Should I See The Wicked Movie? Spoiler-Free Answers to 10 Questions to Help You Decide
Greg Ehrhardt, OnScreen Blog Editor
Wicked (technically part 1, as revealed by the credits, but understood by nearly all who paid any attention to the seemingly years-long press tour) is one of the most anticipated Broadway musical adaptations ever due to the 20+ year run in New York (and counting), the fact that this musical cast big name stars who can actually sing well, and the director Jon M. Chu’s success with In The Heights, among other things. In addition, the movie Wizard of Oz and the Broadway production of Wicked were both watershed moments in their respective industries.
The expectations were high, and the pre-release buzz from critics was great. I knew this movie would likely satisfy die-hard Wicked fans. Would this be a good movie musical for average movie fans? Would this also be a good movie for people like myself who didn’t care for the stage production?
Now that I have seen the movie, the answer is yes. This is a great movie that should work for everyone.
Die-hard Wicked fans have likely already seen this movie. You may be more on the fence. I answer the following questions you may have to get off the fence one way or another. This will not include any spoilers for the movie.
1. Does this movie work for the average moviegoer or just the die-hard fans?
a. Wicked fans should be very happy with this adaptation because this cast can sing, and they sing the musical numbers very well. Plus, there were several Wizard of Oz-related objects this movie was allowed to show that the stage version could not (I promise I wouldn’t spoil it but think of the iconic props and visuals of the original movie, and you’ll get an idea). That’s why, in some ways, this movie adaptation is better than the Broadway version; this feelseven more like a story within the Wizard of Oz universe than the stage production. That is why this will still work for die-hard musical fans and average fans who only know the movie version.
2. Does this movie truly deserve a 2-hour and 40-minute run time for only covering half the story? That’s almost as long as the actual stage show!
a. Surprisingly, yes? This movie only felt slightly overstuffed for about a 10-minute stretch in the 2nd hour. Otherwise, the elements the movie added, such as a flashback to Elphaba’s youth and more meat to Elphaba’s sister Nessarose’s character arc, felt valuable to the story. There’s also more story added to Doctor Dillamond and the animal resistance movement, which adds to the drama of the scenes in the Emerald City.
3. I’m skeptical about the buzz Ariana Grande is getting for an Oscar. Is her performance really that good?
a. No, not in this critic’s opinion, but the Oscar buzz is a distraction for how well her performance fits in this adaptation. She’s very good at playing a ditz, and I liked some of the flair she added to the character, like randomly singing a few notes between lines of dialogue (forgive me if the character does this on stage; I don’t remember). You will believe her as Glinda, but unless the slate for best actress is truly bad this year, I don’t think it’s a performance you will be telling your grandkids about, even though she sings and acts very well. But, sorry, she’s no Kristin Chenoweth.
4. How about Cynthia Erivo? Why isn’t she getting Oscar buzz? Is her performance not as good as Grande's, or not good at all?
a. Honestly, I don’t know why she isn’t getting Oscar buzz, but Grande is, and I don’t get it. Maybe the press tour did her in, but I thought her performance was as good, if not better than Grande’s, for singing and acting. I reserve the right to change my mind after I see her complete the character arc in Part 2, but based on what I saw, she played an innocent (and increasingly frustrated) Elphaba very well, and she is every bit the equal of her stage predecessors from a singing perspective.
5. Does this movie work for people who didn’t like the Broadway show?
a. Wicked is probably my least favorite Broadway show I have seen in person, and yet I really enjoyed this movie, so the answer is an unequivocal yes. Now, just so my upcoming praise is put into context, the reason I didn’t love the stage version is simple. Besides “Defying Gravity”, I didn’t find a single song on the original soundtrack a toe-tapper that I immediately wanted to add to my music library to listen on repeat. The music is lyrically beautiful, but none of it (besides “Defying Gravity”) hooked me.
But what the movie adaptation does so well (among other things) is render that irrelevant. On stage, the songs are paramount to the audience’s enjoyment of the show. On screen, the songs are still important, but equally important is how the musical uses the advantages the movie set offers can add to (or subtract from) the audience’s experience. This adaptation excels at using all of the toys modern moviemaking has to offer and making this a true cinematic experience that will thrill most audiences, especially in the last 40 minutes in the Emerald City.
6. Does the movie do “Defying Gravity” justice?
a. “Defying Gravity” is, IMO, on the Mount of Rushmore of Broadway songs. To me, if the movie didn’t nail this song, the movie doesn’t work.
Well, it nailed the song, even though I admit I was extremely concerned in the first minute because it felt to me like Erivo missed a couple of notes (the perils of singing live on set, of course).
But the song takes place during a particular high-stakes moment in the movie, much more high-stakes than the stage version, and using the tools at a big-budget movie’s disposal made the song even more potent on screen than on stage. I’m being vague because I truly don’t want to spoil anything (this scene differs from the stage musical), but yeah, this scene is just as jaw-dropping on screen as it was on stage, for very different reasons. The action around Glinda and Elphaba matches the song's intensity; I’ll leave it at that.
7. Did Jon M. Chu excel with this material as he did with “In The Heights”?
a. He was the perfect director for this production. The dance choreography was snappy (he beautifully staged and shot the dance number between Elphaba’s real parents at the beginning of the movie), the decisions on where to expand the script beyond the stage musical all worked, and every song fit into the movie adaptation well. As far as I am concerned, he can direct any Broadway movie adaptation in the future.
8. Will kids like this movie, even with the run time?
a. I saw the movie with my 10-year-old daughter, who had never seen Wicked on stage, and she loved it, even though 2 hours of the movie is slower paced than most movies she has seen, and this isn’t a particularly funny movie (They cut a few funny lines from the stage version because they felt it wouldn’t make sense without a live audience). There is a sequence with the monkeys towards the end of the movie that would be intense for kids under 10 (my daughter handled it fine; I would like to think it was due to me showing her Jurassic Park last year. Dad of the year!). However, some youngsters might be bored by most of the movie. The MPAA rating is PG, but I would say, more specifically, this should be rated PG-9.
9. Did any song stand out besides “Defying Gravity”?
a. I thought the opening set piece surrounding “Nobody Mourns The Wicked” was outstanding. It used practical effects and good old-fashioned movie-making skills to credibly establish the looming presence of Elphaba and how wicked everyone thought she was. The fast-tracking shots of Oz also put you firmly immersed in the world that we all love from previous IPs.
Besides that, the movie does well with the rest of the songs, using the movie sets to enhance the song further and add proper context; however, if the songs didn’t stick with you for the stage show (as they didn’t for me), they won’t for the movie adaptation either.
10. What are the worst parts of the movie? There had to be some, right?
a. The movie version ramped up the cattiness of the Oz residents, making them feel just as human as us. Some may take this as a compliment, but it’s a negative to me. Based on my previous interactions with the IP, I would expect the people of Oz to be different and less cynical than us, and at times, I felt I was watching a typical high school drama. This was the only aspect of the movie that felt rote to me.
Otherwise, besides some nitpicky nits (stuff like how long the action surrounding the characters seems to be in pause while they sing, and it's not for cinematic effect), there’s really not much bad I have to say about the movie. It puts the movie into the term “movie musical” and makes it feel like it's not just cosplaying a Broadway show in front of a camera.
It really is one of the best Broadway Show adaptations ever made, even though the music (for me) isn’t one of its defining achievements.
Quite a defying compliment, indeed.