Defying Gravity

A wonderful adaptation (Spoilers)

I’m late to the party, but I’ve finally seen the film adaptation of a musical I love, kind of. It’s just Act One. Anyway, much like the novel and stage show it’s based on, Wicked: Part 1 tells the tale of the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo, Karis Musongole). During the first song, we learn that Elphaba Thropp, the aforementioned witch, was conceived after her mom (Courtney-Mae Briggs) had an affair with a guy with a mysterious green bottle. 

The beau’s face is covered up, but you can tell who it is because his singing is done by someone with a very distinctive voice. Well, so much for that plot twist. I wish I could see this with someone unfamiliar with the show so I can look at their face when they go, “Oh my God, Elphaba’s dad is the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).” And if you think having an affair with a married woman isn’t so wonderful, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Years later, Elphaba ends up getting enrolled at Shiz Academy after demonstrating proficiency with magic. Her magic instructor is Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). Unsurprisingly, the character whose last name rhymes with horrible is not a good person. Of course, Morrible is portrayed a lot less obviously evil than past versions, which makes her showing her true colors at the end much more of a gut punch.

At Shiz, Elphaba ends up being roommates with Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande-Butera), who later becomes Glinda the Good. As the two go from loathing each other to being best friends, one consistency is that their relationship is dripping with homoerotic subtext. Something that doesn’t stop Elphaba and Galinda from falling for the same guy, Fiyero Tigelaar (Jonathan Bailey). Admittedly, he is very dreamy.

Changes

The change in mediums allows for more spectacular special effects, like how Elphaba’s power gets an upgrade. On her first day on campus, she knocks over a stone plaque of the Wizard, revealing that it was covering a crest showing Animals, the talking animal denizens of Oz. That moment is also a bit of symbolism, mixed with foreshadowing, as the Wizard has been steadily stripping the Animals of their rights after making them scapegoats for a past drought.

The fact the Animals are the Jews of Oz is played up a bit more in the film than in the show. In the movie, Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), a talking goat who’s Elphaba’s favorite teacher, performs “Something Bad” while having a private meeting with other Animals to discuss the wrongdoing going on. One of Dillamond’s fellow Animals also says he plans to say goodbye while he still can speak, which is another bit of foreshadowing. 

Another song tweaked from the stage show is “One Short Day,” which is about Elphaba and Galinda’s first day in the Emerald City. It now includes a section where they watch a stage show giving a bit more backstory about Oz, and some of the Emerald City Players look familiar. In this day and age, when it seems like you know everything about a movie before you even see it, I have no idea how they managed to keep that a secret.

The Performers

Erivo was great as the leading lady. Besides her acting ability, she has an amazing voice, which I already knew from Bad Times at the El Royale. That was my favorite movie of 2018. If you haven’t already and want to see more of Erivo (spoilers), I’d recommend watching that. However, if you found The Cabin in the Woods, which is by the same writer and director, pretentious and smug, you’re probably going to think the same thing about Bad Times.

Going back to Wicked, Grande did an excellent job as Galinda. She also has a nice voice, with the worst thing you can say about it is that it’s more pop than Broadway. Bailey was also an excellent casting choice because he was so charming and could sing. And “Dancing Through Life,” Fiyero’s big number, isn’t even one of my favorite songs.

And here’s a fun fact. For the first time , Elphaba’s paraplegic sister Nessarose is played by not one but two wheelchair users—Marissa Bode as an adult and Cesily Collette Taylor as a child. The latter is only in the film for a single scene but is a highlight because she’s so adorable. Bode also performs well for her film debut,  though she isn’t given the best opportunity to show her singing ability.

The Big Picture

I can already tell you that the second Wicked movie will be worse than the first because Act Two of the stage show is not as good as Act One. Case in point, this half has “Popular” and “Defying Gravity,” the two most famous songs. Of course, the second movie will have “For Good,” my favorite song. And I must not be alone because they’ve retitled the second film Wicked: For Good.

Wicked: Part 1 (shouldn’t they change that to Wicked: Defying Gravity now?) was frequently accused of looking ugly from the moment the trailer dropped.  I mean, it’s not as colorful as In the Heights, director Jon M. Chu’s previous movie musical, and there are a few scenes with this weird glare in the background, but I thought the hate was overblown.

To reiterate, I liked the acting. I liked the singing for the most part. Some people are better than others. I like the story.  So, what’s my final verdict? Well, here’s the thing. Wicked is one of the longest-running Broadway musicals for a reason. Because of that, I can’t quite tell if this is a good movie musical, like Chicago, or if it’s good because Wicked is good (that got really Maze Runner-y at the end). I guess I’m just going to have to see the second movie to make up my mind.