This November, Jon M. Chu transported viewers back to Oz for the “thrillifying” conclusion of “Wicked: For Good”. In some ways, it felt like ages since the first film was released this time last year. However, once the first glimpse of the yellow brick road stretched across the screen, it felt like only a clock-tick had passed since Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande last graced the screen as Elphaba and Glinda.
Moments that made us “obsessulated”
While the cast delivered great performances in Part One, almost all of them brought more depth and dimension to their characters in the second film.
Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba were nothing short of perfection. Both women have obviously poured their heart and soul into this project, and it shows through in every note and line.
After the first film, we wondered if Grande would be able to illustrate the emotional journey and significant growth Glinda experiences over the course of the film — let’s just say she delivered. The changes in line delivery, Grande’s subtle changes in expression when speaking to Madame Morrible and The Wizard, all add up to create a clear distinction between the “girl in the bubble” and the Glinda we see at the end of the film.
Erivo is a vocal powerhouse with acting chops to boot. She took the already iconic character of Elphaba with her lovable earnestness, but also put her own spin on it by equipping the witch with unflinching confidence. Erivo performed one of the most memorable musical numbers of the film, “No Good Deed”. Her vocals are flawless, and her panic and desperation to save Fiyero create the tension this part of the film needs.
Marissa Bode transformed Nessa Rose by infusing the character with emotional complexity. She toes the line between making Nessa both cold and cruel, and incredibly desperate for love from Boq, played by Ethan Slater. Bode’s portrayal of genuine terror upon seeing Boq literally chop his way through her office door gave us chills, and her reaction grounded a moment that could become campy or unserious.
If anyone in the cast surprised us, it was Slater with a standout performance as Boq/The Tin Man. The character is drastically different between the two films, with Slater transforming the character from a silly, hopeless romantic to someone miserable and frightening flawlessly. As the Tin Man, Slater is truly terrifying. His Broadway background served him well in this film, allowing him to really shine in “March of the Witch Hunters” with an incredible vocal performance.
Jeff Goldblum’s portrayal of the Wizard is brilliant, pulling out a more hilarious than nefarious side of the film’s central antagonist. Goldblum’s approach to playing the Wizard is simple — most of the time, he appears to just be playing himself. His constant silly commentary brings some much-needed humor to the darker tone of the second film.
The Wizard’s musical number “Wonderful” is extended from the stage version, adding Glinda into the mix as they both try to convince Elphaba to join them as figureheads of the Land of Oz. Adding Grande’s vocals to Goldblum’s and extending the song works great, building upon this key moment from the musical, giving it more depth and making it more entertaining.
Horrendible — just horrendible
While her costumes and hair were fantastic, that’s about the only thing we enjoyed from Michelle Yeoh’s performance as Madam Morrible. Her musical lines sounded heavily autotuned and her speaking lines were delivered with very little emotion. While Madam Morrible is supposed to be heartless and cold, she sounded more bored than cruel most of the time.
“As Long As You’re Mine”, the musical number where Fiyero and Elphaba finally give in to their romantic feelings for one another, was one of the scenes we were most looking forward to, but it left us conflicted.
On the one hand, Erivo and Bailey’s chemistry was fiery and passionate; we just wish it didn’t take them nearly a minute of song to, you know, actually touch each other. Chu explained the distance was intended to create tension and intimacy, in contrast to the stage version where Fiyero and Elphaba sit on a fog-covered stage, staring into each other’s eyes. However, we were left craving the physical and emotional closeness the original musical provides. Still, Erivo and Bailey’s vocals were incredible and we will remember Elphaba and Fiyero floating mid-air as they sing for a very long time.
Stephen Schwartz wrote and composed two original songs for the film that are not in the original musical, and both of them were pretty disappointing. “No Place Like Home”, sung by Erivo, feels gratuitous and flat. Elphaba urges the animals of Oz to stay and fight against the corrupt Ozian authorities instead of escaping to safety. Her argument, however, is weak, singing about how Oz is home, and repeating “There’s no place like home”, over and over again. The whole number felt like a meaningless callback to the original “The Wizard of Oz” film, adding nothing of substance to the story.
The other original song, “The Girl in the Bubble”, sung by Grande as Glinda, feels similarly underdeveloped and unnecessary. Glinda reflects on her role as a public figure, torn between the corruption she is complicit in and her loyalty to Elphaba. The lyrics feel unfinished and obvious, not adding much depth to Glinda’s character. We couldn’t help but feel like the song was a wasted opportunity.
The second act of “Wicked” already lacks the fun, theatrical musical numbers that the first act is full of. It’s a shame Schwartz didn’t take the opportunity to let Grande and Erivo shine in any new, exciting, high-energy songs.
The film, despite some “confusifying” performances and song additions that don’t quite meet the mark, is a “thrillifying” conclusion to one of our favorite movie musical adaptations ever. It closes out the story of the witches of Oz with magic and beauty, a perfectly fitting finish for a tale that has taken generations of audiences somewhere over the rainbow.
