“Wicked: For Good”
“Wicked: For Good” (137 min, Rated PG-13 for action/violence, some suggestive material, and thematic elements) 9 out of 10
In terms of film reviewing difficulty, “Wicked: For Good,” the sequel to last year’s “Wicked,” is pretty high because it has so many moving parts and interweaving characters, crisscrossing themes all bundled into a mesmerizing and colorful world of dance and song. The arc of its two lead characters, the antithesis of each other, Glinda the good and Elphaba the not-so-good, both evolve into their familiar roles of the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West in “Wicked: For Good,” which just opened up at theaters on November 21st.
With that “9” rating you see above, you can see how much I liked this film on being able to continue and in some ways enhance the complicated roles that Ariana Grande (Glinda) and Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) play in bringing the story to satisfying closure, both thematically and dramatically. If you didn’t see last year’s film, then you’ll be somewhat lost here. Also, if you aren’t somewhat familiar with the phenomenally successful stage musical fantasy from 2003, you’ll struggle in understanding how and why things end the way they do at the end between the two protagonists.
However, for the uninitiated, it still works magnificently as a piece of great filmmaking that screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox and director Jon M. Chu have cleverly presented in the sequel that, narratively speaking, brings things to a closure to the contrasting arcs between these two women and the importance it plays when Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion arrive…defining the fate that awaits the Wicked Witch of the West. But leading up to that fateful moment, the creators of the stage play, Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, have infused the story with a myriad of colorful characters so vividly portrayed in the imaginary world of Oz.
The emphasis is of course on the bond of friendship that Glinda and Elphaba struggle to understand when factors out of their control separate them involving the soulless carnival huckster Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and the sinister Madame Morrible (former Dean of Sorcery) to turn the land of Oz into an authoritarian state. They are behind banishing animals as well as Munchkins from Oz and using them as slave labor to build the yellow brick road. By demonizing Elphaba, labeling her as the “Wicked Witch of the West,” she has created a scapegoat for her cruel intentions.
But in front of this dastardly scheme is the strained relationship between the two gals whose roles in Oz society are polarizing with Glinda a model of goodness and righteousness, and Elphaba’s a much darker path being born with green skin and the powerful gift of magic. When she is forced to defend herself as a pariah in their world and take up the cause of bringing justice and equality back to the land, it forces a titanic confrontation. This is when Dorothy and her friends arrive with dreadful consequences for Elphaba. Or at least you think. Not in this reimagined version does it.
This and so many other subplots and supporting characters including backstories on the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion, the red ruby slippers, the fate of the Wicked Witch of the East, the farmhouse swirling in the tornado, Prince Fiyero’s unexpected role, and so on down the line, are all integrated into this movie. The film’s biggest challenge is the dramatic shift to darker themes given that Elphaba’s character has become a misunderstood villain, while Glinda’s character becomes a crusader of goodness and encouragement…a role model of hope. It’s that touching compassionate theme of friendship and sisterly affection that binds this film with Grande and Erivo delivering superlative performances complemented with great songs, music and terrific production work.
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