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When it comes to Wicked, lets just saymission accomplished.
I had high expectations when I walked into my screening of The Wizard of Oz prequel.
Yes, I very muchamThat Girl, and I wont apologize for it.
Well, we got it.
We were prepared to have our high hopes dashed and were pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong.
But there are plenty of clips showcasing that era of the Wicked.
Its time to embrace the new Shiz class, and this cast has more than earned their tassels.
People may discount Grande because everyone loves to mock pop stars for whatever (sexist) reason.
However, Grande got her start in the musical theater world.
I wrote down two words after her No One Mourns the Wicked inhumanly high note: Damn, girl.
I was one of them.
All of these are valid concerns based solely on this one-minute clip.
But its not the full picture.
As soon as we hear the entire song and watch the accompanying scene, its an instant hit.
Glinda may have a little pop flourish in the Wicked movie, but Grande completely owns it.
Cynthia Erivo is unlimited
Theres no better word to describe Cynthia Erivos vocals than powerhouse.
Elphaba is an incredibly complex character.
Shes strong and fierce, yet deeply empathetic and vulnerable all at once.
Anyone who plays the not-so-wicked witch has to simultaneously portray a number of contradictory personality facets.
Erivo does it seamlessly.
Despite Elphabas cold bravado, a good chunk of the musical focuses on her journey toactuallyaccept and love herself.
Thats the payoff were waiting for and one Erivo delivers on a platter at the end of Defying Gravity.
It just slightly bugged me.
Putting the emerald in Emerald City
Wicked didnt pull any punches in building its world.
Its quite palpable that every decision in this movie was made with attentiveness and love for the source material.
My only aesthetic hangup was the design of the talking Animals.
Naturally, in the stage rendition, the Animals are humanoid because humans play them.Duh.
I did mostly get used to it by the time Dr. Dillamond came onto the screen, though.
If theres a better way to do this kind of thing, we havent found it yet.
Sometimes, trailers dont even want to admit when theres singing and dont tease a single bar.
Wicked doesnt have this problem.
The Wicked movie is a musical through and through, and the soundtrack more than proves it.
Anyone whos seen Wicked on Broadway can tell you that the entire show is 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Thats precisely how long the movie is except this is just Part 1.
It wasnt like that at all.
I have a terrible attention span, and I didnt feel compelled to look at my nonexistent watch once.
The entire movie flows seamlessly and theres a perfect balance of music and dialogue to keep things running smoothly.
I assumed correctly that Part 1 would cut off in the same place as the musicals intermission.
All in all, Wicked defies gravity, and Ill be impatiently waiting for the second half.
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