Quest-en-Scène: Wicked For… Bad
“Bruh why did it look like a turbotax commercial…green cynthia is still so sexy tho” - @clemmie on Letterboxd
My first exposure to Wicked was in fourth grade, when my elementary school put on an illegal production of the hit Broadway musical. Because it was illegal (and there were many children in the program), the directors had to split the leads up. After I auditioned, I got cast as Elphaba in the “For Good” scene. Were people jealous of me? Yes, since it’s one of the best songs to be cast in. Was I jealous of the girl who got “Defying Gravity”? Yes, because 10-year-old me would’ve bodied that riff.
Since then, Wicked has been one of my favorite musicals, and “For Good” has been my favorite song from it. Needless to say, when I heard that it was being adapted into a film, I was excited. Not just because I love Wicked, but because I love movie musicals. Funny Girl, Singin' in the Rain, and Cabaret are not just some of the best movie musicals but also some of my favorite movies.For this reason, I had so much hope that Wicked would be able to join their ranks because I genuinely think it has the potential to be an amazing movie. Once I heard it was being split into two 2.5 hour parts, I lost all hope. At that moment I accepted the trash that Wicked and Wicked: For Good were going to be. Side note: Why set us up with parts one and two just to deviate? Why not just do “Defying Gravity” and “For Good”? Why not just do “Act One” and “Act Two”? I expect answers, Jon M. Chu.
I would like to start with the positive: Cynthia Erivo. As you might have guessed by this point, I was a theater kid and maybe I still am. Two years after I blew the Venice Public School System away with my rendition of “For Good,” I saw Erivo’s Tony Award-winning performance (filmed and put on YouTube) where she played Celie in the revival of The Color Purple. Ever since then, I’ve been watching her career. I was ecstatic when she was cast as Elphaba in Wicked, and she gave a phenomenal performance, especially in For Good (the movie and the song). Her performance in “No Good Deed” made me levitate through the roof of the Regal Cinema I was in. Erivo’s vocal power is unmatched among the cast. A close second would be Ethan Slater (shocked?), but whenever he was on screen, I felt my energy being drained as he was stealing it all for SpongeBob.
Now, for the bad. There is so much that is un-Wicked about this movie, most glaringly Glinda. In the original show, Glinda is more of a side character in Elphaba’s story. Honestly, it’s a big part of why the show works. We see two opposite girls who have similar arcs of accepting Elphaba for who she is. Now, is it more interesting to see Glinda accept Elphaba and then do nothing to help her until she dies, or to see into Elphaba’s internal struggle of not knowing who she is until the end of the show? Hint: it’s the latter. Glinda, bless her soul, is not an interesting character. She is three-dimensional and her internal conflict between pleasing her parents and the wizard or following her heart is interesting, but it’s not interesting enough to justify cutting Elphaba’s screentime. Wicked is not Glinda’s story, it’s Elphaba’s. That’s where the plot went wrong. Trying to make Wicked more about Glinda while still staying true to the source material made the movie poorly paced, resulting in no real stakes. This works to the movie’s detriment: act two of Wicked is more intense than the first act, causing the movies to not really feel like Wicked. Sure, make a Glinda prequel, I don’t care, but keep Wicked about the Wicked Witch of the West, please.
Something else that annoyed me was how dull it looked. In the stage play, while a majority of the set is steampunk-inspired, it is still vibrant and fun at the right times. Overall, the stage production is very visually stimulating. The movie, on the other hand, is just not. While I do enjoy the practical effects and sets, the setting is dull and lifeless while still feeling crowded, to the point it was almost overwhelming. It created a wall between the audience and the movie, so much so I couldn’t get invested in the movie.
The new songs for both Glinda and Elphaba don’t help the movie. These songs were already set up for failure because they weren’t in the original show and were written specifically for the movie. What doesn’t help them is how bad they are on their own. I listen to the Wicked soundtrack (Original Broadway Cast Recording, please!) in my own time, but I would not listen to these songs. Beyond that, they just don’t fit in the soundscape of Wicked. These songs have none of the motifs that tie the original soundtrack together, making them feel janky and out of place. It also messes up the pacing of the movie, which degrades its quality even more.
I really wish this could’ve been a more positive or funnier review, but I was honestly dissociated or filled with rage the whole time I was watching, so I just cannot be any more funny about this movie. If you’re still considering going to see this movie, I’d say wait for streaming. Also, watch with the volume low and turn the saturation up.
Follow me on Letterboxd (@robinfilmentine) and comment down below if you’d rather play Glinda or Elphaba.