Half a Story (Is Better than None)

Film: Wicked
Format: DVD from Cortland Public Library on basement television.

I knew a little bit about Wicked before I watched it in the sense that I knew the very basics of the story. I haven’t seen the musical (I don’t do a lot of theater), and I haven’t read the book on which it is based but just through osmosis and being alive in a society, you learn a few things. So I was prepared for a lot of what was to come even if I didn’t know the details.

What I knew going in was that this is the story of the Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. I also knew that the witch, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) was given that name specifically by the author of the original book because it would recall the name of the author of the Oz books, L. Frank Baum. I expected this to be a big, blustery, traditional Hollywood musical, which, of course, it is. I am honestly shocked that the controversies surrounding this were about Cynthia Erivo’s reaction to a fan poster and the fact that this ruined the marriages of Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater. I genuinely can’t believe that the reactionary bastards of the American right wing didn’t have an absolute conniption over how utterly “woke” this film is. I mean this in only the most positive way.

It is big and blustery, as expected, and if it weren’t that would be the biggest problem with Wicked. The biggest problem, though, is length. The Broadway show of Wicked is 2:45, including a 15-minute intermission. The film Wicked is 2:40, has no intermission, and is only the first half of the story. Seriously, this is Act One, or just the part that gets us to the intermission of the stage show.

We’re going to start with the death of the Wicked Witch of the West from the original story, as Glinda (Ariana Grande) arrives in Munchkinland to tell everyone the news. They are naturally overjoyed, but also decide to as Glinda a few difficult questions about her past and especially her past relationship with the witch, Elphaba.

What this means is that we’re going to get an origin story. We learn that she was the product of an affair between her mother and a traveling salesmen, and that she was born with intensely green skin, which caused her to be ostracized by her peers and hated by her father, or rather by her mother’s husband (Andy Nyman), who happens to be the governor of Munchkinland. We also learn that Elphaba (played as a child by Karis Musongole) has uncontrollable magic powers. We also learn that she has a sister named Nessarose (Cesily Collette Taylor as an infant and Marissa Bode later), who is in a wheelchair in large part because of complications of the pregnancy, complications that also essentially killed her mother.

The main story picks up when Nessarose is sent to Shiz University. Elphaba is “discovered” as a magic talent by a noted professor, Madam Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). She is summarily enrolled in the college and taken on as Morrible’s sole pupil. This is a shock to Galinda, which is the actual name of Glinda. She, we soon discover, is sort of the less-talented, narcissist version of Elle Woods in that she loves pink, demands a great deal of attention, but is also someone who is pretty terrible. Through a misunderstanding or two, Elphaba and Galinda are forced to room together, and things get spiky.

We also learn that in the merry old land of Oz, animals can talk, or at least some animals can talk. People are up in arms about this, and more and more animals are losing the ability to talk, and fewer and fewer animals are being allowed to talk, something that is becoming evident as teachers like Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage), who is a goat, are the targets of abuse and vandalism. We’re also going to meet Fiyero Tigelaar (Jonathan Bailey), a prince who arrives at Shiz University and becomes the object of affection for both Elphaba and Galinda.

Ultimately, as I said above, I can’t believe that the right didn’t get the vapors over this movie because it is literally about the silencing of minorities and the treatment of people who are different. I can only assume that this is because none of them actually watched it, since it’s based on a Broadway musical and must therefore be filled with the gay. Make no mistake, though. This is a movie about fascism, and while we’re not going to figure out who the fascists are until the end (remember, that’s the middle of the full story), it’s absolutely about demonizing minorities, excluding people who are different and how that dehumanizes all of us.

Wicked is hard not to like. It’s big and loud and showy, which is to be expected from a Hollywood musical, a Broadway musical, and most especially a Hollywood musical based on a Broadway musical. It’s difficult to dislike for what it is, but it’s also difficult for me to love because it is so damned long...but I do want Elphaba's glasses.

Why to watch Wicked: It’s very much a Hollywood musical in all respects.
Why not to watch: It’s as long as the Broadway show, but only half the story.