The Super Powered Fancast

Wicked Part 1

Universal Pictures

Written by Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox and Gregory Maguire

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Andy Nyman, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James and Sharon D. Clarke

Rated PG

Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Glinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads.

I have and will continue to be a huge fan of musicals, but movie adaptations of that genre have always been hit or miss with me. Expanding on the theatrical experience on film is tricky and it takes someone truly creative to bring the world of a musical to life and have the audience believe in not only that world, but also that singing is a part of the way the story should be told. Jon M. Chu delivers on all those things and more.

Wicked is visually stunning. As an audience member, I was transported to every part of this world. The sets are fantastic, the visual palette of the film is lively, bright and immersive. There is a level of beauty to every moment that matches the tone of each song and character interaction. I found myself feeling like a part of the world Chu creates in this film and nothing visually took me out of any of the moments the film delivers.

The story is powerful and layered. A story that can only be brought to life by performers who understand the characters they are portraying and the nuances required for those performances. There are so many deeply emotional moments throughout the film and those moments allow for deeper themes to shine through for those willing and able to see them. Bringing those moments to life is a herculean task and every one of the actors met and exceeded the challenge.

Ariana Grande was fantastic as Galinda. I was hesitant about her performance because I don’t listen to a lot of pop music (I’m old, forgive me.), but she blew me away both vocally and emotionally. Her character has an interesting arc and a tightwire to walk because of it. Galinda is the visual personification of “goodness” in this world. She comes from a privileged background and her outer beauty affords her even more privilege in spaces like Shiz and beyond.

Grande leans into that privilege and subtly showcases a character who society deems as good without examining the fact that all of her “good” acts are at best performative and at worst, self-serving. She is so utterly charming that you can almost find yourself as blind as the people around her to her ambition and character flaws because her performance makes you want to believe that she can actually be good and there are hints of that throughout the film.

Grande’s humor in the film is flawless. She is the heart of every comedic moment in the film and her choices in those moments make her more endearing as Galinda. Everything from her hair flip to head nod is executed perfectly and all of things come together in Popular to the point where you almost forget that it’s a song about making Elphaba more palatable to bigots because Grande’s Galinda makes you feel good in those moments.

Cynthia Erivo is revelatory in this film as Elphaba. She delivers in every moment. She draws you out emotionally as you follow her journey and she is relatable in every scene. You feel her pain, the emotional weight she carries, her fears, her wants, everything. In addition, you want good things for her. You feel every emotion in her performance from the chosen riffs on certain songs to the complexity within her eyes. One of the things that connected with me as a viewer comes from seeing other performances from her and knowing how big she can be vocally. In this film, she is subtle. She matches the tone of the characters she sings with. In songs like The Wizard and I, you see her start to elevate her voice as she sees possibility, but most of her performances seem to come from the ground up. She isn’t trying to stand out, she wants to be seen and appreciated the way everyone else is. Something you feel uniquely in the pain of the song Not That Girl.

As the movie progresses and she sees and experiences more things that allow her to be a different person, her voice rises, her tone gets more confident and every vocal moment in Defying Gravity feels earned because she took a journey to get there. A journey that gives her the confidence to use her voice no matter the consequences.

Wicked tells many stories within it and all of them are told exceedingly well. You have genuinely funny moments, deep character moments and nothing feels wasted or unnecessary. All of it matters. The subplot with the systematic removal of talking animals from society is a brilliant allegory for the rise of fascism, scapegoating and how the powerful hold onto or gain power through fear of the “other”. In addition to that, Wicked is just a great musical. Stephen Schwartz’ music and lyrics are amazing and great performances like Jonathan Bailey’s rendition of Dancing Through Life elevate those lyrics significantly. That song feels very surface level and joyous, but there are some deep moments in those lyrics about life being short and stressing about it is a waste because it will eventually end.

I could go on and on about how brilliantly evocative, technically brilliant and emotionally stirring Wicked is as a production, but it is one of those things that should be experienced. Jon M. Chu directs an amazing film that not only captures the eyes and ears, but the heart as well. The only thing I hate is having to wait a full year to see the second part of the film in what I call the world’s longest intermission.