5/5 broomsticks (The best film of the year)
I saw Wicked at the Fox Theater in Atlanta about a decade ago. Despite being adamant to take it as a freebie, it affected me so much that I passionately scribbled a glowing review of it on notecards in my hotel room at 11:00 PM that night. While that review is sadly lost to the ether, the play surprised me in how well it recontextualized the Wicked Witch character and functioned as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. Now, after an unbelievably long production process and the passion of director Jon M. Chu and writers Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, we get the first of a 2-part adaption in Wicked Part 1, a film whose narrative not only found new personal resonance to me, but also marries its stage roots with a cinematic feel. It’s only the first half of the story, but as first halves go, I couldn’t ask for much better than this.
In the magical land of Oz, we follow Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a young woman ostracized for her green skin and untested magic who puts up a tough exterior, but quietly yearns for the acceptance of her peers. When her governor father asks that she look over her wheelchair-bound sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) at Shiz University, Elphaba intends to oblige, only for her appearance to disarm the student body and her powers to flare up. This catches the attention of Dean Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who jumps at the chance to help Elphaba hone her abilities and rooms her with the popular yet comically self-involved Galinda (Ariana Grande-Butera), who takes pity on our heroine to further brighten her own social halo. However, as the school year commences and Galinda finds love with the hot Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), Elphaba sees mistreatment of Oz’s animal residents and hopes the much-loved Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) can put a stop to it, setting her and her friends down a yellow brick road of change on which they can not turn back.
Wicked Part 1 is unquestionably my favorite film of 2024. Director Jon M. Chu proved his prowess in musical adaptations with the underseen In The Heights a few years ago, and while his direction is slightly more reigned in here, he still provides bountiful energy and has a clear passion and care for these characters and their story. The script has moments of levity, the sets and costumes are beautiful, and most of the musical numbers are well-staged and progress the narrative, characters, and themes at play. While it’s no easy task to walk in the iconic footsteps of Margaret Hamilton or Idina Menzel, Cynthia Erivo makes the character her own rather than trying to copy them, imbuing her with strength, vulnerability, deadpan humor, and escalating emotional intensity. I was initially skeptical of Ariana Grande-Butera’s casting (history shows most pop stars succeed more on the stage than the silver screen), but she surprised me by conveying Galinda’s snooty vapidity without being annoying or undermining the dramatic elements. While her arc feels slightly rushed, Grande-Buteras’s overall performance and chemistry with Erivo make it believable. The supporting cast is also strong, though many of them are given setups here to be paid off in film 2 before receding into the background for the last half of this movie. Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum are expectedly great, Jonathan Bailey is a dashing, charismatic lad, and Peter Dinklage does well voicing an animal character (and earning my forgiveness for The Angry Birds Movie). I’ll have more to say on them once the 2nd part comes out, but for now, everyone is well-cast, gifted with fine singing voices, and disappeared into their characters quickly
I’m also impressed with Chu’s navigation of Wicked Part 1’s tone. The film establishes an underlying darkness to the proceedings right from the opening logo, but I was concerned Grande’s comic performance would conflict with the more serious themes upon her goofy introduction and the opening number can’t quite strike the intended balance of celebratory and somber. Thankfully the mood stabilizes after that number, transitioning from a lighter, humorous feel to a darker, more dramatic one by the end. None of the kids in my theater reacted negatively to this, but it isn’t tailored to the Baby Shark demographic. 10-and-ups are probably fine (and have the attention span for the film’s length and ideas), but I found it refreshing to see this film respect the maturity of its audience rather than talk down to them. As fun and vibrant as the movie is, its messages about the power of perception, societal oppression, and self-acceptance are delivered directly and intelligently without sacrificing entertainment value or feeling like a pedantic lecture.
On a more personal note, many of Elphaba’s mannerisms, reactions, and feelings (as well as other people’s reactions to her) reminded me of myself. While I severely doubt the filmmakers or Erivo intended for Elphaba to come across as autistic or parallel how some in the autism community are responded to, several scenes and lines here hit close to home for me and I hope others on the spectrum or who feel in someway different from what’s perceived as “normal” can come away as uplifted as I did.
Much as I’ve gushed about Wicked: Part 1, I do have some minor quibbles. As mentioned above, the opening song number and Grande’s introduction feel a bit off, the actors and actresses rush through the occasional song lyric, and Galinda’s arc feels slightly rushed, but the overall performances, toe-tapping numbers, intelligent delivery of its themes, and emotional sincerity left me with a sense of elation only the best movies do. Wicked Part 1 marries its stage-based spectacle with an emotionally-engaging story, timeless themes, and endearing characters that, much like its lead, defies the gravity of expectations to deliver something great. I adore this movie. Fly your nearest broomstick to a theater and See it.
Rated PG for Some Scary Action, Thematic Material, and Brief Suggestive Material