Wicked For Good (aka, Wicked, Part 2) winds up the story of the two witches, Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande), who involve themselves with the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). Most of the best known songs–“Popular” and “Defying Gravity”–are in Part 1 (you can read my review here) so the music in Part 2 is fairly bland. As Justin Chong of The New Yorker puts it: “Defying brevity, they cleaved the movie into two parts—“Wicked: Part I” and the newly arrived “Wicked: For Good”—effectively doubling the running time to five hours…”
So far, Wicked for Good is getting mixed reviews. Justin Chong writes in “Wicked for Good is Very, Very Bad”: “Why is everything in this movie, for all its lavishly gilded, emerald-studded set design, either too dim or too bright—so blindingly backlit that Oz seems to be under perpetual thermonuclear attack, or so murky that you could scarcely tell a monkey from a Munchkin?”
While all of that is true, the audience Diane and I saw Wicked For Good good with, made up of little girls–many dressed up as Glinda or Elphaba–with their mothers, enjoyed the movie. GRADE: B+
Yeah, as with so many shows, the first half has almost all the best stuff. We’re going to skip this.
Jeff, Part 1 of WICKED is better than Part 2. Part 2 seems more like an afterthought.
I have zero interest, but it’ll probably haul in a fair take from the target audience, mixed reviews or not. At that, do reviews from traditional media even have much impact in these days of dubious online “influencers”?
Fred, Diane and I saw WICKED FOR GOOD at 10:30 A.M. in an AMC Theater full of little kids and their mothers. I’m guessing the WICKED Box Office will be high!
And I suspect that was an audience impervious to traditional media or online influencer reviews, basically much as with STAR WARS fans. Of Course We’ll Go.
Influencers are more important in areas where their is little or no demotic critical advice, I suspect. Clothing comes to mind. Why pay $15 for a fashion magazine when…
I will probably see it more as an event that a movie.
Patti, both parts of WICKED feature spectacular scenery–The Emerald City, flying monkeys, flamboyant outfits, etc.–and the cast is very good. The story sags in Part 2.
I like Erivo’s voice. Maybe not so much with the current repertoire.
Justin Chang is the NEW YORKER guy, George.
Linda and our daughter Kristine saw it today and liked it! I went to the casino and got creamed! Lunch was good, though!
Bob, you were just being wicked at the casino!
Did you and Diane BOTH spend Saturday night watching the new Hallmark holiday movie?