‘Wicked: For Good’ changes audiences for the better

“Wicked,” the first installation of the two-part series released last year, was nothing short of a phenomenon. Wicked-themed dolls, Lego sets, candles, makeup brushes, clothes and jewelry lined the shelves. The movie’s soundtrack debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Everyone adopted the phrase “holding space.” All of this to say, “Wicked: For Good” was always going to have big ruby slippers to fill.

“Wicked: For Good,” directed by Jon M. Chu, was released on Nov. 21, and is ultimately a worthy follow-up to its well-received predecessor. With interesting direction, emotional resonance and great performances, the film has one fatal flaw: in trying to overcome the few pitfalls of its Broadway source material, the movie hinders itself.

“Wicked: For Good” picks up shortly after where the last film left off. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is on the run, and Glinda (Ariana Grande) is courting the favor of the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Audiences see Elphaba as she plots to expose the Wizard and save Emerald City’s animals, while the citizens of Oz cower in fear of Elphaba’s “attacks.” Glinda, deemed “Glinda the Good” by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), speaks to her adoring fans, the Munchkins, and announces her engagement to a surprised Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who still holds a romantic flame for Elphaba. Meanwhile, Nessarose (Marissa Bode) has become the governor of Munchkinland and wishes to keep an uninterested Boq (Ethan Slater) in love with her.

Throughout the movie, Elphaba and Glinda reckon with their personal desires, public perceptions, societal expectations, what it means to be truly “good,” and their relationships to the people they love.

Many film adaptations of musicals fall into the trap of straying from the roots of their source material by narratively distancing themselves from their stage versions. However, “Wicked: For Good” succeeds by retaining its theatricality, especially in the form of visual spectacle. At the same time, the movie consistently affirms its purpose as an adaptation of an already successful story by utilizing the cinematic format to do what simply cannot be done as easily on the stage.

Elaborate sets, ensemble dances and beautiful costumes come together to form the magical world of Oz. A vibrant yellow brick road anchors the setting, and green balloons fly through the sky with propaganda posters hanging off of them. In “Thank Goodness,” confetti cannons go off. In “Wonderful,” Elphaba and Glinda swing through a room of pink and green fairy lights. And as Glinda walks down the aisle at her wedding to Fiyero, a swarm of yellow butterflies rises up around her. These are just a few examples of the showiness the movie readily leans into.

That being said, these theatrics don’t take away from the emotional core of the story, which is really where the movie shines.

“Wicked: For Good” works because the audience cares about these characters, and Chu rightly centers them and their journeys in the narrative.

The supporting cast is generally strong, with Jeff Goldblum’s bumbling, eccentric wizard being a particular highlight. Jonathan Bailey also brings understated complexity to Fiyero, and Ethan Slater gets to show off his musical theater chops in “March of the Witch Hunters.” But the powerhouse performances come from the film’s leading women, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Erivo’s vocals are out-of-this-world, and she gets ample time to showcase them in songs like “No Good Deed” and “As Long As You’re Mine.” Erivo’s acting is on-par with her voice, bringing the well-meaning Elphaba to life.

Grande also excels vocally and brings just as much prowess to her comedic moments as she does to the quiet, heartwrenching ones. The pop singer is almost unrecognizable and truly embodies Glinda throughout the vast emotional arc she undergoes.

Where the actresses deliver their best performances is when they are together. After all, at its core, “Wicked: For Good” is a story about friendship. And while the first installment’s “Defying Gravity” might be a true showstopper, “For Good” is the thesis statement at the heart of the narrative; Erivo and Grande play the bond between their characters with such care and gravity that sniffles were aplenty in the theater after the song’s final note.

Two new songs were written specifically for the movie by the Broadway musical’s original composer, Stephen Schwartz. “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble” aren’t bad by any means, but are somewhat forgettable, and tread the same ground as other songs, rendering them somewhat unnecessary.

Unfortunately, these songs are symptoms of a larger problem: not enough actually happens in this second act. When it comes to the source material, it’s widely agreed upon among fans that Wicked‘s second act is inherently weaker than the first. Where Act One is full of world-building, motivational songs and relationship building, the second act is left to tie together loose ends and cover what the audience already knows from “The Wizard of Oz.”

Chu attempts to flesh out these storylines more by taking the hour-long stage runtime to almost two and a half hours. But as a result, the movie drags and meanders at some points, taking a long time to get through what, when all is said and done, not that much plot.

Overall, “Wicked: For Good” provides a satisfying, well-crafted, enjoyable conclusion to a great story that definitely warrants bringing some tissues.