Meant to write this on Thanksgiving, but I’ve been sick the past week. Anyway, I can confidently say this was one of the only 5 star movies I’ve ever watched.
For a bit of backstory, my family was originally going to go see Moana 2, but my older sister and I heard some unsavory opinions, so we exchanged our tickets for Wicked.
While we’re HUGE theatre kids and are familiar with Jon M. Chu’s work (In the Heights and Crazy Rich Asians), we’ve never been interested in Wicked, and we don’t have very positive opinions on the leads due to past actions, but we decided to give it a try and THANKFULLY we did.
First, the acting and (LIVE!) singing was phenomenal. This cast has truly mastered the art of microexpressions and emotional dictation. So many moments I almost teared up, only to be too mesmerized to cry. The casting as well was perfect, Cynthia being chosen to play Elphaba added an extra layer of depth I felt hard as a young black woman, and Ariana wasn’t lying when she told us she’d take care of Galinda.
The supporting cast played off of each other and Erivo & Grande-Butera masterfully, everyone’s chemistry with everyone else was chef’s kiss. A special surprise during One Short Day was expected for me thanks to spoilers, but was delightful regardless.
The choice of practical sets was a perfect one, it made the world feel more immersive. I’m still quite young so a good chunk of my childhood has been mostly CGI movies, and while most are pretty good, practical sets and effects add a magic CGI can’t capture.
Costumes were brilliantly thought out for each character and their motives/traits, I wish I could steal Elphaba and Madame Morrible’s whole closets.
Some may tell you the audio mixing on the soundtrack are bad or the color grading in trailers are gray and dull, while I somewhat agree, it’s absolutely not a problem in the theater.
The runtime is no problem for a theatre junkie (or anyone who’s seen Hamilton), but for people not accustomed, I promise it goes by quickly. :)
The bottom line of my review is that this movie is absolutely worth seeing in theaters, renting at home, any possible way to watch you can. 10/10.
P.S, I now have a massive crush on Jeff Goldblum and will be watching Jurassic Park for the first time today.