Wicked: Part I review – Good (in)deed

It will be interesting to see how long-awaited musical Wicked performs at the South African box office. While it seems fair to say a decent percentage of locals are familiar with the story of The Wizard of Oz, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s Tony-winning 2003 stage production on which the Wicked film is based, simply doesn’t have the cult adoration here that it does in certain other countries. Making a Broadway or West End pilgrimage from Mzanzi requires considerably more effort, which means Jon M. Chu’s big budget film adaptation will be the first time that many South Africans get to Defy Gravity.

The good news is that, after an almost 15-year trial to translate Wicked from stage to screen, audiences will be experiencing a rousing blockbuster musical that takes full advantage of film’s scope as a creative medium. Wicked definitely never feels like a recorded play, although often the musical theatre scenes are the strongest part of the film – but more about that in a moment.

Serving as a prequel to the events in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and loosely based on Gregory Maguire’s wild revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked explores the backstory of Oz’s sorceresses, the Wicked Witch of the West, AKA Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda the Good Witch of the North, AKA Glinda Upland (Ariana Grande). The pair meet at the University of Shiz, where they are forced to become roommates, but while they initially clash due to their different personalities, eventually they find common ground. Their friendship is threatened, however, over the issue of animal rights. Elphaba is horrified by a societal drive to imprison the creatures and strip them of their voice, while Glinda quietly goes along with new discriminatory legislation, refusing to rock the boat and threaten her popularity. 

Chances are audiences will be watching Wicked more for its epic fantasy setting and crowd-pleasing musical numbers, but narratively and thematically, the film manages to sneak in some barbs. For example, Glinda’s protests are purely perfomative and self-centred, but still earn the perfect-in-pink blonde much adoration. Meanwhile, green-skinned, loathed outsider Elphaba stands up and takes action, only to be labelled an enemy to the whole Kingdom of Oz.

On the expanded representation front, also present are characters in wheelchairs – a carry-over from the stage production – and Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey is the type of prince modern audiences have been craving for the past few decades (even if they didn’t necessarily know it): a pansexual rogue whose bad boy behaviour masks a much more sincere nature.

Wicked: Part I is certainly not short on surprises, with arguably the greatest being how good Ariana Grande is. Erivo’s Elphaba is the film’s strong emotional heart, but Grande’s Glinda provides most of the smiles due to the actress-singer’s impeccable comedic timing. Her performance isn’t purely for laughs, though, as she also delivers a nuanced depiction of a pampered girl’s awakening to how her privilege is entangled in social injustice. As a sidenote, Grande’s singing may not be as clearly pronounced as Erivo’s but Glinda leans towards more operatic singing by default.

Overall, Wicked has gone for smart, suitably experienced casting choices over big name movie stars. The latter, for the record, is ticked off by Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the Headmistress of Shiz, and Jeff Goldblum as the charlatan Wizard of Oz. Peter Dinklage also provides the voice of a goat professor.

With Wicked: Part I engaging successfully on so many levels, it’s a pity that the film stumbles in a few key areas. Primarily, it overstays its welcome. A 2-hour-and-45-minute stage show has been fleshed out into two films, with Part 1 clocking in at 160 minutes, and capping with a cliffhanger ending and To Be Continued title card.

While the third act contains all the big action set pieces, it just isn’t as interesting as the University drama and boisterous musical numbers that precede it – the library-set Dancing Through Life is a special highlight. A big part of the problem here is that Wicked: Part I uses an immense amount of CGI to realise its magical Steampunk world, and that ramps up considerably once the action shifts from Shiz to Emerald City. The CGI-beasties don’t look bad but extending the universe with pixels and programming isn’t as convincing when compared to the film’s mammoth, and clearly expensive, practical sets, and meticulous production design. In Wicked’s case, the two filmic components don’t marry especially well, distracting rather than immersing viewers.

Still, Wicked: Part I is rock-solid entertainment of the old school mould for the upcoming holiday period. It’s visually dazzling, energetic, and, most importantly, doesn’t skip on emotion. Put another way, the two-part split may feel calculated, but Wicked demonstrates heart and brains, salutes courage, and provides a visually striking adventure far from home.

Wicked: Part I is in cinemas from Friday, 22 November. Part II debuts in November next year.