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Wicked Reaction! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-03-27 17:00:23
Imported:
2026-06
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Wicked (2024)

Full Reaction You can either stream the Full reaction below using the embedded video player, otherwise you can click the 'Download' button which will take you directly to Google Drive, enabling you to save the video to your computer instead. You must provide your own footage to watch alongside the full reactions.

Comments

TokuBLWhovian

I’ve never seen the broadway show but I know the songs Popular and Defying Gravity due to Glee covering them. When Idina and Kristin made their cameo, I had a smile on my face 😅 The Wizard and I has become my #1 song. Cynthia’s take on the “battle cry” at the end of the film is amazing.

Ryan

First off, I'm pretty sure we all agree the greatest thing about Wicked for all time was the London production who had Queen Elizabeth drop dead just a few hours before their show, so the director had to come out just before it started and say "Look, we all know the next few seconds are going to be insanely awkward to everyone, but if you can get through I promise the show is worth it," followed by a joyous "Good news, she's dead!" One of those times that you thank the universe you were alive to witness it. "It was a very big part of my growing up." Oh don't mind me, I'll just be over in the corner crumbling to dust. I saw the show onstage in my mid-20s, just soon enough to miss Kristin and Idina, and it's one of the greatest of my many Broadway experiences (which also includes Hamilton, for context). I loved it enough to check out the book, and this is one of those cases like The Godfather where that just increases your appreciation for the adaptation, due to being able to turn that piece of shit into an actual good story, let alone something as revered as it's been ever since. And I had serious doubts about the movie, with half the story having the full show's runtime without any new songs, and the splitting it up in the first place. But I ended up adoring it, and a big part of the reason is John M. Chu, as he also showed in In the Heights, is one of the few directors working today who really gets how to stage musical numbers for the screen (keeping in this same franchise, check out The Wiz to see how even one of the greats of all time like Sidney Lumet could have no earthly idea what he was doing when it came to that). Its Oscars for production and costume design were very well deserved and it was wonderful to see you dishing out so much love for them (it probably also could have gotten hair and makeup if it hadn't had the bad luck of being against the tour de force of The Substance). Really, the one part of this I kind of wish you could have seen unspoiled is Jeff Goldblum's casting, just because that would mean his giant face on a rock would come totally out of nowhere, and you still had a great face to that regardless. My ideal casting for the role in past years was Hugh Jackman, but I was very excited to hear about him and he lived up to my hopes. Though without spoilers, I have to note that the second film has a very interesting problem to deal with in someone with such an instantly recognizable voice playing the role, and I look forward to what they do. I have to admit about the only way I was familiar with Ariana before this was through the terrorist attack, but as soon as I saw her face at the effigy coming out, I knew she was up to this. It was also incredible to read about how the show was a favorite in her childhood and she'd always wished she could play Glinda (I assume those dreams didn't include wrecking the marriage of a co-star, but ce la vie). And I was fully confident in Cynthia thanks to seeing her as Aretha Franklin. But the casting news I loved the most was Jonathan Bailey, who showed himself to be one of the 21st century's greatest romantic leads in Bridgerton and this seemed like an ideal follow-up. And Fiyero is actually my least favorite part of the show, with his early scenes painting him as a jock bully before he helps save the lion cub and then he's just a nice guy from then on. So I loved seeing this fixed with a combination of the writing and Bailey's performance. Of course, Michelle was another huge appeal. She honestly can't sing that well, but that's such a small part of the role that I was easily able to move past it. And it's very neat how they bring in the Bearded Lady to shunt all of Madam Morrible's nastier lines into, which means blind viewers will probably be tricked by the casting into thinking she'll be one of the good guys. And when she turns to the camera with all the monkeys behind her, I instantly knew I was witnessing a new entry in the most iconic villain shots in movie history. I got a bit of a laugh at you noting how the tables had turned in this reaction, so soon before the one big surprise the movie has for people who already know the show. This may just be the greatest legacy cameo I've ever seen, lasting exactly the right time and giving us everything we could want. I've seen Kristin Chenoweth live, and it's a completely different experience than on screen, with that voice feeling like it's pushing you back in your seat. Definitely one of my cooler birthday twins. And I have to admit, every time I now see Elphaba derisively say her roommate is blonde, I can't help saying "Okay, Elsa." Oh, and the cameo rather harder to catch is Stephen Schwartz saying "The Wizard will see you now." I needed that pointed out to me long after the fact. The film's rendition of Defying Gravity got knocked quite a bit for interrupting the song's momentum so many times, but I was perfectly fine with it and it was nice that you seemed to be too. Film adaptations ALWAYS do this, and the most you can hope for is it's done in a way that makes use of the new medium to add to the experience. There's been some speculation that the second film could have much bigger alterations to the original than this one, given how less well thought of it typically is by fans. And if nothing else, Marissa Bode being genuinely paraplegic certainly seems like it would require some big changes (speaking of, it was a treat to see all the updates on how to treat disabled people since the time the show was written). I just know that I'm looking forward to it way more than I dared to hope for this one.

Thomas Corp

Obviously, I love the green, Jess, nicely done. And you have the tiara on which now makes me feel even more the fucking asshole with what I’m going to say, which risks crucifixion when I say it. I really don’t like this musical all that much. Now that I’ve said that you can hit me with the tar and feathers all you want. Go ahead, have at it, Jess. This whole show, it’s all good, nothing in it is objectively bad, I’m just left feeling cold by this. Feels like the Siskel and Ebert review of The People Under the Stairs where neither of them strictly speaking gave it the most glowing reviews, but they also freely admitted that it wasn’t their preferred type of horror film. And even then, they both encouraged people to see it, with Roger Ebert giving praise to Wes Craven for, as he described, “creating a distinctive visual world”, and offering praise to the dark humor and social commentary, with Gene Siskel saying that, “if you like this kind of picture, Craven does it as well as you can imagine.” Feels the same here, thinking if one loves this musical, it is in good hands, and you’ll have a good time. You spoke of greatly appreciating the messages and nuance of the presentation of femininity, and I see Ryan’s comments detailing some of the strengths of the musical. I’m not trying to besmirch that in any way, so I won’t attempt to add or try to improve on anything you said, Jess. Think the biggest hurdle for me is that we have this message attached to one of the more iconic villains ever, and they are transformed into a hero, or at least a more noble character so that kids can now root for them and look up to them, and it greatly hampers my enjoyment of the project. Maybe. Who knows? I don’t know. Good cgi update of the retro Universal vanity plate. Twas indeed a shady thing to do having the title being sans part one initially, yes. I can easily see people uninitiated in the theater, seeing the part one and going. “Ok, ok... DISAPPOINTED!! ...Son of a BITCH!!” Surprising no one is that this was a big hit in the movie theaters. And because the film’s release coincided with that of Gladiator II, the internet had one of the more awkward attempts at trying to recreate the Barbenheimer of it all, more specifically, it’s portmanteau buzzword name of #Glicked. Just out of nowhere, I see that pop up left and right. #Glicked this. #Glicked that. Took me three days to figure out that #Glicked had nothing to do with Martin Short. Solid cast. I got my own fucking issues with the casting of Glinda, namely how I can’t see the character past the Ariana Grande of it all. What the fuck ever, and to be fair, she is good in this, and she does have the notes, as you said. Kindly surprised to hear you say that you aren’t that familiar with too many of Ariana Grande’s songs, as, well, I don’t think I could name a single one myself. I also couldn’t tell you what Disney Channel show she was on. She is still completely trapped under the dominant shadow of Kristin Chenoweth. Find that you’re much kinder to Glinda than I as I kept noting when first familiarizing myself with this show, “Glinda’s, uh... Got quite the bold personality.” I know the hardcore Elphaba fans are even worse than I am with the view on Glinda, and they unfairly demonize her for her actions at the end of part one. She and her husband do end up playing host to Sheridan Whiteside for Christmas, in case anyone feels that is appropriate karma. Cynthia Erivo fares better in this regard as they clearly cast with the greater priority of the tremendous acting chops in mind, whilst also considering who can sing the songs. And she too is very good in this. Again, the shadow of Idina Menzel is pretty inescapable. A fact that inadvertently gets drawn attention to when Idina and Kristin have their cameos and demonstrate their pipes. Your reaction to said cameos being a very precious thing by the way. This is also a problem with the Wizard. The original San Francisco production had Robert Morse, and on Broadway, you had Joel Grey, who, well, you saw how fantastic he was in Cabaret. There have been many fantastic actors in the role since, for instance, George Hearn, who is still the best Sweeney Todd ever, or at least my pick for favorite portrayal of that character with his beautiful bass voice. Resultingly, Jeff Goldblum, wonderful though he is, and I knew you’d love his casting, falls under the shadow of Wizards past. And yes, I know it’s unfair to compare. Mind you, this isn’t always the case. Exceptions exist such as Les Misérables with Javert where in stage/live performances you’ve had the great Roger Allam, the fantastic Terrence Mann, and the wonderful Norm Lewis, and you would think all of them could not be topped. Never do you expect going into the 2018 miniseries that David Oyelowo ultimately emerges as the BEST goddamn Javert that anybody’s ever going to see. So, it goes both ways sometimes. Michelle Yeoh emerges reasonably unscathed in this regard as she is amazing, and indeed, Michelle is the best part of this. Calling Madame Morrible “Emily” because she is blunt, as you described, is apt. I lived for it. And you said that she’s evil, but she looks good, yes, yes, she does. Your reactions and love for Dr. Dillamond is very touching, and as you note, he’s played by Peter Dinklage here which is an added bonus. Everybody quite loves Fiyero and Glinda had her eye on him. Somehow, I get the feeling that he’s not quite as outstanding in his field as he likes to think he is, but maybe that’s just me. He also goes about acting like a crazy man just dancing all over people’s books, which is a big strike against a man. Good to see you felt that way as well. Got the chuckle at Glinda being worried that Fiyero is acting distant and moodified, which makes me quip, “That’s just called being a man. We’re stupid that way.” Did enjoy Ethan Slater, seen him live in SpongeBob by the way. Poor Boq is taking a while to realize that he has something of a tin ear to the signal that Glinda’s just not that interested in him. (Makes the fact that they became a couple in real life (the “behind-the-scenes tea”, as you put it) an interesting subtext.)

Thomas Corp

Concerning the music, nice to see you like the loathing song. My one joke at that point was, “I believe, ladies, that the words you’re looking for are “sexual tension”, that’s what you’re feeling. It’s either that or Malaria. But don’t worry, they got shots for everything these days.” The potentially unpopular opinion of what your least favorite song is, ...fair. It was a hell of a moment when I’m Not That Girl got you to cry as you did, when you say that it’s not one you’ve been the fondest of. Nostalgia would factor into it, I’d imagine. They did have the nice showing of it here. All building up to Defying Gravity to end part one as that is the end of act one onstage. A most adored moment of the reaction, seeing you react to that part. That big finish of the song is something. Lukewarm response that I have to this show notwithstanding, that ending to the song is one of the best bits of musical theatre of the twenty first century. Obviously, to avoid spoilers, you can’t talk about some things. Which will undoubtedly be discussed when part two inevitably gets reacted to. First, we do get through at least one other nearly three-hour movie, with another three-hour movie in either this batch, or possibly the next. Did notice that, and sorry about that, Jess. Not particularly looking forward to the inevitable Wicked part two reaction, but for you, I will ultimately see the film, and then your reaction. You have my word. I can’t make any promises about my enjoyment of the film, however, though I look forward to seeing what your favorite number is. And indeed, I am in the minority with this as everyone seems to love Wicked. The Academy seems to agree, given the ten Oscar nominations. The two wins being for the production design and the costumes. Both wins being well deserved. Love that you commented on both, the latter especially. Madame Morrible had very fabulous costumes, especially. Cynthia and Ariana, unsurprisingly, got the nominations though they did not win. I expected that the hardcore Wicked fans would have been more upset by the two ladies losing at the Oscars, and there really hasn’t been too much uproar, at least none that I’ve heard. But then again, they’re likely going to be nominated again next year, so they got another chance to win. Not to mention that the two ladies have never won before, so you can’t be mad at the excuse that they lost for the same reason of the bullshit logic that is Ralph Fiennes losing again because the Academy voters said that they didn’t vote for him because, well, he already won the Oscar for Schindler’s List. This despite the fact that, oh. Wait. Hold on. Give me a second. Let me double check, oh yes, that’s right, NO HE FUCKING DIDN’T, YA GODDAMN MORONS!!! WE’VE BEEN VERY VOCAL ABOUT THIS FOR OVER THIRTY FUCKING YEARS NOW!!! (Sorry, I had to vent about that one for a sec. Likewise, that’s no disrespect to Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive as he is amazing in that.) And the hardcore Wicked fans will undoubtedly be pushing for a best picture win for Wicked Part 2 like how they gave the Return of the King best picture to celebrate the trilogy. Which, this could be possible. Unless, of course, we get the film adaptation of Avenue Q out by this winter. All in all, though I’m not crazy about the musical, a great reaction, Jess. Good to hear you sing throughout. I know you try not to be too loud about it as you don’t want to drown out the film. What you do hear from you: you sound good. There’s a sweetness to your singing voice that’s rather lovely, Jess. Thanks again for the great reaction.

Ryan
>>169233603

I really hope Part 2 has the balls to just have them hook up. We all know they're a couple, and people have been talking about it for more than two decades. Glinda even ends up as a literal Friend of Dorothy. I imagine all the air was sucked up by the outrage over Demi Moore. And since I haven't seen Anora I can't comment much about that, just that Mikey Madison was amazing in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Scream 5, so I love this for her.

Ryan
>>169233592

I was really just confused at anyone being surprised that this was only part one, since that was openly part of the announcement from the very beginning, and for a while it seemed you couldn't go anywhere online without running into "How the hell do they need almost three hours just for half the show?" And this is far from a new thing, as I remember people somehow being surprised that Fellowship of the Ring didn't have a complete story.