Misunderstood because of her green skin, a young woman named Elphaba forges an unlikely but profound friendship with Glinda, a student with an unflinching desire for popularity. Following an encounter with the Wizard of Oz, their relationship soon reaches a crossroad as their lives begin to take very different paths.
Director: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum
Release Date: November 22, 2024
Genre: Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Rated PG for some scary action, thematic material and brief suggestive material.
Runtime: 2h 41m
Review:
The big screen adaptation of Wicked is a massive spectacle, almost to a fault, as it assaults nearly every sense in a colorful cornucopia of sights and sounds. Jon M. Chu's film shoots a dizzying kaleidoscope of visual imagery onscreen paired with the kind of large scale choreography you'd expect from this kind of production. People who hate movie musicals should steer clear of this film since it unapologetically embraces its source material. It’s a lavish production that's sure to win a bevy of awards on that merit alone with the impressive amount of world building on display. Oz is wonderfully rendered in all its CGI glory with the central setting of Shiz University coming to life like a brighter, slightly older Hogwarts. There's a lot to take in but none of it would work as well as it does if the two central performances from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande weren't as engaging as they are. Ariana Grande is great fun as she perfectly channels Kristin Chenoweth as the vacuous, self-absorbed Glinda with impressive gusto. Grande's performance is likeable and fun even as she's playing a bulldozer of a mean girl, friendmeny in the first half of the film. She brings a likable effervescence to the role which keeps the character from coming off as truly mean spirited. It’s a big showy role that she nails from start to finish while Cynthia Erivo has a slightly tougher task with a more layered character. Erivo proves to be up to the task as she manages to convey the character's tough exterior with a lingering sense of melancholy from being ostracized her entire life. There's plenty of nuance in her turn which cycles through a range of emotions which is strangely reminiscent of Sissy Spacek's performance in 1976's Carrie. They share wonderful, natural chemistry together onscreen that's paired with their immense vocal talents make the film work as well as it does. Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum have small but importance supporting roles with each bringing their specific energy to the performances to great effect. If there is an issue that works against this all is the film's slightly bloated runtime which start to turn its final forty minutes into an exercise in attrition. There's plenty of moments that linger on for longer than needed and they would have benefited from some judicious edits to make it a more streamlined, effective film. That doesn't mean that Wicked Part One isn't an enjoyable cinematic journey even though it's noticeably bloated in the long run.
B+
