Wicked: Part I

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Born green out of her mother’s infidelity, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) grows up an outcast but overprotective of her paraplegic sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode). Accompanying her sister to her first day of university at Shiz, Elphaba unexpectedly unleashes a telekinetic blast out of anger and is instantly noticed by headmistress and sorceress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who convinces her to enroll as well so she can harness her powers via private seminars with her. She is roomed with society gal Galinda (Ariana Grande-Butera) who is an aspiring sorceress herself, but not as gifted. The two roommates begin an unlikely friendship tested by the arrival of a troublemaker prince named Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and in the midst of suppression of Animal rights in all of Oz. As Elphaba’s powers grow, she gets an official invitation to meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) at his castle in the Emerald City. However, Elphaba is in for a rude awakening as her lifetime idol doesn’t turn out to be who she expects him to be.

Broadway musicals crossing over to Hollywood are not really that well-received. Award giving bodies tend to snub them and they also flop really badly at the box office. If you think about it, there is only one particular crossover musical in recent memory that managed to both wow critics (12 Oscar nominations, 6 wins) and do well at the box office. That was Chicago. In 2003. That was TWO DECADES AGO. It looks like that is going to change soon. I’m not saying that Wicked will be an awards circuit juggernaut; it’ll probably just be nominated in the technical categories. Its box office appeal, though. It looks like we have a legit late contender for 2024.

When Universal announced that Wicked will be split into two films, it raised a lot of eyebrows. The original Broadway OST is just an hour and a half long for both Acts 1 and 2. Wicked: Part I has a total runtime of 2 hours and 40 minutes. The second half to be released next year will probably be just as long. Over five hours of runtime all in all? Even if they have the actors sing the entire soundtrack and dance to it three times, it still wouldn’t fill that runtime. When you finally get to watch Part I, you will understand why. This is really just a film adaptation of the musical through and through, but makes it a point to take its time with exposition.

As such, what you get is a more in depth exploration of the characters. The musical on Broadway is enchanting alright, but doesn’t have this luxury as it whips through all of the songs on its setlist to make sure the entire play wouldn’t go over its 2 hours and 40 minutes of runtime. Otherwise, theatergoers will get bored and just not buy tickets. The film has twice as much time to spare, and Jon Chu really dives deep into each note, each emotion, each character interaction. In the end you don’t get a half baked musical but rather a fully committed adaptation that will just blow you away. It’s long, yes, but no dull moments at all.

Say what we want about Ariana Grande but let’s give credit where it is due. Girl showed up and delivered. Those glory notes, bruh. I was beaming like a proud uncle, and this coming from someone who thinks that there can be no other G(a)linda aside from Broadway legend and OG Kristin Chenoweth. Grande currently ranks fourth on Gold Derby’s early Oscar predictions for Best Supporting Actress. Nomination or not, she is defo not winning because Zoe Saldana will be hard to beat but after her performance blew me away, I actually want to see her get nominated. I say she deserves it, and I am willing to die on that hill.

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba is divine. She is not that much of a power belter but what she lacks in vocal intensity, she makes up for with a subdued vulnerability that is palpable both in her eyes and in her voice. Her Elphaba can be menacing but also endearing, sarcastic yet sincere. In the end, she provides the much needed gravitas for a role that is quite hard to nail. That one questionable press release interview aside, I say that she does a great job and makes the character her own, not to mention her chemistry with Grande is so strong you actually end up caring about their friendship which translates as genuine onscreen.