Wicked for Good
Currently Only in Theaters
Runtime: 2 hours and 17 Minutes
Rated PG
The story continues about five years later, as a mysterious house crash-lands and a girl from Kansas is sent on a mission by the great and powerful Oz. However, you don’t know the whole story. A good witch, a wicked witch of the west, a fraud, and a flying bubble car all complete the true story of what happened in Oz.
Themes:
Wickedness, defamation, fraud, perception vs. reality, happiness, deception, government, rumors, choice, prejudice, memories, love, loss, selfishness, freedom, change, no good deed goes unpunished, family, betrayal, friendship, growth due to knowing someone, fear, misinformation, protecting the weak, standing up for what is right, and sacrifice.
Language:
Minor name-calling and bullying. The word “shiz,” like the school, is used in place of sh-t.
Oz is used several times in the place of God. For example, it is said, “Thank, Oz.”
Stuff to be aware of:
Sexual - A male and female character embrace. The female removes her outer clothes down to a tank top and then puts on a sweater-like robe. The male removes his suspenders. After a song, the two characters end up on what looks like a bed. There they kiss while he takes the robe her robe off. They continue to kiss, and the camera pans upward. Later, the two are seen under covers. The man is bare-chested and the woman seems to be shirtless, but only her shoulder is seen.
There is a flashback of the scene from the first movie where a woman is being seduced and given a green bottle to drink out of.
Scary - The flying monkeys return. Some of the animals and fighting could be scary.
Violence - Soldiers are seen whipping and being mean to animals. They are attacked by a witch on a broom.
There are several scenes with people held at gunpoint. Two characters get in a brief fist fight. A man is captured and hit several times. After he is beaten up he is tied to a pole and suspended from the ground. None of the scenes described are very graphic.
Other - A character drinks what seems to be alcohol out of a little bottle.
Overall: “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”
Like the second part of the Broadway show, Wicked for Good has a jarring tonal shift. We go from a whimsical meet and greet, introduction of the world as we haven’t known it, and fun, fanciful music numbers. This change must take place to continue the story, but it has to be done in a way that doesn’t undermine the first act. The movie mostly does this, with small laughs here and there and excellent acting.
The biggest complaint I have about this one is that some of the scenes have too much light in the background, which causes the foreground (where the audience is supposed to be looking) to be too dark. This happens a few too many times, or maybe my eyes are just getting old. I will let you decide. Mostly, the music numbers all come together, and the story is wrapped up neatly by the end, but a few choices left me scratching my head.
One example of this is during the song As Long as You’re Mine. During the song, Elphaba sings, “kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight” and “lying beside you…” but she and Fiyero are nowhere near each other. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am glad it is mostly kept PG-rated, but that seemed odd. There are also several scenes that I felt needed a little extra dialogue. I found myself asking, “Where did that character come from?” and “Why does this person feel this way?”
None of my gripes made me dislike it. Everything felt like a good way to wrap everything up, and the visuals still are beautiful, if not overly CGI. I isn’t perfect and seeing the Broadway show will always be better, but this was a great rendition of trying to turn the theater production into a movie.
You can "rejoicify,” the movie is not "horrendible". I enjoyed it and may have almost even shed a tear or two, but don’t go in expecting all the good feels like in the first movie.