“Wicked” (2024) Review

It’d be easy for such a lavish and exuberant musical as Wicked to get lost within its glamor, where all the eye-popping visuals and catchy lyrics cake over anything to say about this revisionist history of Oz. However, director Jon M. Chu has a firm enough grasp on this material to be as thematically resonant as it is decadently assembled with humanity so organic that a mere hair flip can generate a chuckle. This is a tale of discrimination and political strife that feels especially topical now more than ever and isn’t dulled down or softened with its fantastical setting. Although the film itself challenges the binary of good witches and bad witches, per Glinda’s simplistic questioning in The Wizard of Oz, it’s safe to say this is a good movie musical.

Even though this movie reminds you of the Wicked Witch’s demise from The Wizard of Oz, there’s enough charisma and energy to make you more engaged in the characters’ plight than their inevitability. Ariana Grande is well established as a perky and polished Galinda Upland, aiming to prove herself as a top talent at the magic-specializing Shiz University. Challenging her status is the unexpected green student, Elphaba Thropp, played with a grounded guard by Cynthia Erivo. Elphaba has spent her life as an outsider, but her sudden displays of emotionally driven magic attract the attention of the university’s Headmistress, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). With the pink socialite and green outcast sharing a dorm room, they clash just as much over their academics as they do the love of the newcomer, Prince Fiyero Tigelaar (Jonathan Bailey), having the presence more of a goal than a person.

All is not well in the merry old land of Oz, but the film does place enough visual splendor in its many musical numbers to make it a place worth caring about. A library doesn’t sound like the most exciting location for a musical sequence but it is at Shiz, where some books are stored in rotating treadmills, perfect for running and sliding across like a musical for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Galinda’s song about giving Elphaba a makeover is made extra wondrous with her many contraptions of dresses and makeup, sprawling out across her dorm room as much as Grande cavorts and kicks. When the two leads arrive in the Emerald City, there’s enormous enthusiasm, living up to all the hype the women hold for the vibrant citadel. So when discrimination and political corruption befoul this world, there’s suspense, even when knowing full well that this narrative is careening towards the battleines of munchkins and flying monkeys.

Perhaps this musical took its time by adapting half the story, but the thematic core rarely gets corrupted. The societal aspects of Elphaba being mocked for her green skin and talking animals being rounded up for language deprogramming always feel like an ever-present danger. It’s hard not to feel a topical sting for how easily society caves to the corrupt, and scapegoats are favored over acceptance or change. Such heavy topics are given a bittersweet balance of musical vigor, where Galinda’s goofy level of pep and Elphaba’s hopeful optimism are enough to warrant cheers for their spirit (which, I must report, was a rare moment I witnessed in the theater).

While the focus on the central relationship and politics is firm, not all the components are firing strong in this fantasy. Consider the casting of Jeff Goldblum as Oz, who is an okay choice for a villain but not exactly a musical villain. He strolls through his role, giving what audiences have come to expect from the stammering actor and offering little diversion from his usual charisma. Jonathan Bailey is a bit of a bore as the love interest that is adored by Galinda for his looks and admired by Elphaba for his inexplicable compassion for political causes. By his final scene in the film, he feels almost adrift with his placement. I haven’t even mentioned the relationship between Elphaba’s paraplegic younger, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), and the eager-to-please munchkin Boq Woodsman (Ethan Slater). They just get lost in the shuffle where all they can do is sing and dance through their roles of the bitterness that forms from their shared frustrations of being pitied.

Wicked works its wonders well enough to be a bombastic musical with something more to say beyond its high notes. Despite an effects-heavy ending that feels like a rebellion in Oz and more like a superhero origin, there are plenty of delightful songs and highly choreographed dance numbers to appease the eyes and ears. The story also remains a high point where the thirst for wild musical numbers rarely results in a distracting tonal shift. I would later learn that this film is not just based on a musical, but that the musical is based on a book. While I’m sure some elements were lost in this theatrical translation, there does seem to be a strong message that is as loud as the singing and too prominent to be downplayed. Maybe it’s the timing of this film arriving at a moment where fascistic ideology seems to be on the rise, but this revisionist fantasy was an operatic dose of catharsis and joy that was dazzling to behold, warts and all.