Wicked: For Good (2025 | USA | 140 minutes | John M. Chu)
This time last year, Biden was still president, the Seahawks were midway through their first season under Mike McDonald, and, for today’s purpose, the long-awaited first half of the Wicked adaptation was in theaters. I loved it.
Now the second part of the Wicked epic has arrived. It’s called Wicked: For Good. I loved this one too, but let’s unpack it a bit.
Wicked: For Good picks up where Wicked left off. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is fleeing the wrath of the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), whom she angered by calling out his impotence, and she’s being chased by flying monkeys. She isn’t safe anywhere in Oz. Meanwhile, during her exile, the Wizard and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) continue their malevolent schemes and promote Glinda (Ariana Grande) as the “good” counterpart to the “bad” Elphaba. They literally brand her as “Glinda the Good,” plastering the slogan across banners throughout Oz. Still, the feud between Elphaba, the Wizard, and Morrible has left the land in bad decline.
Glinda is conflicted because she knows the truth about Elphaba’s so-called wickedness and understands what the Wizard and Madame Morrible are really up to. At the same time, she enjoys the attention and adoration that come with her fame. She wants to broker a fragile peace between Elphaba and her adversaries. I noted this in my review of the first Wicked movie, but Ariana Grande is underrated as a comedic actor. One thing I thought improved on the first part is that we get to see this conflict within Glinda much more clearly.
What I loved most about the Wicked films is Oz itself. It’s wondrous and, yes, magical. The first film won the 2024 Oscar for Production Design, and I expect it to repeat that success this year.
The plot will be familiar to anyone who has seen the stage musical (as I have, though more than a decade ago), but I still appreciated how Wicked: For Good bridges the stories between Wicked and The Wizard of Oz. We finally meet Dorothy and Toto and learn the origin stories of the ruby slippers, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion. Two influencers sitting behind me at the preview screening actually gasped when they realized who became the Scarecrow.
Part Two carries more subtle and overt darkness, which is likely one reason I found it the stronger of the two Wicked films, even if only by a small margin.
One disappointment for me was Prince Fiyero. Jonathan Bailey, recently named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, is fine in terms of acting, dancing, and singing, but he has little chemistry with Ariana Grande and even less with Cynthia Erivo.
Another issue is that the stronger songs were frontloaded in Part One. I understand that this structure comes from the stage version, but there were no numbers here as memorable as “Defying Gravity” or “Popular.” During the scene where the Wizard performs “Wonderful,” I found myself imagining “Razzle Dazzle” from Chicago instead (my very favorite musical). When the Wizard sings:
“I knew who I was: one of your dime a dozen mediocrities / then suddenly I’m here / Respected, worshipped, even / Just because the folks in Oz needed something to believe in / Does it surprise you I got hooked, all too soon? / What can I say, I got carried away, and not just by balloon,”
“Show ’em the first-rate sorcerer you are / As long as you keep them way off balance, how can they spot you got no talent?”
That feels like minor quibbling when you consider how astonishing and expansive Oz is. It’s truly a work of immense skill and imagination. It would be disappointing if this is the last time we see this version of Oz.
Wicked: For Good leaves the door open for another film by introducing Dorothy and Toto. That isn’t really a spoiler as Gregory Maguire’s Wicked ends where L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz begins.
This is something I don’t think I’ve ever said before (and probably never will again), but the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie is perfect. I hope they reboot it with this cast, this set, and this director.
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Wicked: For Good opens in theaters everywhere on Thursday, November 20. Literally everywhere.