‘Wicked’ review: Massive adaptation takes its time to soar

The show “Wicked” doesn’t need a movie adaptation to be relevant — it’s already a cultural phenomenon, even before this first part of a behemoth two-film Hollywood version hits theaters. The beloved Broadway musical is taken from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” a revisionist history of both Frank L. Baum’s 1900 fantasy novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and that book’s iconic 1939 film adaptation. So this new film comes heaped high with a century’s worth of heritage, in the traditions of literature, screen and stage, plus the massive expectations that come with that.

While Dorothy’s tornado twirl into Technicolor is burned into our collective consciousness, so too is the massive note at the end of the musical’s first act, sung by the witch at the plot’s center, Elphaba, in the show’s signature song, “Defying Gravity” (written by Stephen Schwartz, who created all the music and lyrics for the show). Director Jon M. Chu’s oversize movie adaptation takes every second of its 2 hours and 40 minutes to build up to that one note.

The battle cry that emerges from Elphaba (played here by the Tony-winning Cynthia Erivo) is a moment in which the anti-tyrannical ethos of the film snaps into focus with such crystal clarity that it’s breathtaking. It’s just the preceding rising action that feels a bit underwhelming.

“Wicked” seeks to explain to us the Wicked Witch of the West, and the screenplay, which is written by Dana Fox and Winnie Holzman (the latter of whom wrote the show’s book) kicks off when a denizen of Munchkinland dares to ask Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande) in her big, pink bubble, “Is it true you were friends with her?” Cue a flashback — now one film long at least — to their days at Shiz University, where the pair first encountered each other.

Elphaba, brainy but rejected by her emotionally withholding father since birth due to the color of her green skin, finds herself enrolled at Shiz when she follows her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) to school and accidentally unleashes some rough, untrained magical powers, catching the eye of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the school’s headmistress. Elphaba is forced to bunk up with pretty, popular, pink-obsessed Galinda (the first iteration of the Good Witch’s name, though you probably know her by something shorter), and though they are at first at odds, Galinda can’t resist attempting a makeover of her new roomie.

It’s essentially Harry Potter or “High School Musical” with more magic, but not enough movie magic. The script needs to get Elphaba and Galinda to Oz to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and hone Elphaba’s motivation for eventually defying the wizard (and gravity), which is wrapped up in a rushed subplot about talking animals being forced out of a previously integrated society and into cages. Elphaba sings emphatically about wanting to meet the Wizard, but why she cares so much is a bit underbaked. She wants to help the animals because she feels connected with their plight as someone who is also physically different, but that desire doesn’t go beyond surface motivations. What makes Elphaba tick is clear — it’s just not always convincing.

Grande is delightful as Galinda, showing off her comedic gifts (honed in the Nickelodeon trenches) and superb voice. She’s all big brown eyes and a pout, which she puts to marvelous use in her performance as the petulant princess of Shiz, but her character turns are quite flat and the world-building of this school could have been so much sharper and funnier. Bowen Yang of “SNL” does heroic work with a few ad libs and reactions as Galinda’s pal Pfannee, and Jonathan Bailey is terrific as the dashing prince Fiyero, but the setting doesn’t feel well-rounded on-screen.

Chu has done dazzling movie musical work before, most recently with 2021’s “In the Heights,” but despite the elaborate costume and production design, “Wicked” is his least visually imaginative film. The camera is liberated (via CGI) in the song and dance numbers, but everything else is filmed in a basic, boring fashion, the background melting into a dim, unfocused blur behind the actors.

But “Wicked” will delight fans of the stage production as a faithful adaptation that is at once playful but reverent to the iconic “Defying Gravity.” It remains a story of understanding and togetherness despite social power structures that depend on fear and divisiveness.

With another installment on the way, “Wicked” is already too big to fail. But the weight of expectations is a heavy thing to bear and they bog down this capable movie version on its way to liftoff. The film may struggle to take flight, but when it does, it is undeniably moving, with a message of freedom and defiance that resonates now more than ever.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.