by Victoria Alexander
Sing along at a screening? To what? The songs were forgettable and unremarkable, there was no showstopper, and the “dancing” was horrible. Glinda is a self-centered air-head and Elphaba is a downtrodden Cinderella. I’ll face the worldwide wrath - it was awful. Grande is so skinny her face does not have any flesh to form expressions. Erivo resents the media does not bow to her talent as a major star.
I’m going to forego the history of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Let’s jump right into discussing WICKED. Because the stars - anorexic Ariana Grande and perpetually insulted Cynthia Erivo - are occupying so much global press, talk shows, cover stories and interviews, I was horrified these two showed up in my dreams for three straight nights before I even saw the movie!
How did the studio PR machine manage to do that? I begged them to leave me alone!
“I don’t care you love each other! I don’t care you cry whenever you are together! I don’t care you touch each other with reverence! I don’t care you think we have left the Holocene Epoch for the Wicked Epoch. I hate your press enforced clothes! Ariana, you are so horribly thin you scare toddlers! Cynthia, the subtext of your dagger fingernails announces you are really very angry.”
Grande and Erivo may loudly proclaim their love for one another, but it is Grande who is taking all the column space. Erivo cannot be happy she is sidelined.
Erivo’s hard to conceal indignation is that the media has not acknowledged she has created a cinematic role just as iconic as David Bowman, Travis Bickle, Scarlett O’Hara, Patrick Bateman, and on and on.
WICKED Part One, is an ‘in the beginning’ tale: Before Glinda (Grande) became the Good Witch of Oz-land, she was frivolous and disinterested in everyone but herself. No one looked like her. She lived outside the reality of the Oz community. Early Elphaba (Erivo) was so desperate to be loved by anyone that all she could do is widen her eyes and fake childlike naivety.
No star will accept a villainous role unless there is a good reason and the star of WICKED becomes the ultra-villainess known as The Wicked Witch of the West. Without a sad backstory, a star will insist on softening the role. The great equalizer is being “misunderstood.”
I still am furious Jeremy Irons turned Humbert Humbert into a weak, silly, fumbling, non-pedophile sad sack hoodwinked by the promiscuous, too-clever Lolita.
Elphaba’s shameful birth made her a pariah in her village. But that is not enough. Her disgraceful birth is written all over her body: she was born with green skin. Rejected by her father and given the role as caregiver to her wheelchair bound sister, Nessarode (Marissa Bode), nevertheless, she is a forgiving and kind girl.
As Nessaeode’s chaperone, Elphaba, finds herself attending her sister’s school, Shiz University, as well. Leaving her sister to care for herself, Elphaba is placed as Glinda’s roommate. Elphaba is introduced to the other students, Bog (Ethan Slater), Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), Pfanee (Bowen Yang) and Shenshen (Bronwyn James).
Glinda is the only beautiful girl at Shiz. Her over-blown confidence makes her irritating. Why are Glinda, Elphaba and the Prince exempt from wearing school uniforms? What is the evil purpose of giving us a second year of the color pink?
I hate Glinda’s pink world and ugly dresses. WICKED fans may sing along while watching the movie, but I doubt they will be wearing Glinda’s dresses.
Elphaba has been hiding her magical powers but when she exposes her talents, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who teaches sorcery at Shiz, decides to mentor her. Impressed with Elphaba’s powers, Madame Morrible arranges for her to go to Emerald City. Elphaba takes Glinda with her on this extraordinary journey to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), who is “out from behind the curtain.” After ‘singing’ and ‘dancing’ with the original Broadway stars (Idina Mendel and Kristen Chenoweth) making an appearance for all the parents of the fans, Part One ends.
As we all know, Part Two will develop the fully-realized characters known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. Let’s hope Part Two ends with Dorothy and her crew skipping down the Yellow Brick Road leaving the WICKED witches behind to squabble over who is the Ultimate Witch of Oz.
“The ALL is Mind; The Universe is Mental.”
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Critic. For a complete list of Victoria Alexander's movie reviews on Rotten Tomatoes go to:
Principal Reviewer for FilmsInReview: filmsinreview.com
Member of Las Vegas Film Critics Society
Personal email: victoria.alexander.lv@gmail.com
“The Alexander UFO Religious Crisis Survey: The
Impact of UFOs and Their Occupants on Religion”
Author: Victoria Alexander
Sponsored by The Bigelow Foundation
Comentarios