Wicked! (2024)
Are people born wicked or do they become wicked? In this big-screen spectacle, adapted from an award-winning Broadway musical, we get the answer to that question in a way that might surprise you. This frienemies-to-besties adventure introduces us to the spoiled, full-of-herself Galinda (Ariana Grande) on her first day at Shiz University, where she dreams of being taught magic by the famous Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). Unfortunately for Galinda, Madame only takes a few students per year, and when the green-skinned but magically gifted Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) shows up just to see her wheelchair-bound little sister safely installed in her new dorm and causes chaos, Madame sees untapped potential. The two girls wind up rooming with each other, and a funny and often touching misadventure ensues that takes them from “loathing” to friendship, and accumulates in a trip to Oz to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).
The award-winning Broadway musical has been cut into two parts for film, allowing a lot of time for character development, new background stories, and to give us a fully magical experience at Shiz, a school where the talking animals are rapidly disappearing under sinister circumstances. As Elphaba strives to find out what’s happening and take a stand against it, she also sparks “thoughts” in the mind of the school’s shallowest attendee, Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). This story takes everything you know about The Wizard of Oz and rewrites it. In the first half, most of the changes are kept to Galinda and Elphaba, but in the second half, we’ll learn the origins of the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, the Witch of the East, and other lore. Provided you don’t mind a different take on a beloved story, Wicked! is fun, engaging, and emotion, full of fantastic costumes, original set design, and powerhouse vocal talent. It has moments of comedic lightness, contrasted with a tear jerking story of a marginalized girl coming into her own pointy shoes. Elphaba has never had a friend in her life until she came to Shiz, where she faces more scorn and cruel jibes, before she earns the respect of her peers for her courage to stand alone.
It’s a faithful and expanded version of the first act of the musical, full of many tributes to The Wizard of Oz, and catchy tunes. Ariana steals the show as the narcissistic Galinda, who has a change of heart but not of attitude and has the self-confidence Elphaba lacks. She sings and dances her heart out in a pair of sparkly high heels, while Cynthia has the harder job of playing the “straight part” to Glinda’s silliness. But she turns in a heart-wrenching performance, as a young woman full of dreams and idealism who eventually comes to realize that she must find the strength within herself to stand alone. Dozens and sometimes hundreds of extras sing, dance, and perform complicated dance numbers, while the original duo from the cast recording and stage production have a fun cameo in Oz. I adore the musical, and this script gives it a lot more time to breathe. The minor details added help to flesh out the story and give us a better picture of Elphaba's struggles (her father's hatred of her and his resentment of her green skin, for example), while the production also brings Oz to life in a way that feels magical and larger than life. From the hundreds of real poppies planted in the fields to the practical sets and effects, Wicked! is visually sumptuous and delightful candy-coated treat that does what movies haven’t accomplished for a long time—it entertains.
Sexual Content:
An affair is alluded to, with images of a woman sneaking in a man after her husband leaves, drinking with him, and falling out of sight before the baby is born. Fiyero is attractive to both men and women, though he's straight. Various men ogle him and one breathlessly asks if he comes here often. One minor male character is effeminate / gay coded.
Violence:
Elphaba reads from a Grimoire a spell that makes the monkeys of Oz grow wings, only to find out too late that it's a painful experience for them, which distresses her; she later uses the same spell to enchant her broomstick (trying to grow wings herself). The monkeys chase and terrify her and Galinda, while soldiers also burst in on and try to arrest them. A goat-teacher is dragged forcefully from his classroom, to the distress of the students, and a lion cub is kept in a cage. The goat says that talking animals are being imprisoned or killed to stop them from speaking out against the government.
Other:
Obviously, magic is a theme. Characters are witches and sorcerers who read and perform spells. Elphaba makes things levitate or windows break whenever she gets upset. There's some drinking in regards to her mother's affair and the opium from spinning poppies puts everyone to sleep in a class.
