Wicked (2024) ***

 

I'm probably the last person in what we used to call the Free World to see this movie. I came in with rather low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

Everyone knows the premise here. “Wicked” is a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo). Born Elphaba Thropp, her path to wickedness starts with being born green. In the land of Oz they have talking animals, but they do not normally have green people. Elphaba grows up tormented by her classmates and disdained by her father. She also happens to have psychokinetic powers that surface when she gets angry.

Elphaba winds up at boarding school, where her green skin and prickly nature once again isolate her. The chief sorcery professor (Michelle Yeoh) takes notice of her powers and has her room with Galenda Upland (Ariana Grande), a popular beauty who also longs to study magic. After the obligatory period of antagonism, the 2 girls develop a friendship.

Meanwhile, all is not well in the land of Oz. The talking animals, who were once treated as equals (even teaching at the school), are being detained, removed from their positions, even somehow losing their powers of speech. Elphaba takes it upon herself to help them, and seeks help from the great Wizard of Oz himself.

This movie was a long time coming. L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz came out in 1900, and the iconic film adaptation, starring Judy Garland, is from 1939. In 1995 Gregory Maguire released his revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Almost immediately there was talk of a film adaptation, but first came a little Broadway musical you may have heard of. The Broadway production of “Wicked,” starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, opened in 2003, and it's still going strong, making it one of the longest-running Broadway productions ever. Now, after numerous delays, including Covid, we have a film version of the musical, and it's not bad.

Ariana Grande, it turns out, is not just a pop princess, the girl can really sing! Of course, I have known Cynthia Erivo had some pipes since I saw her in "Bad Times at the El Royale." So the singing is good. The plot of the story is just okay. I'm not sure the storyline about the oppressed, talking animals actually makes sense, but I suppose it's a strong enough story overall to support a musical theater spectacle, and that's what we have here. The songs are not memorable like the ones from the original “Wizard of Oz,” but they are entertaining enough while you are watching, and I suppose that sums “Wicked” up for me: It's entertaining enough. This film only represents Part 1 of the “Wicked” story. The sequel came out this Fall, and I'll probably watch it once it is streaming free on one of my services. I know that everyone else will probably have seen it long before me, and that's ok. I'm not turning green with envy.

3 stars out of 5