I think pretty much everyone knows the iconic Broadway musical Wicked. And even if you don't personally know the show, you've definitely either heard of it or at least one of the songs (most likely either Popular and/or of course Defying Gravity). So when a film adaptation was announced, I'm sure a lot of people had something to say (good and bad). Obviously the story centers on the friendship of Galinda and Elphaba and the movie is the first act of the musical (with the second half to be released next year).
The reason I wanted this movie to fail was because I don't want to support people I dislike, and I believe I have expressed my issues with the lead actresses several times. Didn't want the movie to crash in like a gloating type of way, but I did want to avoid feeling peer pressured into supporting the movie. With that being said, this movie was gorgeous. I genuinely can not believe they were actually able to successfully adapt this while staying relatively true to the musical itself. Most musical adaptions have to cut some things for different considerations (runtime, money, etc). And that's understandable in my opinion. Now I'm not gonna pretend that I've actually seen the musical, but I sure as Hell know it and I'm impressed by how well they were able to stay true to the musical. I'm not even sure if they cut a single song from the first act. I also feel it was a smart move to cut the movie in half, this movie was already long enough as it is. But for them to actually adapt this without making majors cuts is incredible and I applaud that.
The performances were very good, including Grande and Erivo's. Their chemistry was on point throughout the entire film. I think Grande in my opinion may have been slightly stronger, but I will point out that Erivo made my mom (who also dislikes her) of all people start crying. So that's a good sign.
I mentioned in my Color Purple review how terrible the arrangements were for songs from the original musical. The reason for that was because they tried way too hard to make them their own and standout from the musical. That sure as Hell was NOT the case with this movie. Almost all the songs with exception of Popular (and even that was with a grain of salt) sound exactly like it's original counterpart. With Popular there was an unnecessary key change, but that didn't happen until the very end of the song. I'm relieved they didn't screw up Defying Gravity. Erivo did do a lot of runs that I would understand if some people found annoying. However, she has to make her rendition of the song her own in some way without completely destroying it. So if that means a lot of runs, knock yourself out (just not too much).
By The Way: Prepare for 2 mind-blowing cameos.
So yeah, Wicked was fantastic. I apologize if I sound too catty, that's not my intention. I now have high expectations for the next one. Thanks for reading.
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