Ally and Pailey wanted to see it. And I did too. A review of Wicked (2024) starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Not the movie's fault, but. In my theater, I was distracted by a thin brown stain on the screen, bottom center. It looked like projectile vomit, and apparently I'm the only one of my friends who noticed it. I'm not even mad; whenever Ethan Slater was on screen, I too was resisting the urge to projectile vomit.
When the Wizard was reading the Didache Grimmerie, he just said, "Omaha, Omaha." I was hoping he would keep reading and say "Seward." But he never did.
I had a hard time looking through the actresses to see the characters. Cynthia Erivo was convincing, but Ariana Grande is just Ariana Grande. Jeff Goldblum is just Jeff Goldblum. Ethan Slater was a gross nasty man.
Wicked being a "Part One" movie, I think, just gives them good enough excuse to not wrap up plot details. The ending felt like a true ending. It's just when you remember the earlier parts in the movie that it feels incomplete. Ethan Slater's relationship with Nessa never resolves. Fiyero's feelings toward Elphaba and Glinda are hinted at, so the audience can guess where those relationships are going, but we never see it. We never return to Glinda in Munchkinland after the first 10 minutes, which the whole framing of the movie would require. I get that the movie is already long, but is there a reason it has to be this way? I never saw the play.
The songs are great, except "Popular." I was impressed by Cynthia's and especially Ari's vocals, which is crazy because I've been a fan of Ari since 2015.
4/10. The school may be Shiz, but the movie is definitely not.
