It was in the spring of 2004 that I first saw Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth perform the showstopping “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway blockbuster “Wicked” at the Tony Awards. Since that moment was over 20 years ago, it means that I have waited literal decades for a big-screen version of “Wicked.” I’ve more than satisfied my appetite for the stage version, having seen it five times, once with Menzel still in the cast (sadly never with Chenoweth). But I’ve always wanted the vast production to be available to the world, with added scale and visual spectacle to boot. Now the wait is finally over, and the result is… reasonably acceptable.
The story takes place before, during, and after the well-known events of “The Wizard of Oz.” As this film is only the first part of a two-part saga, it mostly focuses on the “before,” though it opens in the “after.” Glinda (Ariana Grande), the “Good Witch of the North,” informs the citizens of Munchkinland that Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the “Wicked Witch of the West,” has been killed via melting. The townspeople are overjoyed that the local villain has been thwarted, but some want to know how she came to be so wicked in the first place. Glinda recalls that their paths crossed years ago, and the rest of the movie is a flashback.
Elphaba and Galinda (as she was then known) were students together at the prestigious Shiz University. Elphaba’s green skin made her an outcast even in her own family, and she was only allowed to attend so she could tend to her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), who used a wheelchair. Galinda was pretty and popular, but also spoiled and egotistical. Her (figurative) bubble was burst when, for the first time in her life, she wasn’t given preferential treatment over someone like Elphaba. Goat-professor Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage) couldn’t even pronounce the first vowel in her name, yet got along with Elphaba because she was kind to animals at a time when the land of Oz was turning against them. Magic professor Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) also preferred Elphaba because she had natural telekinetic abilities while Galinda didn’t have an ounce of magic in her body. Even studly prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) found Elphaba more intriguing precisely because she didn’t fall for his “brainless bad-boy” routine. The girls started off loathing each other, but became friends after Galinda (with selfish ulterior motives) got Nessarose a date with nerdy munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater).
Eventually, word of Elphaba’s magical prowess reached the Emerald City, earning her an audience with the all-powerful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). Glinda tagged along to meet the mysterious Wizard, and together the pair discovered that his power was more about charisma than magic, though the magic Elphaba could do was real. For example, she could give wings to the Wizard’s monkey guards so they could fly. She could even give the power of flight to nonliving things, like a broom. After a falling-out with The Wizard, Elphaba became the most feared person in all of Oz, but was it justified?
“Wicked” certainly succeeds in delivering the epic proportions that I demand, including an epic 160-minute runtime that I didn’t necessarily demand. That’s a mere five minutes short of the length of the Broadway show, and this movie only covers Act 1. Sometimes the extra length is good, it means that the movie can throw in bonus content like a stage show in the Emerald City that had the audience at my screening squealing with delight. Other times it just makes the movie plodding, or interferes with the flow of key moments. I hate to say it, but “Defying Gravity” is thrown off because the movie wants to do more visually than the song’s traditional runtime will allow, so some extra beats have been added that I don’t think serve it well. This movie has all the magic of the stage version and more, I just don’t think I care much for the “more.”
Grade: B
“Wicked” is rated PG for some scary action, thematic material and brief suggestive material. Its running time is 160 minutes.
Contact Bob Garver at [email protected].
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