Wicked: For Good

So I watched the movie on Saturday night. Before and after I saw the movie I heard alot of other people’s opinions on this movie. Some I agree with, some I do not. So let me add my two cents here after hearing the voices of others and watching the movie myself.

 First of all, did I like the movie? Yes. Did I like it as much as the first one? No. But that was not the fault of the stars: Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Ariana Grande (Glinda), Jonathan Bailey (Fiero). They all put forth outstanding jobs as they dance in a tricky love triangle. 

Glinda and Fiero are a match made in heaven at the beginning of the movie (they couldn’t be happier)  or at least that’s what Glinda believes until Fiero leaves her for Elphaba thereby making himself a fugitive. Some people were bored by the love triangle but I thought the acting was very raw. There is a scene where they are dragging Fiero off (now branded as a traitor) and even though he has betrayed Glinda by running away with Elphaba Glinda is fighting tooth and nail to get to him. To help him. He looks her in the eye and says “I’m sorry, Glinda” It was powerful. Because we can’t help who we fall in love with (or out of love with) or who we never loved in the first place. On that note

I also liked the Nessa (who is Elphaba’s non green sister)- Boq- Glinda love triangle which began in the first movie. Boq is clearly infatuated with Glinda who thinks he’s a dork so she gets him to ask out Nessa as a favor to her. But this traps Boq in a relationship with Nessa and in this movie she won’t let him leave Munchkinland, flying into a fury when he says  he is in love with Glinda not her. This results in him being turned into the TIn Man (spoiler, sorry) with no heart through accidental magic. Nessa blames Elphaba and then karma comes and drops a house on Nessa. 

Some people said the musical numbers were not as strong in the second movie and I agree with that. I mean the first act was just peppered with catchy hits like “Popular” “Defying Gravity” and the most epic”No One Mourns the Wicked”. In the second act there are two songs I actually liked: For Good and No Good Deed. There was applause in the theaters after both of those numbers. In “No Good Deed” is Elphaba trying to spare Fiero. In doing so she turns him into the scarecrow and we presume we have seen the last of him until he marches along with Dorothy, the Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion,

My main complaint about the second movie was sitting through too many lackluster songs and encounters that could have been eliminated. I hated the “Wonderful” song. It just felt remarkably out of place. What were we suddenly in a 1950’s musical comedy? It contrasted a bit too strongly to other parts of the movie- say where Fiero is getting beaten up in the cornfield as he is turning into the scarecrow. That’s not to say the movie didn’t have funny parts. It was comical to watch Grande and Erivo get into a catfight on the yellow brick road over the different paths they both took and yes, about Fiero. But there were holes in the plot. Elphaba is clearly the most powerful character in the movie. Madama Morrible (the Wizard’s head bitch) has powers strong enough to drop a house on someone yet she is afraid of Elphaba’s powers because she knows they rival her own and actually surpass it. There is so much more Elphaba could do to further her cause (exposing the Wizard and helping the animals)  but she really lacks direction to make meaningful change.

Oh and one more thing. This was pointed out by the Nostalgia Critic on Youtube (I believe). At one point Elphaba lifts Fiero up. Later in the movie they are confronted by guardsmen and Elphaba and Fiero are forced to separate. She flies away and he is left to be beaten. Why didn’t she just pick him up there? I get it’s a plot point (he has to be captured) but it’s also a plot hole.

Would I watch it again? Maybe. Only if I could watch both movies and eat alot of snacks. I would like to watch them as one long movie which is how Broadway did it and encountered less of these problems. But again the singing was beautiful, the acting was great and my cinephile boyfriend was impressed by the cinematography. What more could you want?