Try Defying Gravity

I remember when I saw Wicked at The Royal Alexandria Theatre. The year was 2005. I was 15 years old, and my mom, aunt and cousins had received tickets. We went to get ice cream afterward, as well as stopped by Carole’s Cheesecake to get soups. I remember seeing a woman feed her dog ice cream she’d purchased, followed by her shoving the rest in her mouth. I almost gagged. But this isn’t about that…

I enjoyed Wicked. The story was great, the songs memorable, and while our substitute for Idina Menzel paled to the genuine article, it was nice seeing the energy she brought. Yet the real testament to its staying power was that, despite not being a theatre nerd, the songs stayed in my consciousness for months, enough that I had a dream where I was in the audience singing the musical off in 2006. It left a big impact, even helping me through a depressive episode following LimeWire deleting my hard drive when I was 16.

Despite eventually moving on to other experiences, Wicked stayed in the back of my mind. When it was announced that it’d be coming to the big screen, I was excited, yet cautious. Modern musicals have been hit-or-miss, often simultaneously, and many haven’t successfully transitioned to film. Nowhere was this more-apparent than Les Misérables, a play I remember watching and enjoying, yet was intensely frustrated by in theatres due to its cinematography and performances. I would’ve left the theatre had my Zaidy not sponsored my ticket. Instead, I sat there and angrily chomped my popcorn, made worse by someone in the audience yelling at me to stop it.

It didn’t help that this movie’s production was trapped in limbo, constantly being rewritten and swapping out directors. It wasn’t until 2023 that we got stills, and the initial trailers didn’t hype anyone up. Complicating matters was behind-the-scenes drama, which practically overshadowed how Jon M. Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights, was directing this movie, one given misleading marketing that glossed over it being a two-parter. Even if it was going to be good, I doubted it’d live up to expectations.

I can now safely put my concerns to rest. It’s great! Easily one of the best this year, rivalling Thelma! It’s not perfect-the colour-grading and CGI are a little rough, and it feels padded-but enough dazzles and surprises that it’s a shame I have to wait another year for the darker, more uncomfortably-aged second-half. I especially like how, despite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo being powerhouse singers, the leads never cancel each other out. Also, as with the theatre version, the reworked songs will probably stick with me for a while.

Was that so hard? I called out the drama and criticized what didn’t work, all while recognizing and praising the movie’s strengths. So why’s it so difficult for some people, mostly online men, to accept that? I know bigotry over anything deemed “woke” can ruin promising storytelling, especially considering The Acolyte debacle, but the notion of something not being geared toward cis, white men being awful by default is exactly why minority representation in entertainment has an upward battle. It doesn’t help that everything’s going to get worse, but I’ll save that frustration…

I don’t understand the drama. Wicked Part 1 ends on a cliffhanger? The play teetered on three hours, but it had an intermission. This movie basically ends at the same point as the first-half of the play: Elphaba’s a fugitive on the run, and Glinda’s decided to work the system from the inside. The two say their goodbyes, and the showstopper “Gravity” has ended with an applause. It might’ve padded itself out to meet the 160-minute runtime, sometimes noticeably, but it added theatrical weight to match its new format. It’s a movie, and it feels like one.

The confusion and anger over this being mis-marketed is understandable, but using that to trash people’s enjoyment isn’t healthy. Was Cynthia Erivo’s reaction to a fan poster harsh? Possibly, though I get why she was upset. Is Ariana Grande a diva? Yes, but she utilizes that former-Nickelodeon child star energy effectively. Even having the flaws of a modern, big-budget production gets cancelled by excellent singing, great dancing and plenty of tangible, practical effects and set-work. It’s a miracle this movie’s so good, since it could’ve fallen flat on its face.

As for how fans “will be annoying”, so? Are you a party pooper too? So much of that’s coming from a beloved musical successfully jumping to the big-screen, respecting its source material along the way. And like The Greatest Showman in 2017, this movie’s coming off the heels of a stressful election cycle, one we’ll probably be feeling for years. Being able to retreat into another musical, one better-received than The Greatest Showman, isn’t a crime. It’s a relief.

I’m unsure what criticizing this movie for existing, even trashing its praise, achieves. Wicked Part 1 might be flawed. It might also only be half of the story. But that doesn’t matter when so much of it works. For the second time within eight years, I get to be inundated by a big-budget musical in theatres. And for the first time within eight years, I get to gush over it too. Because my big-budget musical of 2016, La La Land, didn’t get the long-lasting love I wanted.

While I’m not surprised by the backlash, so many detractors are missing the forest for the trees. We get plenty of “dude-bro” action spectacles each year, some absolute garbage. This is Hollywood throwing a meaty bone to those women who are tired of the excessive testosterone. They deserve some attention too, and shame anyone who dares to chastise that. Basically, touch grass. Or perhaps defy gravity. I’ll see myself out now…