Back in 1995 I read excellent novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire - it was the best seller that made his name and he even continued with similar type of turnings famous fairy tales upside down ("Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister", "Mirror, Mirror") though nothing ever matched the impact of the first book, which posed a very interesting question: what is the difference between good and the evil - as the "Wicked" suggested, it is really just a point of view. So here we have a character firstly dreamed by L. Frank Baum in his now classic children novel, than again re-framed as the man character of 1995 best seller, than staged for a 2003 Broadway musical and now we have Hollywood movie version that apparently breaks the records of popularity (the day I went to cinema, it was bursting with audience clearly enjoying themselves).
First, let's get on with the elephant in the room - the book upon which the musical and the movie were based in a relatively simple, 500+ pages long novel. Nothing in it suggest that it must be a two-part saga with each part being more than two hours long. The only explanation behind this is a corporate greed and desire to sell more tickets, more merchandise, etc. Why on earth are we accepting this ridiculous length of the movies is another question - in the past, it was possible to watch a perfectly satisfactory movie that would go for an hour and half. Friend suggested that moviegoers should get free blanket and a pillow, but since I always snore first half an hour, this would be disastrous for me - I would snooze as soon as the movie starts. (I caught myself snoring during "Wicked" only once - with my eyes open!) So yes, dear reader, the movie was designed as a two part extravaganza and the second part is scheduled to be released Christmas time next year. With, no doubt, accompanying T-shirts, sunglasses, lip balms and the whole shebang.
It has been long time since I read the novel so to be honest, I remember only the impression - the story was centred around unlucky and green skinned Elphaba and her popular, fashion aware and blonde roommate Glinda & how Elphaba opposes The Wizard of Oz who eventually proclaims that she is a dangerous enemy. The movie obviously had a whole team of people tailoring the script so everything is bigger, louder and more exuberant than I remember - this is not necessarily bad thing because it works perfectly for a musical. The first thing that struck me was how similar to Harry Potter it is - I would even dare to say that Harry Potter, Mean Girls and Glee paved the way for the success of this movie, as it basically combines elements of all three movies - magic school, wizards, spoiled brats, student fraternities, outsiders, etc. Everything looks amazing, there is a lot of dancing, singing, flying and all sorts of tricks not possible to do on the stage - so yes, it is a perfect musical for the modern age. With this, I also mean to describe a impeccable cellophane and not much music beneath it - I know this is a musical but I could not remember one single song from it, as they all blend into some strange combination of sameness. I could see that people are singing and was aware there is a music in the movie, but nothing caught on. Not a single song.
Cynthia Erivo is cast in the main role and she is good - I have already noticed her in "Widows" and "Harriet" (and as a Blue Fairy in "Pinocchio") - she can do things but to be honest, her main task here is to display various shades of sadness and misery - she is green skinned outsider and as such sulks in the background, yearning to belong somewhere - anywhere. Having only Elphaba in the movie would be a bit too morose so fortunately the script adds someone completely different and this is pop starlet Ariana Grande who is actually genuinely brilliant as goody two shoes Glenda - she kicks the heels, waves her hair and is so entertaining and funny in her knowing, exaggerated bimbo-ism that her pinkness and cheerfulness is perfect contrast Elphaba's teenage angst. I suspected deep inside that movie's success also has to do with basic simplicity of the story - two teenage girls sharing the room in a magic school and Glenda helping Elphaba to became popular by giving her make-over and teaching her how to use make up. What is actually much more interesting but its not discussed at all is how Elphaba is ostracised for her steadfast opinions while Glenda stays silent in her conformist role and ends up being proclaimed "Good Witch" - I am genuinely curious will anybody else notice this, because it is clear that Elphaba suffers her fate only because she is standing outside and dares to oppose the authorities. Glenda is good only because she does not stand up to anything, all she wants is her own comfort and safety.
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