diverse Oz 鈥 struggles to find her place in the world.
Unlike Margaret Hamilton鈥檚 cackling dognapper from the Fleming film, bespectacled Elphaba is a mild-mannered (although sarcastic and goth-attired) animal lover who isn鈥檛 out to cause any trouble.
Central to the plot of 鈥淲icked,鈥 she鈥檚 what Shakespeare鈥檚 King Lear self-describes as a person 鈥渕ore sinned against than sinning.鈥
The popular Glinda, for her part, is more like the good witch of the 1939 film, although much less of a Goody Two-shoes. Dressed in shades of pink like a 鈥淏arbie鈥 extra, and flipping her hair like a 鈥淢ean Girls鈥 menace, she鈥檚 not above making mischief to have things her way, such as competing with Elphaba for the attention of Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), a roguish prince with a roving eye.
The film begins with famous Oz event: the vanquishing of the Wicked Witch of the West by a water-flinging Dorothy and a celebration by singing, dancing and torch-carrying Munchkins who had suffered under the witch鈥檚 brutal regime. It鈥檚 like a scene out of the horror film 鈥淭he Wicker Man.鈥
Then the action flashes back to when Elphaba and Glinda met at school. Both were students at the hilariously named Shiz University, which in the film looks like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as designed by Mattel. Shiz is similar to Hogwarts in that it recognizes and develops magical talents, although not all students have them; Glinda, then called Galinda, struggles to learn how to use a training wand.
Elphaba has significantly more magical prowess, which she has trouble controlling. She comes to the attention and mentorship of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the headmistress and dean of sorcery studies, who has plans for her uneasy scholar.
We are also introduced to Elphaba鈥檚 younger sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), whom her father adores; a nerdish Munchkin student named Boq (Ethan Slater); and a pair of Glinda stans, Pfannee and ShenShen (Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James), who will do anything to please her.
Bronwyn James and Bowen Yang play a pair of Glinda stans in “Wicked.”听
Universal Pictures via APA serious subplot emerges along with the introduction of Dr. Dillamond, a Shiz prof who also happens to be a CGI-crafted goat, voiced by Peter Dinklage. In 鈥淲icked,鈥 animals can speak and teach, although their voices and freedom are threatened by unseen 鈥渄ark times鈥 that bedevil the supposedly marvellous land of Oz.
All of these characters and occurrences happen before we get anywhere near the Emerald City, which resembles Disneyland鈥檚 Magic Kingdom covered in green paint. A cool Art Deco train takes us to the fanciful green metropolis where we are ushered into the presence of the Wizard of Oz. He鈥檚 played by Jeff Goldblum, whose default position is to be blissfully weird.
Jeff Goldblum, as the Wizard of Oz, with Michelle Yeoh in “Wicked.”听
Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures via APLong before this regal encounter, the wheels begin to figuratively seize up on the 鈥淲icked鈥 train 鈥 and here come the qualms about this otherwise impressive epic.
The film鈥檚 production design is not a delight, being more shopping mall than cinema marvel. The cinematography by Alice Brooks seems overexposed, with lens flares that are a distraction rather than an artistic flourish.
More of a problem is the strategy by Chu (鈥淐razy Rich Asians鈥) and the film鈥檚 producers to make 鈥淲icked鈥 a two-parter (the second arrives at Christmas 2025). This means stretching a story that in its Broadway version ran in its entirety for less than the film鈥檚 bladder-challenging 160 minutes.
Peter Dinklage voices Dr. Dillamond in “Wicked.”听
Universal Pictures via APChu鈥檚 first 鈥淲icked鈥 chapter ends at roughly the conclusion of Act One of the Broadway version. Is there enough story to keep this going for another 160-odd minutes, for a total runtime exceeding five hours?
I鈥檓 skeptical. Fleming鈥檚 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz鈥 clocked in at just over 100 minutes to become the masterpiece it is.
With such a bloated length, 鈥淲icked鈥 risks becoming another Oz wannabe that crashes to earth. But for the moment, I have to agree with Glinda that 鈥減ink goes good with green.鈥
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation