Welcome to How Gay Is It?Out's review series where, using our state-of-the-art Eggplant Rating System, we determine just how queer some of pop culture's buzziest films and TV shows are! (Editor's note: this post contains spoilers for Universal Pictures' Wicked.)
This year's live-action musical blockbuster, Wicked, is finally here! And somehow, it soars even higher than expectations!
Based on the wildly popular and award-winning Broadway musical, Wicked has finally been made into a motion picture (or rather, two) and the hype could not be higher. Thankfully, for fans of the musical and fans of movies, Wicked is even better than the hype!
Directed by Jon M. Chu, Wicked tells the origin story of the famous Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West from the classic story and film The Wizard of Oz.
After we learn a bit about Elphaba's (Cynthia Erivo) troubled childhood, the film takes us to Shiz University, where Glinda (Ariana Grande) is hoping to study sorcery under the esteemed Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), and Elphaba is just dropping off her sister. However, when Elphaba's magic powers make themselves known, Morrible insists she enrolls in the school and assigs her as Glinda's roommate. The two immediately clash, becoming top rivals at Shiz before Glinda realizes she's pushed Elphaba too far, and still, Elphaba remains true to herself. A deep friendship is born.
Eventually, Elphaba gets the attention of The Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) and is summoned to Emerald City to meet him. Bringing her BFF along for the ride, she uncovers the true secrets of Oz.
From the many trailers and clips, I was already sold on Ariana Grande's Glinda! It's a fun, juicy role that offers a lot of freedom for its actor, and Grande ate it all up!
She's terrific as the spoiled princess who always gets everything she wants – until she meets Elphaba, who's her opposite in every way.
But my true surprise was Cynthia Erivo. She takes the role of Elphaba and makes it her own, taking it to emotional places the role has never seen before. I daresay she's my new favorite Elphaba.
While Grande has been getting a lot of Oscar buzz for her role, I think Erivo deserves it just as much, if not more. She's god-like in the role and an unstoppable force of potential, wishing for a better life. She's everything Elphaba should be and more.
The rest of the cast is also delightful, with Jonathan Bailey as the most handsome Fiyero of all time, Jeff Goldblum as the most Goldblum-y Wizard of all time, and Michelle Yeoh as a perfectly powerful Madame Morrible.
Peter Dinklage, Marissa Bode, Ethan Later, Bronwyn James, and Bowen Yang fill out a terrific supporting cast that truly brings the world of Oz to life.
With all the said, my main complaint is that Wicked doesn't need to be split into two movies. I know the story of Wicked, and I know what's going to happen in part two (which is set for release next fall), but in my opinion, this movie doesn't need a second part. It works perfectly to end where this movie did and then pick up at The Wizard of Oz. But to me, this is a problem with Wicked the stage musical as well, as the second half is definitely weaker than the first.
Now, as Out always asks, how gay is it?
The central story of Wicked is and always has been a love story between its two female leads. That certainly doesn't change here and any Gelphie shippers will have plenty of delicious food to keep themselves fed until part two comes out in 2025. I was also excited about the inclusion of Yang as Pfannee, one of Glinda's "mean girl" friends, and the way Fiyero flirts with both men and women at Shiz University.
For all of that, Wicked gets five out of five stars overall, and three out of five eggplants!
Wicked is in theaters November 22.
