Wicked: For Good. A Review (Review #2075)

WICKED: FOR GOOD

I find that in life, people overcomplicate things. Case in point, Wicked: For Good. This is the sequel to Wicked and a spiritual if not literal prequel to 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Therein perhaps lies the problem. The original Wicked musical has been adored by many. I am not among them. Wicked: For Good did not win me over. In fact, I did literally cover my eyes at some moments.

After she defied the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), the witch Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) thwarts his work at every turn that she can. This means being the Ozian PETA, freeing the animals from doing such work as building the Yellow Brick Road. It also means being in the crosshairs of the Wizard's henchwoman, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh).

Caught in the middle is Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande, billed as Ariana Grande-Butera). She is a willing front for the Wizard and Morrible, using her positive cache to win the various Oz residents to the Wizard's side. However, she also still thinks of Elphaba as her friend. She does not want to her now-frenemy. She also wants to keep her surprise engagement to Winkie Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). The engagement is a surprise to Fiyero, Captain of the Guard sent to track down and capture Elphaba, now dubbed "The Wicked Witch of the West".

He is conflicted, as he has feelings for Elphaba. Are those feelings sexual desire? True love? Sympathy for her plight and cause? Someone who has none of those things is Elphaba's sister Nessarose (Marisa Bode). Now the Governess of Munchkinland, she is not a tyrant. She is, however, that way to Munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater). Nessa wants Boq in every way possible. Boq, however, still has eyes only for Glinda. Nessa has no problem using her political power to go beyond enforcing anti-Oz animals to keep them silent. She goes one step further, imposing restrictions on the Munchkins themselves. Both animals and Munchkins can no longer travel freely, without permission anyway. Nissa's amorous desires for Boq have led her, albeit accidentally, to turn him into the Tin Woodsman. Elphaba did try to control the spell, but it ended up being a disaster for Boq.

The hunt for Elphaba continues as she attempts to fight for the animals. She eventually makes contact with Glinda, who attempts to negotiate between her and the Wizard. Things start looking Wonderful, with The Wizard agreeing to Elphaba's terms for animal liberation. However, we learn that all this is a ruse, with Glinda as a dupe. Things go from bad to worse in Oz.  Elphaba's discovery of an animal dungeon within the Emerald City enrages her to where she frees them on Glinda and Fiyero's wedding ceremony. Glinda gets more bad news when Fiyero turns against them and flees with Elphaba. Devastated and enraged, Glinda suggests using Nissa to get Elphaba. Morrible whips up a cyclone that manages to sweep a house from Kansas into Oz, with poor Nissa having the house fall on her.

Now enters a mysterious young girl desperate to go home. Elphaba and Glinda battle it out. Fortunately for the former, she and Fiyero had a night of passion. Unfortunately for the Winkie prince, he is turned into a Scarecrow. Elphaba already has an enemy in a Cowardly Lion (Coleman Domingo). Now with this Kansas trollop and an enraged Boq, will Elphaba find herself melting? Will Glinda manage to overcome being The Girl in the Bubble to help her friend? Who will end up triumphant in the Battle Sorceress? 

The first Wicked was fine, with some solid production work and a couple of pleasant songs. For full disclosure, Popular and Defying Gravity are the only Wicked songs that I recognize. I think the same can be said about Wicked: For Good, though to a lesser degree. The costumes and set design are still quite strong. They are elaborate and big, befitting the wonderful world that Wicked takes place in.  

In terms of song, I simply would not know which songs are from the stage musical and which were written specifically for Oscar consideration, I mean, for the film. I found that both The Girl in the Bubble and No Place Like Home were written specifically for Wicked: For Good.  I think the former has the stronger chance to win Best Original Song. I do not remember the song at all. I do remember the other song, though not for the right reasons. No Place Like Home is clearly meant to echo dialogue from the 1939 The Wizard of Oz. That, I found tacky enough. 

That it is apparently a song of empowerment about talking animals makes it look almost loony. I was working to suppress chuckles at the sight of Elphaba singing of the importance of home to animals who did not seem all that interested in hearing her. Out of all the musical numbers, the only one that I do recall is Wonderful. I would not say that I thought Wonderful lived up to its name. I also wonder if Wonderful needed to be there just to have a more upbeat number in Wicked: For Good. 

Perhaps the biggest flaw I found in Wonderful was that I never bought the premise. Somehow, I never believed that Elphaba would come close to agreeing to join the Wizard even with his promises at reform. The entire setup felt contrived. That is unfortunate. So is how for myself, I found pretty much all the songs with the possible exception of Wonderful pretty much the same. I could not tell one song from another. I also was growing more irritated by the number of musical numbers. I realize that this is a strange criticism of a musical. However, I think the wall of sound coupled with the similar nature of the songbook made me wonder if I was listening to just one endless song. 

I have a very big problem with Wicked: For Good in terms of plot. If one knows Oz only through the 1939 Wizard of Oz, a lot of Wicked is not going to make any sense. Wicked: For Good appears to want to tie itself to the 1939 film. However, that film's narrative will not allow itself to tie into Wicked: For Good. We got a Tin Woodsman origin story in Wizard of Oz that is sharply different from that of Wicked: For Good. The Wicked Witch of the West is supposed to continually want to set the love of her life on fire? Nissa's demise seemed rather quick, with no buildup.

You also have the issue of the slippers. The Wizard of Oz has them as ruby. In the original book, they were silver. Wicked: For Good tries to have it both ways. When Dorothy leaves Munchkinland, the slippers are silver. When Elphaba goes to Nissa for a surprise visit, she levitates her disabled sister and has her slippers shift color from silver to a red/silver blend. You also have the reasons for the Wicked Witch of the West's desire for the slippers. In The Wizard of Oz, they would grant her great powers. In Wicked: For Good, Elphaba wants them basically for sentimental reasons. 

I never shook the idea that Wicked: For Good wants to both separate and tie into The Wizard of Oz. It is a bit hard when songs and dialogue crib from the 1939 film. We got the aforementioned No Place Like Home song. We also have Madame Morrible say, "These things need to be done delicately" when contemplating attacking Elphaba. This is a direct quote from The Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch, who says that about her plans to remove the ruby slippers from Dorothy by any means necessary.

I think Wicked: For Good pretty much wants its cake and to eat it too. It cannot be both a prequel to The Wizard of Oz and independent of it. For those unfamiliar with the musical and familiar only with the Judy Garland film, Wicked: For Good will be a bit puzzling. 

The film has serviceable acting. When it comes to the singing, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are still able to metaphorically hit the high notes. Credit should be given where credit is due. Jonathan Bailey is also fine when he sings. I cannot say the same when he or anyone else is acting. The worst of the bunch is Michelle Yeoh. She was wildly miscast as Madame Morrible. Not only did she give a bad performance overall, but she also cannot sing. The few times that she was required to try and hit a few notes, Yeoh failed spectacularly as to be cringe-inducing. 

I am at a loss to understand why Ariana Grande is singled out for a likely Best Supporting Actress Oscar win. Is it a good thing that she made Glinda into something of an airhead? I felt for both Bode and Slater. Both were wildly underused as was their subplot. Coleman Domingo was held as a great casting coup as the Cowardly Lion. I do not think that he sang or added much to the overall plot.

I do not understand how director Jon M. Chu continues to be given musicals. I thought In the Heights was poorly constructed. I was not overwhelmed with Wicked. With Wicked: For Good, we got some surprisingly awful moments. The idea of Fiyero and Elphaba being so passionate for and about each other is amusing, but in the wrong way. I was pushing down laughter at their love scene. The performances of Bailey and Erivo were totally unconvincing. They looked slightly uncomfortable, as if they could not believe their characters would do anything like this.

I also go to what I consider a cheat involving Elphaba's end. This might be true to the original musical. However, it strips away from any sense of poignancy when it comes to both her and Glinda's fates. 

Bette Davis in a perhaps apocryphal story was asked to comment about Joan Crawford's death. "When someone dies, you do not say anything bad, only good. Joan Crawford is dead. GOOD!" was allegedly her bitchy reaction to the death of her bitterest foe. I felt something similar when I think of Wicked: For Good. Unlike Davis, however, I will say something good about Wicked: For Good. 

At least the costumes and art direction are nice. 

DECISION: F