For my wife’s and my Tuesday date night in mid-December, we went to the Spectrum Theatre in Albany to see the movie Wicked. I had seen the touring show of the Broadway play a dozen years earlier and liked it quite a bit. I also read the book and was not as enthusiastic about it.
However, the novel is important as it creates a reimagining of the L. Frank Baum books, with a certain amount of homage to the 1939 movie. The character we knew as the Wicked Witch of the West has been named Elphaba, a direct homage to Baum’s initials. That the protagonist is not inherently evil is an interesting concept.
The movie leans into both the book and the Broadway show. As described by Alex Mell-Taylor here: “The book chronicles her life as she struggles against the authoritarian Wizard of Oz, a fascistic figure who scapegoats entire classes of people to stay in power, including, eventually, Elphaba herself.
“It’s ultimately a tragic tale about how the winners of history can turn fighters for justice into villains.
“The musical never abandoned this theme, but it does become less prominent, with the emotional core switching to Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship and the rise of Ozian authoritarianism becoming more of a B-plot. While Maguire’s original retelling had some flashy, risque elements, it’s undoubtedly more substantive than the musical. A large part of the book is about Elphaba’s activism — something the musical only briefly touches upon.
This AND That
“The movie is a hybrid of these two visions. It follows the structure of the musical but uses visuals to heighten the authoritarian (arguably fascist) aesthetic that first came from the book. We are aware of Ozian’s discriminatory nature throughout the film in a way that feels much more consequential than a simple B-plot.”
This explains, if not necessarily justifies, the movie’s length—or, more correctly, the movies. Wicked: For Good will be released in November 2025.
I liked the first movie well enough. As enemies turned friends, Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande-Butera (Galinda) gave strong performances. Jeff Goldblum, as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Michelle Yeoh, as Madame Morrible, and Jonathan Bailey, as the eye candy Fiyero, were also very good.
Still, the movie’s length wore me down. Somebody (Roger Ebert?) suggested that a movie could be too long at 90 minutes and too short at 4 hours. This movie, which was about 2:45, had many elements that I enjoyed, including most of the music, but somehow, I was a little disappointed.
The movie received an 88% positive critics’ rating and 95% from audiences. As Keith Garlingrton noted: “’Wicked’ doesn’t quite dazzle the way it wants to. It’s an uneven and unwieldy production.” It felt like an oversized truck careening down a narrow highway when you worry that the payload will tip over.
Then there’s the “you have to see the next episode” aspect. I experienced this with Marvel movies, so I and many others were not rushing to see the later outings after Avengers: Endgame. I will probably see Wicked For Good, but it will make me cranky.
A few articles
‘Wicked’ and Hollywood’s Bumpy Road to Oz. Jon M. Chu’s musical… is defying gravity at the box office — but it was a winding yellow-brick road of Hollywood adaptations to get here from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)
‘Wicked’ Easter Eggs for Your Second (or Third) Watch. Two of the elements were obvious to me. “The title card for Wicked also uses the same font as the title card for The Wizard of Oz... Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, in the Wicked Broadway stage musical,” have a number.
Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) and Jon M. Chu (Wicked) — Directors on Directors
Cynthia Erivo Reveals She Co-Wrote an Original Song for Elphaba in ‘Wicked: For Good.’ ‘Wicked: For Good’: Here’s What We Know About Part 2.
