"Wicked" Review (Cut Segment)

This is the cut section from my review for <i>Wicked</i>.
See full review ⇛ <a href="https://boxd.it/7QTH7t" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>

<blockquote><i>"You're not being told the whole story!"</i></blockquote>I'm not entirely convinced splitting the play by pre- and post-intermission act was a smart idea, as the first half is the strongest story-wise and features the best of the tracklist, and the marketing for the film has done a poor job in conveying it is only <i>Part 1</i>. I'm also not a big fan of the overall CGI and Elphaba's makeup— personally, I think it should have been a brighter shade of green. And then the casting of both Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo seemed off to me at first— in part because I'm nearly positive every <i>Wicked</i> fan would have preferred and welcomed 50-plus-aged Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth with open arms back to their roles, but more so because I just wasn't familiar enough with either as actresses and neither gave off Billie Burke or Margaret Hamilton vibes from 1939's <i>The Wizard of Oz</i>—  my initial basis for the characters (remember, I only just watched the play last year).

See, Grande's Nickelodeon exploits were after my time, so I only knew her through her pop music— which is very not-Glinda-y. And for Erivo, I only knew about her <i>Harriet</i> role and her <a href="https://atlantablackstar.com/2024/11/18/wicked-cynthia-erivo-anti-black-resurface-ariana-grande/" rel="nofollow">controversial tweets</a>— the latter of which is very not-Elphaba-y. As time went on and footage was revealed, I slowly was coming around on Grande and Erivo... until Erivo showcased her privilege by <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GaBBggrWAAAjCd4?format=jpg&name=medium" rel="nofollow">overreacting to a fan poster </a>, calling it "the wildest, most offensive thing" she has seen because they put a shadow over her eyes to make the poster look closer to the original Broadway poster. Yikes. There's a lot to say about this, from the fact that shrouding eyes in darkness is still artistic communication to the Photoshop edit (no AI) being an innocent expression of fandom that had nothing to do with race or even Cynthia Erivo as a person to the fact that if that is the most offensive thing you have ever seen, you must live a very sheltered or privileged life. I won't drag this on; YouTuber D'Angelo Wallace has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScuO2p4pnMk" rel="nofollow">a great video</a> that covers this, but sufficed to say Erivo wasn't doing much to make me excited about the film.

I have seen some controversy over the audio mix that I understand and hear, but frankly, think the criticism is a bit too harsh— like this take from stage performer and digital creator <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DCxXM10A7Ft/" rel="nofollow">Gideon McManus</a>. Like the 2012 adaptation of <i>Les Misérables</i>, director Jon M. Chu chose to feature <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/wicked-ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-live-vocals-1235948690/" rel="nofollow">live vocals</a> over pre-recorded studio vocals actors would lip-synch over, but unlike <i>Les Mis</i>, the choice doesn't enhance the final product. With <i>Les Misérables</i>, it helped the film feel raw and as real as it could be for being a musical— especially since there practically wasn't any straight dialogue, given everyone sang dialogue scenes with a tune, so if there were any imperfections (I'm looking at you Russell Crowe) it felt authentic. Sacha Baron Cohen expands on this creative choice in an <a href="https://youtu.be/a8d-Xj2V4Zg?si=dBMamymDYHSTAw__&t=776" rel="nofollow">interview</a> with Vanity Fair, noting that he wishes the director went with the studio version since he was sick during the live version. <i>Wicked</i> doesn't do that; actually, I would argue that they should have opted for studio performances because the whole point of Oz is for it to be magical and otherworldly. So because they opted for live vocals and still had many scenes primarily filled with traditional spoken dialogue, the audio mix got a little lost in the sauce trying to enhance the vocals for them to stand out and be as magical as they needed to be. This leads to an unfortunate autotune that is present throughout nearly every song; however, it's honestly not that noticeable. Really, the only thing this means, in my eyes, is that <i>Wicked</i> shouldn't be nominated for Best Sound. Otherwise, it has virtually no negative or positive effect on the film unless natural pitch-perfect audio is your preference. The stage recordings of the songs are 100% the best versions of these songs, but that shouldn't take away from those sung here because they are still wonderful to listen to— at least, in context within the film.

Arguably, however, the most dangerous and ill-advised way to walk into a movie is with preconceived notions that have little or nothing to do with the actual film. The art of a film is the film itself and can only be honestly judged over the course of its presented runtime. So, while it's true I still have some reservations after viewing it, such as with the pacing, a lot of my main concerns have, to an extent, faded: the film's beautiful 30s/40s-inspired title design includes <i>Part 1</i> to prepare the audience, the CGI was only slightly jarring and was mostly used during the third act, Elphaba's greenness was seemingly amplified when she got angry— especially after learning the Wizard's first big secret, and then, as I'll get into, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo freaking killed it in their roles.

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