This week as I thought about what I could possibly write about for Poppington during such a busy week (absolutely same amount of busy as every other week), a trusted advisor of mine asked if I had any thoughts about the Wicked trailer. And in all honesty, I have some choice words. If you haven’t seen, take a look for yourself.
This is the trailer for the first part of the Wicked film, which was in development hell for about 10 years before we even knew this movie would be split. And now we’ve seen with our own eyes that it’s actually happening. For so long I thought it was one of those things that we’d just keep hearing about but would never actually happen, like a possible Kill Bill sequel or the Normani album.
But it’s all happening. Cynthia Erivo will star as Elphaba and Ariana Grande will star as Glinda. Jonathan Bailey’s in the mix, as is America’s favorite sidekick Bowen Yang.
Cynthia Erivo certainly has the vocal chops to play Elphaba and I’m so, so happy for her to get her due. She’s an incredible singer and performer and deserves to be celebrated and seen by audiences everywhere. I do believe the Defying Gravity riff she did at the end of this trailer sounded…bad…but I’m reserving judgment for the rest of the film and I have faith in her vocal prowess. Her Kathy from the Last Five Years is sooo devastating.
As for Mrs. Spongebob nee Davidson, I have absolutely no faith in her. She’s a singer first and Glinda, despite the crazy range, is actually much more of an acting challenge than Elphaba’s role. It is the much meatier part in terms of emotional range. Ariana is best as a bit player. I am doubtful she can pull this off.
And as for the voice, I think she is completely wrong for it. People keep saying she’s the best person for the part because of her voice. I think people are confusing range with vocal quality. She can hit every note that Glinda sings, but she’s not a good stylistic match. Glinda’s vocal part is very influenced by traditional, operatic (coloratura soprano) singing. Think Christine Daae in Phantom. Ariana’s style is very influenced by Mariah Carey. Do you really want the response to “sing for me” to be a whistle tone a la Emotions (1991)?
As for everything else we see…it looks perfectly fine. Apparently there’s no CGI in the film, which is odd because it has the sterile and sad patina of a completely green-screened film to it. But I’m sure in a dark theater on the big screen etc. etc. it will look better.
Then there’s the inherent problem with doing a Wicked movie in two parts. Part two of Wicked mostly sucks. Or at least has pacing problems. But I guess Nessa will finally get her due when we see her…being a mean ruler on screen…and then dying…(spoiler for a movie based on a twenty year old musical based on a thirty year old book).
This movie is mostly doomed because Wicked was not meant to be a movie. Most musicals work better as musicals than movies for a reason. The chemistry of live theater, the suspension of disbelief, the palpable sensation of seeing people do more cardio than you could ever imagine while belting an F above middle C is something that you can replicate on screen. Once it’s been filtered down into the best take of a hundred, voiced over on any imperfect spots, mixed within an inch of its life, shown from every possible angle, and put onto a giant screen in a room full of people who care enough to pay a mere fraction of what the customers of a live theater production pay…it just loses some magic.
I am not hopeful. Frankly, I’m ready for it to be over. Its future is…limited.
That said…I’m sure I’ll be there opening night because I am…say it with me…gay…and I have…say it with me…exactly two hobbies (this newsletter and going to the movies).
Anyway, folks, that’s all I’ve got for you today. If you care to find me, look to the westward sky.