“Wicked,” the movie based on one of Broadway’s most beloved and longest running musicals is finally out.
Currently, the show is on its 21st year and continues to run at the Gershwin Theater where it opened the night before Halloween 2003.
It is loosely based on Gregory Maguire’s best-selling novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” This novel offers a different, in depth back story for some of the key characters in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 classic “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Wicked” focuses on the friendship between the “witch” Elphaba who happens to be green and wears black dresses and her signature black hat, and Glinda who wears outfits in various shades of pink and sometimes might have a tiara (on Broadway, she also has a baby blue outfit).
If you thought Wednesday Addams and Enid were the OG night and day roommates at Nevermore Academy, Elphie and Glinda got there ahead at Shiz University.
Beyond friendship, the story is about belonging, about finding one’s own agency and strength, and defying not just gravity but labels and hollow authority.
Jonathan Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “In the Heights”) has given us an exuberant, colorful and spellbinding stage to screen adaptation that, towards the end, felt like the superhero origin story I didn’t know I needed. Musical films aren’t my thing, but just like Elphaba warming up to Glinda (or Wednesday to Enid, and vice-versa), I found myself enjoying the sets, choreography and the performances of “Wicked” the movie.
Emmy/ Grammy/ Tony award winner and Academy award nominee Cynthia Erivo and Grammy award winner Ariana Grande fit like a glove into their roles as Elphaba and Glinda.
While “Defying Gravity” is the musical’s signature song, I have to say, a lot of creativity, math and alchemy went into putting together Fiyero’s “Dancing Through Life.”
The casting of “Bridgerton’s” Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero was absolutely perfect. And the camera seems to just love him.
Also in the cast are Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard and Peter Dinklage as the voice of Dr. Dillamond, a goat who teaches history.
And yes, it’s the talking animal who teaches history who is under threat of erasure — which makes a bit of a statement about the times we live in.
“Wicked” should appeal to moviegoers who love musicals and who are looking for something magical and festive for the holiday season.
The other local holiday releases are “Moana 2” (out next week) while “Kraven the Hunter,” “Gladiator II,” and “The War of the Rohirrim” are among the Hollywood films that will make it out the gate before the Metro Manila Film Festival.
Alas, the one movie I’ve really been wanting to see this season, Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” with Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgard, Emma Corrin, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp and Aaron Taylor Johnson has no set local release date. This vampire horror film will be out on Christmas Day in the United States — which I’ll take as making some kind of strange statement.
Be the first to comment