Because two of my favorite songs are in the second half of the musical, I was really looking forward to part 2 of the Wicked saga, Wicked: For Good. Watching this movie, I realized that I had forgotten how dark Act II really is. It is a major tonal shift from the humorous, upbeat, and colorful Act I, Wicked (2024). That’s not to say Wicked: For Good wasn’t a good movie. I did, however, find myself losing interest a bit throughout, where I was pretty much locked in during the first movie. Some of that might be because the second act is a little clunky, in general, as the writers are forced to integrate the Wizard of Oz aspects into the story they established in Act I. 

In Wicked: For Good, we return a year after “Defying Gravity,” and the friends have fully gone their separate ways. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) has fully embarked on her mission to fight fascism and save the animals. Glinda (Ariana Grande) is now the political face for the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Ms. Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), tasked with keeping the people of Oz smiling. Throughout the movie, the Wizard is trying to either capture Elphaba or get her on his side, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) struggles with his feelings for Elphaba when he is in a relationship with Glinda, Ms. Morrible goes full Hitler, and Dorothy and Toto come to town. While Glinda wrestles with the familiar phrase “What is popular is not always right, what is right is not always popular,” Elphaba embraces her “wickedness” – but does she really? 

Things I liked:

• I liked that director Jon M. Chu chose to carry over the plight of the animals into this movie. It is largely forgotten in Act II of the stage version, even though it is Elphaba’s motivation for turning against the Wizard.
• The musical performances of all of the actors is class, especially Grande in “Thank Goodness,” Bailey and Erivo in “As Long as You’re Mine,” and Erivo in “No Good Deed.”
• With the acting, Yeoh is a standout.
• The integration of the Wizard of Oz elements is well done, especially the visuals foreshadowing the Tinman and Scarecrow. That’s all I’ll say about that so as to avoid spoilers.

Things I didn’t like: 

• Director Chu’s choice to chop up songs and insert dialogue throughout seemed off. I actually felt like the dialogue took precedence over the music in this movie, even with the addition of two songs. 
• The two added songs, though they were both good songs and sung well, felt unnecessary. “Home,” in particular, came off forced. I do appreciate that Stephen Schwartz, the composer and lyricist for Wicked the musical, was the one who wrote those two new songs. 
• The computer-generated images (CGI) – the animals, in particular – were some of the fakest looking CGI I’ve seen. I guess that was kind of a good thing given the way they were treated. You didn’t have to worry about real animals being tortured. 
• The pacing in some parts felt dragged out (“Home,” Glinda’ and Fiyero’s wedding and the night before, and other parts (Nessarose’s heelturn, Elphaba and Fiyero’s relationship) had a sense of being rushed. 
• Toto’s breed change was a disappointment. I’m also positive he was a Brussels Griffon in this movie, rather than the iconic Cairn Terrier, which this dog-lover finds disrespectful. I’m half kidding.

Overall, Wicked: For Good is a good enough movie version of a second act that struggles to stand alone.

As for the performances, I thought the entire cast was great. Grande shines more in comedic roles, and this film really lacked the lightheartedness that she does so well. Erivo’s performance is excellent, especially her show-stopping rendition of “No Good Deed.” What Yeoh lacks in her singing ability, she most certainly makes up for in acting. Her performance as Ms. Morrible is disgustingly evil – her subtle changes in facial expression, her delivery – it’s all stellar. I’ve become a fan of Bailey from these movies, and I hope to see him in more projects. Goldblum skillfully plays the Wizard’s combination of manipulative trickster while also being bumbling and desperate. His display of emotion at the end of the movie was a standout. And Marissa Bode, who plays Nessarose, is an underrated gem. She is largely forgotten among the “bigger” names, but she brought power to her performance.

For my Catholic analysis, I’m going to focus on the song “No Good Deed,” which kind of sums up the whole movie. In this song, Elphaba fully embraces her “wickedness” as she reflects back on the harm her attempts at goodness have caused. From a Catholic perspective, it goes without saying that we should never become disenchanted with doing good or following the Lord. Yet, due to our humanity, it happens. This song brings to mind the parable of the seed scattered on rocky soil. During times of turmoil, we lose faith. Do we only love the Lord when things go the way we want them to? Later, Elphaba sings, “One question haunts and hurts too much, too much to mention/Was I really seeking good or just seeking attention?/Is that all good deeds are when looked at with an ice-cold eye?” This calls our attention to intent. Why do we do the good things we do? Are we doing them out of love and selflessness or because we want people to see how good we are? This false piety is really Glinda’s struggle throughout the movie. She loves the attention associated with being “good,” so much so that she doesn’t want to risk losing it by standing up against wrongdoing. Hers is the exact type of hypocrisy that Jesus preached against. Power and popularity can be tempting, but they can also become corrupting. As followers of Christ, we are called to always be forces “for good.” no matter how hard it may be.