Wicked: For Good

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★1/2

Rated: PG

Directed by: Jon M. Chu

Screenplay Written by: Winnie Holzman and Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox

Based on the Musical Stage Play: with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, from the novel by Gregory Maguire

Produced by: Marc Platt p.g.a., David Stone

Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, with Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum.

‘There’s no place like home.’

Part II of the Wicked saga (Part I the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time) begins with, Glinda The Good (Ariana Grande), being… good.

That’s what the propaganda spread around Oz by, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) says.  It also says, ‘Beware the Wicked Witch of the West, She Lies.’

It’s a set-up of the classic dynamic of good versus evil, a strategy to coverup the fact the Wizard of Oz is a fraud.

Every time Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) tries to expose the truth, while protecting those now downtrodden, the animals’ voices taken, Madame Morrible manages to make Elphaba look more like an evil witch.

Glinda wants to help her friend, but she also can’t leave the adoration; the people of Oz love her and she’s been tasked to keep up their spirits.

Prince Flyero (Jonathan Bailey) tells Glinda she can’t leave because she, ‘Can’t resist this’, he says as the fan fair continues in, Glinda The Good’s honor.

Returning director, Jon M. Chu says, ‘Wicked: For Good is really what the entire emotional arc of the first film was building toward.

“Because now, the world is wedged between their friendship and that is a much harder mechanism to fight through than just cultural or personality differences. Now there is literal structure and government between them. Deep down, we knew that Wicked: For Good was always going to be the bigger story. The kids we fell in love with in the first film now have to grow up, and they have to make choices that will last a lifetime. This isn’t school anymore.”’

Part II has the same visual pink and green aspect as Part I and feels like the continuation of the story, which makes sense as the two parts were shot simultaneously.  The same sets were used here so there’s a feeling of continuity.

And the story continues to dig deeper into the fairy tale of, The Wizard of Oz, giving backstory to the legend while giving depth to both Elphaba and Glinda.

Wicked: For Good, is a story of friendship and growth, of how Glinda and Elphaba have changed the other, for the better.

And of course, there’s a song about it (For Good).  That I continued to hum on the way home.

I kept thinking how good (ha, ha) it was to see a film about female friendship: confronting, sweet and complicated.

There’s the same exploration of good and bad with insight into the unexpected, like saying, no good deed goes unpunished, and exploration into the motivation for the good deed in the first place.

Having said that, I’m trying to figure out why Part II didn’t hit as hard as Part I because the film is like a twin and I think it’s the crescendo of Elphaba singing, Defying Gravity that left Part I on such a high.  Whereas Part II is more about resolution, with a few funny bits with comments like, ‘My follicles are screaming,’ in explanation of goose bumps.

I didn’t hate Wicked: The Good being a musical.  It’s a musical saga, I get it, there’s going to be singing.  But I didn’t love it either.

I can appreciate the attention to storyline and all the threads and aha moments as the tale of Wicked and beyond are pulled together – it’s a fairytale, musical and drama, all rolled into one.

So, not as good as, Wicked Part I, but overall, an enjoyable watch.