Wicked
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh
Musical/Fantasy | PG | 2 hr 40 min
3.5 stars
By Reed Ripley
In the 20-plus years since its debut on Broadway, Wicked has become one of the most popular and successful musicals of all time. Its appeal is undeniable—take one of the most enduring stories of the past 150 years of American fiction (L. Frank Baum’s Oz novels and, of course, The Wizard of Oz), run it through a candy-pop filter, and you’ve got a hit. And yes, bonafide earworms like “Dancing Through Life,” “Popular,” and “Defying Gravity” don’t hurt.
So, does the long-awaited and inevitable film adaptation live up to that hype? Mostly yes, thanks largely to the clear decision to faithfully adapt the musical with a paint-by-numbers approach. For those eagerly anticipating seeing their favorite musical (or favorite Spotify soundtrack) brought to life on the big screen, that’s exactly what they’ll get. Considering its immense cultural footprint, that’s understandable—Wicked doesn’t take many risks, if any, but the film’s number one was to not screw this up, and it hit the mark. Wicked is Wicked after all, and deviating too far from its blueprint could have diminished its established appeal and alienated the musical’s massive fanbase.
That’s not to say the conservative approach makes the film boring or uninteresting—quite the opposite. Despite its hefty runtime (nearly three hours, and keep in mind this is only Part One), Wicked never feels slow. There’s always momentum, whether that’s coming from excellent leading performances from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, brilliant production design (it often tangibly feels like a stage production, in a good way), or, of course, the songs, which are spaced just far apart to deliver a drip-drip of serotonin while providing enough space for narrative progression.
Funnily enough, deviations from the stage show cause some of the film’s biggest weaknesses, most glaringly in its biggest musical numbers. Whether or not you’ve seen Wicked, you’ve almost certainly heard “Popular” and/or “Defying Gravity” at some point. They’re great songs and equally great momentum-drivers—however, rather than run those straight through, the film abruptly pauses mid-number for dialogue, ostensibly to drive the plot and give its leads more to do. That’s all well and good but stopping “Defying Gravity” right before its climactic riff is questionable.
Wicked doesn’t break any new ground, but that clearly wasn’t the goal. It’s a fun, poppy film that brings the juice where it needs to, and that’s enough to make it successful.