Review — Wicked (Jon M. Chu, 2024)

Taking place after the events of The Wizard of Oz, Glinda The Good Witch tells the tale of how she was friends with The Wicked Witch of the West back in university. While I fully appreciate this is billed as a "musical", the sheer amount of singing was slightly jarring; on several occasions pulling me out of the story. Cynthia Erivo is sublime; absolute queen of facial expressions. Ariana Grande is amusing as a pastiche of herself but doesn't take it far enough; a little bite in the caricature would have gone a long way. The whole "oh the good witch is actually pretty mean" schtick was so very meh. Not a surprise to anyone who has encountered the concept of a "mean girl" ever in their life (IRL or on the telly). Same for the prejudice plotline; both anti-talking-animal and anti-green-people. It all felt a bit obvious. I'm likely not the target audience though. Like a good Christina Henry novel, the "twist" doesn't invent new personalities but reveals who you always suspected the…

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