On Nov. 22, “Wicked” was released to theatres to rave reviews and a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is based on the Stage musical by Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz, which is based on Gregory Maguire’s book of the same name. 

The film follows the story of two future witches, Elphaba played by Cynthia Erivo, who is strong with her magic but is an outcast because of her green skin, and Glinda played by Ariana Grande, who’s the popular new student at the fictional Shiz University. After the two get forced to live together, they have to find ways to become friends and make a living together a good experience for each other.

I really liked the film; for years, Hollywood has been producing flop after flop with musical adaptations. For example, the 2024 remake of “Mean Girls.” This movie got everything right and is a perfect adaptation of this story. The writers of the movie didn’t just copy the Broadway musical script; instead, they wrote an amazing part of the story, which is as long as the Broadway production. They made some well-needed adjustments and added to the story instead of just remaking the existing story. 

The casting of this movie is nearly perfect. Leading the movie is Ariana Grande who delivered an amazing performance as Glinda. Grande Performed in 13 The Musical on Broadway back in 2008, and the more musical theatre style of singing fits her voice really well and you can hear her training and skills throughout the film. 

Cynthia Erivo as Elpheba is just as talented as Grande and is a perfect person to play the opposite. Just like Grande, Erivo delivers an amazing vocal performance, hitting the notes perfectly and clearly. Erivos’s stage history is very evident in her voice and it’s obvious why she was cast in this role. Erivo brings so much emotion to the character and by the end of the film, had me genuinely feel bad for the wicked witch. This movie found a way to make the audience feel bad for a character who seemed so lifeless and heartless in the original film.

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero was amazing. He had all the charisma and likeability this character needs. Even when he does some more scummy things, he finds a way to make his choices feel okay. While he doesn’t have the stage experience as some of his co-stars, it’s very obvious why he ended up in this role and really gives a good performance. 

Ethan Slater as Boq was a highlight for me. After seeing videos of him performing in The Spongebob Musical, I instantly knew he was perfect for this role. He has all the awkwardness the character needs while also not making him weird. He portrays the sweet, innocent character so well, and was easily one of my favorite performances of the movie. 

Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard wasn’t my favorite performance in the cast. He still delivered a good performance, but the role was just not the best fit for him. I would’ve preferred someone who could really pull off the deceptiveness and trickery of the wizard and I just didn’t get it from Goldblum. His portrayal of the wizard really just left me wanting more, and I found I wasn’t liking him when I was supposed to, I also found that when he’s revealed as a bad guy I didn’t hate him either. Even if I didn’t know the plot of the story, I think I wouldn’t have found the twist surprising. I wanted him to surprise me by the reveal but you could always see the evil in the wizard even when he wasn’t supposed to be evil. 

As a theater fan, I had really high hopes for this movie. Whenever Hollywood tries to adapt a musical I get nervous that it won’t be good. However, this movie is easily one of the best musical adaptations. Bringing in big name celebrities with the skills to perform the material. Oftentimes, screen adaptations have to change music because they hire actors who can sing and have a big name. This movie brought in real talent.

 The vocal performances in this film are a highlight for me. The fact that all the performers are singing live really gives the film a natural and honest sound instead of the robotic fake sound of other recent movie musicals. In my opinion, this film is really the perfect movie musical and is worth seeing even if you’re not a musical fan.