RECENTLY VIEWED: WICKED

My daughter loves the music of Wicked. Because I talked her into going to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice so to repay her I said I would go see Wicked with her. No offense but I feel that Ariana Grande is annoying and not htat great of an actress, but Wicked changed that for it! The movie was absoluting amazing and one of the best movies I have seen in years! Wicked (titled onscreen as Wicked: Part I) is a 2024 American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, loosely based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire; which in turn is based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and its 1939 film adaptation. The film covers the musical's first act and stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp and Ariana Grande-Butera as Galinda Upland. Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum feature in supporting roles.

Set in the Land of Oz, largely before Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, it follows the story of Elphaba beginning her path to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West, and her unlikely friendship with her classmate Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good.

Universal Pictures and Marc Platt, who both produced the stage musical, announced the film adaptation in 2012. After a long development and multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chu was hired to direct, with Erivo and Grande cast in 2021. The film was split in two to avoid cutting plot points and to expand the journeys and relationships between the characters. Principal photography on both films began in December 2022 in England, but was disrupted in July 2023 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and concluded in January 2024.

Wicked premiered at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on November 3, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 22. It received praise for its performances (particularly for Erivo, Grande, and Bailey), direction, humor, musical sequences and faithfulness to the source material, although its runtime and cinematography were met with some criticism. It has grossed $164.2 million in its opening weekend against a $150 million budget. Wicked Part Two will be released on November 21, 2025.

The movie was just amazing. My daughter knows the whole score, but it was new to me. Ariana and Cynthia were unbelievable in their roles, and I can not say enough about the film. The run time is over 2 hours and 30 minutes, but the time flew by like it was 30 minutes. I could go on and on, but do yourself a favor and go see this movie. You will get lost in the land of Oz!

MY RATING: 10 out of 10