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Bright Leads and a Single Worthy Song Can’t Rescue a Cheap and Shallow Second Act

Act Two of Wicked is weaker than Act One. That is what the musical theatre community made me aware of in anticipation of the second-half of Jon M. Chu’s Wicked movie, which I am now inclined to agree should have just been consolidated as one film the whole time. The split of these movies, which were initially produced together, is quite plainly just a ploy to get a little more out of the brand -and it is neither something that would work nor be considered for any other musical without a familiar intellectual property attached. And though the context of the second act is fairly different, it does need that chemistry with the first. Sondheim pieces like Into the Woods or Sunday in the Park with George have much starker distinctions between their acts, but you would never think of separating them. Hell, this movie closes on a bookend that you have to recall was begun a year ago.
It’s a bad idea also in terms of the quality. Wicked is by no means the only musical to have a second act that doesn’t live up to the first. But the failings of that second act when segregated this way are all the more noticeable. I don’t know that the movie is dramatically worse, but it is much more hollow in terms of its narrative -concerned largely with relationship drama and tying in the established lore of The Wizard of Oz into this dark authoritarian re-imagining of that world -although on that subject much is left to be desired.
Taking place after a minor time jump in which Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now branded the Wicked Witch of the West, is living in isolation while occasionally causing havoc on imperialist projects of the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), including the building of a kingdom-wide road made of yellow bricks. Her former friend Glinda (Ariana Grande) has been herself branded a virtuous spokesperson of the regime -the Good Witch of the North, engaged to marry her captain of the guard, the prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) who in spite of his job to hunt her is in love with Elphaba. And into this status quo a plot is eventually concocted to summon a great storm which will bring with it a certain farmhouse from Kansas.
Despite what appeared to be set up by the end of the prior film, the political authoritarianism and literal witch-hunt enacted by Oz as a contextual state of affairs is dramatically underwhelming. It could only ever be so convincing given conservative studio interests and how ill-fitting Goldblum is as a machiavel dictator. But beyond some spare references to the animal discrimination metaphor that started all this (and which is still deeply problematic), the movie doesn't deal with anything beyond the surface of Oz's regime or reckon responsibly with Glinda's passive complicity in propping it up. But even on the other end of things, Elphaba is not quite so passionate a radical herself, beyond one highly bizarre sequence in which she is nearly tempted back into the Wizard's good graces before discovering more evidence of his misdeeds. Her primary concern and Glinda's alike is instead her feelings for Fiyero.
At almost every turn the political conflicts that might arise from the circumstances of this movie are replaced by romantic ones. The principal is of course the love triangle between Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero. But the worst offender of cheap romantic tension undermining both character and drama is the one that relates to Elphaba's sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and her love interest Boq (Ethan Slater). In order to fit into prescribed canon, the kindly handicapped Nessarose is forced to become in this film a tool of fascism pathologically obsessed with a boy who doesn't love her back -to the point of borderline enslaving his people and destroying his life. It is one of the most condescendingly sexist characterizations I've seen in years. And Elphaba and Glinda breaking over a man (and frankly one as boring as Fiyero, as sexy as Bailey is) also feels rather insulting. The chemistry between Erivo and Grande was a highlight of the previous film, but they get precious little screen-time together here -their only reunion of the second act being to fight over Fiyero -it's mildly amusing but exhausting all the same, especially coming as it does in the wake of real tragedy for Elphaba.
Wicked already comes off as simply broad Wizard of Oz fanfiction, and these most egregious of fanfic romance clichés only bolster that feeling. Add to that an obligation to include twist origin stories for both the Scarecrow and the Tin Man (not to mention Elphaba's parentage at the last minute), that are both overwrought and cheesy as all hell -and the premise has an increasingly hard time justifying itself as more than a gimmick.
Yet it is an ornately produced and expensive gimmick, drenched in elaborate costumes and make-up and grandiose production values -at least for CGI. Fortunately gone is the dull magic school of the first film, though a hollow Munchkin village serves as an occasional substitute. The interiors of the Oz palace or the woods that Elphaba escapes to have slightly more of a theatrical quality in their practicality, even if none of the elements within those settings -the animals in particular- have any vestige of tangibility. Chu's direction is still very mundane, and it is a blessing for him that the movie doesn't include many group musical numbers. There are some slightly more interesting things done with the film's visual character at times, and it appears a touch more vibrant in its colours -but still its technical character isn't anything distinct. There's clearly padding to the narrative here as well, though it is less obvious than in the first film.
The most organic component by far remains the performance of Erivo, who contends with a character both more driven and more restricted in the way she is written here. She still sells Elphaba's convictions and even that longing for a return to what was, as ill-formed as the beat ultimately is. She possesses a gravitas in this role that again far outshines the movie's overall quality, and belts out with fervour mediocre song after mediocre song. Grande too, is still quite good -elevated in this film to a bit more of a co-equal protagonist role that the script utterly fumbles with in regards to the relationship between her ignorance and willful propagandizing, her romantic feelings for Fiyero and her moral conflict in her affections towards Elphaba. Regardless of the quality of the dramatic weight she bears, Grande proves a keen ability to balance Glinda's ditziness with earnestness -her heart is on her sleeve the whole performance -same as Erivo- and that makes a difference.
Chu is aware that he's not working with many heavy-hitters in terms of songs on this movie, thus why motifs of the likes of "Popular" and "Defying Gravity" make appearances where they can. Erivo and Grande sing well their parts, but the numbers themselves are not very interesting or memorable, made less so by some at times awkward choreography (especially for Elphaba and Fiyero's duet "As Long as You're Mine"). Two new songs are written in in the hopes of Oscar qualification -Elphaba's is simply a re-litigation of old themes while Glinda's is clearly there to pad out time ahead of the showstopping ballad. But it is that number that is the notable exception, the film hinging its bets so much on it that it was added to the title.  Thankfully, "For Good" does live up to its importance. It's not quite as lyrically strong as "Defying Gravity" though it is much better staged, and giving equal weight to Erivo and Grande, they both pour all their passions into it. It is a beautiful, emotionally powerful performance, visually as much as lyrically -bathed in nice high-contrast lighting not found anywhere else and it is a perfect beat to end on.
Unfortunately, the movie carries on for a little after this -to get in a couple last minute fan service tie-ins to the original story and to include a predictable yet still disappointing fate for Elphaba. The sense of obligation overriding all of these is palpable. By the choice to split up this musical adaptation, most of the weaker tenets of Wicked's very concept are consolidated here -certainly its' storytelling is much more baffling and frenetically paced than the previous film, its seeming thematic integrity diminished in favour of petty drama. The performances of Erivo and Grande still soften some of its ills, but they and one superb musical sequence aren't capable of being the glue alone. Wicked is ultimately shown in both parts to be a very flawed and often creatively shallow musical, with a few singular beats of richness and resonance, but not up to the audacity of its pretense.

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