Movie Monday: Wicked

Alright once again another new release has overshadowed the Denzel Washington Flight review that I may never post… it’s time for Wicked… my most anticipated movie of the year possibly… one of my most anticipated movies ever… made by one of my favorite directors ever… there’s a lot to love about this one… but let’s get into the movie as a whole.

Why This is a Great Example of A Musical

Okay- so I saw someone in a movie group that I am in ask if people that hated Joker 2 liked Wicked- so that inspired this part of the review.

A good musical in my opinion has songs that keep the plot moving forward. Whether they have dialogue in between or not, I think a great musical has to have music that keeps the plot moving forward. Joker 2 was really bad because the music was just there. It rarely kept the storytelling going at all and it just made the movie unbearably long and boring.

I also don’t think a music has to have memorable songs to be a great musical- Beetlejuice is one of my favorites of all time and I don’t know every word to every song. With Wicked though… I saw the show when I was in 8th grade and I still think of it and quote it all the time. Also when I say I saw it in 8th grade… that was almost 20 years ago… give or take so yeah. I think it was 2006 that I saw the play lol. And it made me cry when I listened to the soundtrack again lol.

They also cast people that are great singers… so it’s not like Joaquin Phoenix just… doing an okay job. These are professionals! And great actors.

Differences with The Play vs The Movie

I am not an expert in the play- I’ve seen it once in 2006- but a lot stuck with me from the play. And overall I loved the play- I like any Wizard of Oz story and I love things that give a new perspective on a story I already know and love… so in general love the concept already. Wicked Act 2 isn’t really as good as Act 1… so I think it’s a good idea to separate the movie into two parts because they can probably strengthen the second part for the movie a little bit more… plus Act 1 on its own is very packed and very complete.

This is a SLIGHT spoiler but… ending a movie with Defying Gravity is just a baller move. Defying Gravity is an amazing song and a great way to end the movie.

I also like that they show more animals and how important the animals were throughout Oz in the movie- that would not have worked as well in the play. I have a feeling this will be a bigger part of Part 2 also… just a feeling.

There Was a lot of singing

I feel like this is a weird warning but there is a lot of singing. It felt almost like I was watching music videos all grouped together… but not in a bad way. It might have just been because I saw this at a small theater- but it was a lot of music- but again the music kind of drove the plot. There are things in it besides music but it was a lot of music.

The performances

The performances were all great. Ariana Grande was great as Galinda, Cynthia Erivo brought a lot to the role of Elphaba. I love Fiyero, so I’m very happy they cast Jonathan Bailey… Ethan Slater left his wife and infant son to be with Ariana Grande and in this movie… Michelle Yeoh was fantastic. I love Jeff Goldbloom and he was in this! They all sang great and… it was great. I loved seeing them in this movie!

I feel like people are saying that Ariana Grande was great in this movie and she was great in the comedic roles- but I also thought Cynthia Erivo was a very no nonsense Elphaba… it was great to watch them together.

Ohhh and I forgot- I loved Peter Dinklage in this movie. I actually am not the biggest fan of Something Bad is Happening in Oz in the original soundtrack but I loved it in this movie. It was really great!

Okay… the movie Journal!

So I got a movie journal on Amazon that lets you give movies a score based on categories- you can pick the categories and I even added a category so… I will share this with you.

Gives The Feelings of The Genre- 5

Yes this is a perfect musical. It definitely gives the feelings of being a musical and… yeah this is an easy 5 for me.

Cast- 5

Yep this was the best cast. I also love John M. Chi-

I especially think he’s a great musical director and this cast was absolutely perfect.

How Did It Look- 5

Okay I know people are saying that they wanted more color in this movie or for the colors to stand out more and I agree to an extent… HOWEVER- the Broadway production of Wicked isn’t that colorful. The set is kind of steampunk inspired and it’s got more natural tones- aside from a few of Galinda’s vibrant costumes and some of the set… I thought the movie was very vibrant but still true to the play.

I also loved that the set was a practical set and they didn’t use CGI for everything. It looked amazing.

Press- 5

Okay I would give a 6 for this if I could… which I guess I could but I won’t. The marketing for this movie is great and I’ve bought several products and collabs from this movie… this is the reason I put the category on here.

Music- 5

This obviously gets a 5… the songs in Wicked are brilliant and this was performed really brilliantly lol.

Character Development + Writing- 5

This is a more important category than the press and marketing but… I thought of this after so my bonus category is more in the middle. There’s a lot of development for all the main characters and side characters. Galinda and Elphaba’s friendship forms very naturally and overall they just did a really great job with it.

So this movie gets a perfect 30… well deserved and obviously this is a 5 star movie. I don’t know if everyone will like it- but I think if you like the play or the book you will love this. Even if you don’t know it at all… I think fans of Wizard of Oz- or fantasy in general will find this fun.

Anyway I hope you like this review or found it helpful! I want to see this movie again… a few times… it’s an easy one I could see every day of my life.

Anyway! Bye!

-Shannon