Are you holding space for Wicked?: A Wicked Review
Written by: Ian Rogers
As the closeted musical theatre fan that I am, I had the stage-to-screen musical “Wicked” as my most anticipated movie of 2024. The story follows a young Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, originating from a book with the same title written in 1995, based on the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz”. The musical took the Broadway stage in 2001 and has since been a grossing hit. With hits like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular”, it has finally been brought to the screen for all to enjoy this Thanksgiving break, with Cynthia Erivo playing Elphaba and Ariana Grande playing Glinda. The movie lasts around 2 hours and 40 minutes, stopping at the intermission of the stage production, after “Defying Gravity”. The movie’s second part will come out a year from now, November 21st, 2025. While I am not a fan of waiting, I understand why the choice was made. Producers were adamant about not erasing anything from the original score and as a result, the movie ended up in two parts.
My first instinct when I bought my tickets was to paint myself green in honor of Elphaba. But upon calling the theatre where I was to see the movie, they informed me that it wasn’t allowed so I settled for only wearing a witches hat. Seeing the film I felt that it exceeded all (high) expectations. I found myself bewitched seeing every emotion each character felt in 4K rather than in a seat yards away from the stage, like how it is on Broadway. The chemistry between Grande and Erivo as best friends was palpable. As someone who listens to the original soundtrack religiously, I felt the cast did a superb job paying homage to the written score while adding new twists to keep it refreshing. Both characters' battle with doing what's right vs. conforming to society is clear and extremely influential. In an era where it is hard to tell which films are money grabs or genuine, the company of this film put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work and it paid off. Cynthia Erivo is on track to be nominated in the “Best Actress” category at the Oscars, with Ariana Grande hopefully being nominated for “Best Supporting Actress”. In my opinion, they earn my support wholeheartedly, and I cannot wait to see the second movie.
Whether a musical theatre fan or not, I highly recommend seeing this movie. With the initial “Gladiator 2” or “Wicked” debate, you might have to choose between one or the other. While I haven’t seen Gladiator 2 yet, fellow student, Paxton Towe, said Wicked was the best of the two. Trust him! I rate the movie a 5/5.
