Wicked

⭐9/10

Jess bought tickets to this movie without me knowing, and I really had no interest in it. It's definitely not the type of movie I'm usually into, and I was certainly skeptical... But you know what? It won me over! 

A weird comparison for this movie that I kept thinking about was Across the Spiderverse. It was clearly a passion project for theatre kids, too long at times, and trying too hard at others... But the sheer beauty just overwhelms you by the end and if you aren't moved, you have not the love of art within you. 

The movie is pretty funny. I have not interacted with a single piece of artistic output from Ariana Grande, and kinda forgot that she ever acted, but she is pretty good here. She's funny! I got the sense that she is kinda playing herself but I thought her arc was actually pretty cool. There are some other pretty good performances, like Jonathan Bailey being charming and Jeff Goldblum coming in and stealing the show. Grande's cronies are also good for a few laughs. However, Cynthia Erivo totally makes this movie. I wasn't blown away for by all of it, but there are definitely some moments from her that moved me. 

Oh yeah, did I mention that this is a musical? I only knew 2 songs from this soundtrack, and was mostly underwhelmed by the music otherwise. This movie is nearly THREE HOURS long which is simply too long, and especially during some slow songs I could feel my eyelids getting heavy. But those two songs were certainly bangers, especially the finale, but more on that later. 

Because aside from being a musical, I just thought that this was a very solid movie. I thought the setup was wonderful, understanding instantly that the story we're about to be told will be a gut punch, and that the story of Oz that we all know is a big lie. Really excited for part 2, which I imagine will be an emotional one. 

So I was kinda skeptical at the start and thought I wasn't enjoying it. The movie had a few ups and downs, but from the dance scene between Ariana and the Witch, I knew I liked this movie. However, it was the finale that completely sold me. The final 30 minutes or so were a perfect rush of emotion, of audio/ visual grandeur, of cathartic power realization, all with that famous song as a backdrop. It really did seem like Across the Spiderverse with this super evocative crescendo for an already evocative movie. Really great stuff. 

It's not a perfect movie, but it made a believer out of me.