I am the perfect person to review “Wicked: For Good” because “Wicked” quite literally changed my life. The summer before seventh-grade, “Wicked”, the musical, came to the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, and my parents took me. This became a core memory for me. Since I am the kind of person who cannot love something a normal amount, I became obsessed. I listened to that soundtrack for seven months straight. From June to December, all I heard was “Wicked”. I made my friends watch illegal recordings of it with me at sleepovers, and I had my parents take me to see Idina Menzel, the original Elphaba, in concert. I loved “Wicked”. Then high school came, and I wanted to wash myself of that lame “Wicked”-obsessed theater kid and stopped consuming all “Wicked” media entirely.
However, “Wicked’s” grasp was too strong for me to separate from it fully. Last year, I saw Wicked Part 1 with my friends, and as the first note of the movie played, I started crying. I was that little seventh-grader all over again. “Wicked Part 1” perfectly captured the essence and fun of Act 1 while still expanding the story further. I loved it and couldn’t wait for part 2 because it features one of my favorite songs of all time.
The song “For Good” has a special place in my heart. My high school choir and worship teacher, Matt Gaines, would have us sing that song at graduation every year. Then, when he passed away a few years ago, they brought the choir back to sing “For Good” at his funeral. That song has been so special for all of his students. So when it was announced that part 2 would be titled “Wicked: For Good”, I knew I was in for an emotional rollercoaster, and I was right!
I bought opening-night tickets for my mom and me as soon as I could. She got us matching pink-and-green pajamas and got me the AMC Glinda cup. I was fully prepared for this movie, and it did not disappoint.
The music was beautiful, as expected, and the acting was phenomenal. I was blown away by the costume design and special effects, given that director John M. Chu chose to use only a small amount of CGI. I had been concerned by the new songs, but Cynthia Erivo’s “No Place Like Home,” was beautiful and gut-wrenching. I appreciated them adding it because I felt like a big thing we don’t get to see in the stage adaptation is how Elphaba is fighting the Wizard and trying to help the animals, but this movie gave us that, and I loved it. As someone who preferred Act 2, I thought they did it justice, making it feel like a well-rounded story.
Now I understand that I am biased and perhaps blinded by nostalgia. I tried to find things that I did not like. I did feel like Glinda’s new song “Girl in the Bubble” left a lot to be desired. I feel like if you have the unique opportunity to write a song specifically for Ariana Grande, who is arguably one of the most talented living vocalists today, and you only give her a song that hardly showcases her voice at all, that is a miss. I also wish there could have been more Bowen Yang. I know he was a minor character, but he is just a delight and steals every scene he’s in. I feel like they could have given him a little bit more.
Given the positives and negatives, I can understand that many people who don’t like musicals will not like this movie. I don’t really get it, but you do you. I will say there is one piece of advice I want to give to those musical haters who have someone special in their life who loves musicals and wants to share the experience of seeing “Wicked: For Good” with you. My dad told me that he did not originally love musicals when he and my mom first got together but kept finding himself at musicals with her. He said that once he realized that musicals were not music being used to tell a story, but rather a story being used to show the music, he started to love musicals. I advise you to see “Wicked: For Good”, not looking for an epic superhero movie but rather for a visually stunning way to hear some of the greatest vocalists perform a musical masterpiece. Maybe then you can, like me, be changed For Good. I am the perfect person to review “Wicked: For Good” because “Wicked” quite literally changed my life. The summer before seventh-grade, “Wicked”, the musical, came to the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, and my parents took me. This became a core memory for me. Since I am the kind of person who cannot love something a normal amount, I became obsessed. I listened to that soundtrack for seven months straight. From June to December, all I heard was “Wicked”. I made my friends watch illegal recordings of it with me at sleepovers, and I had my parents take me to see Idina Menzel, the original Elphaba, in concert. I loved “Wicked”. Then high school came, and I wanted to wash myself of that lame “Wicked”-obsessed theater kid and stopped consuming all “Wicked” media entirely.
However, “Wicked’s” grasp was too strong for me to separate from it fully. Last year, I saw Wicked Part 1 with my friends, and as the first note of the movie played, I started crying. I was that little seventh-grader all over again. “Wicked Part 1” perfectly captured the essence and fun of Act 1 while still expanding the story further. I loved it and couldn’t wait for part 2 because it features one of my favorite songs of all time.
The song “For Good” has a special place in my heart. My high school choir and worship teacher, Matt Gaines, would have us sing that song at graduation every year. Then, when he passed away a few years ago, they brought the choir back to sing “For Good” at his funeral. That song has been so special for all of his students. So when it was announced that part 2 would be titled “Wicked: For Good”, I knew I was in for an emotional rollercoaster, and I was right!
I bought opening-night tickets for my mom and me as soon as I could. She got us matching pink-and-green pajamas and got me the AMC Glinda cup. I was fully prepared for this movie, and it did not disappoint.
The music was beautiful, as expected, and the acting was phenomenal. I was blown away by the costume design and special effects, given that director John M. Chu chose to use only a small amount of CGI. I had been concerned by the new songs, but Cynthia Erivo’s “No Place Like Home,” was beautiful and gut-wrenching. I appreciated them adding it because I felt like a big thing we don’t get to see in the stage adaptation is how Elphaba is fighting the Wizard and trying to help the animals, but this movie gave us that, and I loved it. As someone who preferred Act 2, I thought they did it justice, making it feel like a well-rounded story.
Now I understand that I am biased and perhaps blinded by nostalgia. I tried to find things that I did not like. I did feel like Glinda’s new song “Girl in the Bubble” left a lot to be desired. I feel like if you have the unique opportunity to write a song specifically for Ariana Grande, who is arguably one of the most talented living vocalists today, and you only give her a song that hardly showcases her voice at all, that is a miss. I also wish there could have been more Bowen Yang. I know he was a minor character, but he is just a delight and steals every scene he’s in. I feel like they could have given him a little bit more.
Given the positives and negatives, I can understand that many people who don’t like musicals will not like this movie. I don’t really get it, but you do you. I will say there is one piece of advice I want to give to those musical haters who have someone special in their life who loves musicals and wants to share the experience of seeing “Wicked: For Good” with you. My dad told me that he did not originally love musicals when he and my mom first got together but kept finding himself at musicals with her. He said that once he realized that musicals were not music being used to tell a story, but rather a story being used to show the music, he started to love musicals. I advise you to see “Wicked: For Good”, not looking for an epic superhero movie but rather for a visually stunning way to hear some of the greatest vocalists perform a musical masterpiece. Maybe then you can, like me, be changed For Good.
Public Relations Manager
