Wicked

‘Tis the second year of the “Wicked” Christmas. “For Good” just came on in the coffee shop. That’s how they get you I suppose: make it a two-parter. So much spectacle you can’t fit it all in one film.

I thought I might like Wicked. I love musicals. I’m here for some brain-off glitz and Busby Berkeleyesque choreography and amazing set design and costumes. I tried it on our last airplane ride to the States this summer. I got maybe 20 minutes (and two numbers) in.

I wonder if it’s like The Matrix or Avatar: So big and dumb you can only watch it on the big screen. A marvellous cinematic experience; a mediocre film.

For years I refused to engage with it at all. Oz was such an important part of my childhood – what was this non-canon prequel bullshit?

But I gave it a shot. I read the book not long after it came out. I didn’t like it. Eventually I listened to the show, after it had been on Broadway for a little while. Defying Gravity is a moment, yes, a true 11 o’clock number. But only the least forgettable of a very forgettable score. I moved on.

And now we have the movies. The actors are amazing. The whole thing is a visual feast.

It is not for me.

I am glad, on balance, to have it in the world. Every time a person watches a musical an angel gets their wings.

And maybe it will lead them to “The Wizard of Oz.” And maybe that will lead them to Judy Garland. And the stories I love will be loved by other people, and what is best in the world will never truly die. And we always defeat the bad guys and save the day. No one ever dies and everybody lives happily ever after.¹

¹Lie to Me, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

Recipe: Harissa White Bean Chili. Simple but effective. Improves, as all stews do, with age.