Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 3:56:36 GMT
I don't want to yuck anyone's yum on the other thread, so I started this one.
If you are going to be offended that someone doesn't like this, please read a different thread.
I really don't want to be convinced that I am wrong or that it is a great movie and obviously I am an idiot or uncultured or what not for not "getting it".
Granted I am only probably 30 minutes in, but I don't think I am going to make it. It is pretty to look at it and the ladies can sing, but the songs so far are just awful. First off they are exceptionally loud. It seems like they're projecting to the people in the back but I am sitting at home and can hear just fine and if I couldn't I would turn up the volume. The songs are so much louder than the dialogue it's unreal. I would have had to plug my ears in the theater.
And what age is the school supposed to be? I know Ariana Grande is early 30s but she does look like she's 14. The guy she's chatting up right now looks like he's in his late 30s. Frankly all the speaking characters but the 3 main girls look mid to late 30s. Which is really odd compared the background people who look high school age.
Good Lord the man is now singing in the library these songs are really awful.
I mean I love musicals trust me. I love Grease 1 and 2. I love Annie, I love Les Miserables, Chicago, Cabaret. I even liked the Greatest Showman and Moulin Rouge. This is just so meh. I really don't know how much longer I can hang on.
Well this Library song at least wasn't obnoxiously loud.
I have many complaints about inconsequential things too besides just the horrible plot and songs. First why do Glinda and Nessarose not dress like any of the other people in their uniforms? And why is the school named Shizz? And the animal subplot?
Anybody else just find this movie eh if not downright awful?
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Post by chaosisapony on Mar 23, 2025 4:34:26 GMT
I wondered the same thing about Glinda, Nessa Rose, and Ephelba's clothes. Like everyone else at the school has a uniform on but those three? Seemed odd.
Overall I did enjoy the movie, it was cute and had some funny moments. But I agree the songs were too loud and I had a hard time making out the words they were singing so I didn't really catch a lot of them. Like you, I enjoy musicals but the songs in this one just didn't grab me I guess, maybe because I couldn't make out the words very well. Hopefully part two isn't over 2 hours long.
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snyder
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Location: Colorado
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Post by snyder on Mar 23, 2025 5:19:36 GMT
I do not like musicals, so that was the first strike against the movie. Second strike is I can't stand Ariana Grande and so hope she is getting help with her eating disorder.
Prior to the movie being released, the Target commercial advertising it was so freaking loud, I found myself hitting the mute button or changing channels. I said to myself, I will never see that movie.
So before I even seen the movie, it has a huge thumbs down from me.
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Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 5:35:14 GMT
Well, I almost gave up after Popular. The rolling around on the floor and weird camera angles that were trying to hard to be clever did me in. Then they came and kidnapped the goat and brought the lion cub in the cage and I was done.
I hated the book and barely finished it, I pretty much skimmed the second half, and I was told this was different enough that I would like it. It wasn't.
The whole thing was just trying so hard.
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Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 5:39:48 GMT
I do not like musicals, so that was the first strike against the movie. Second strike is I can't stand Ariana Grande and so hope she is getting help with her eating disorder. Prior to the movie being released, the Target commercial advertising it was so freaking loud, I found myself hitting the mute button or changing channels. I said to myself, I will never see that movie. So before I even seen the movie, it has a huge thumbs down from me. I don't think it is appropriate to say you hope she is getting help with her eating disorder when she hasn't shared that she even has one. I really don't know much about her, but she can sing. She was actually really good in this, I just hated everything else but the actresses. |
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
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Post by Gennifer on Mar 23, 2025 5:45:39 GMT
… have you seen the stage version or heard the music, or is this your first experience with it?
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Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 5:55:25 GMT
… have you seen the stage version or heard the music, or is this your first experience with it? This was my first experience of seeing the story. I had tried to read the book back when it first came out, but I have heard some of the music. I saw Hamilton cold and loved it. Just for reference. I know popular opinion is for that one you need to be familiar with the music to enjoy it, but I did not. I had not even heard one piece of music before I saw the play and I loved it immediately. I honestly don't think being familiar with music would have made me enjoy this movie at all. The directing/camera angles were just odd. The choreography was weird. The songs were dumb. Everyone looking their age compared to AG who looks 14 was creepy. At least in Grease they all looked 30. I find the story silly. I think it's just not for me. |
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Post by gar on Mar 23, 2025 9:54:32 GMT
I'm happy to join you - I didn't like it either. I like a musical generally (loved Les Mis, Lion King, Mamma Mia, Hair Spray etc) and I saw it on stage. It was ok but I didn't love it. Oddly Dh was quite keen to see the film so we went but I was just sort of disinterested - it's so over the top. What can I say? 🤷🏼♀️
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Post by Restless Spirit on Mar 23, 2025 12:33:58 GMT
I don't want to yuck anyone's yum on the other thread, so I started this one. If you are going to be offended that someone doesn't like this, please read a different thread. I really don't want to be convinced that I am wrong or that it is a great movie and obviously I am an idiot or uncultured or what not for not "getting it". Granted I am only probably 30 minutes in, but I don't think I am going to make it. It is pretty to look at it and the ladies can sing, but the songs so far are just awful. First off they are exceptionally loud. It seems like they're projecting to the people in the back but I am sitting at home and can hear just fine and if I couldn't I would turn up the volume. The songs are so much louder than the dialogue it's unreal. I would have had to plug my ears in the theater. And what age is the school supposed to be? I know Ariana Grande is early 30s but she does look like she's 14. The guy she's chatting up right now looks like he's in his late 30s. Frankly all the speaking characters but the 3 main girls look mid to late 30s. Which is really odd compared the background people who look high school age. Good Lord the man is now singing in the library these songs are really awful. I mean I love musicals trust me. I love Grease 1 and 2. I love Annie, I love Les Miserables, Chicago, Cabaret. I even liked the Greatest Showman and Moulin Rouge. This is just so meh. I really don't know how much longer I can hang on. Well this Library song at least wasn't obnoxiously loud. I have many complaints about inconsequential things too besides just the horrible plot and songs. First why do Glinda and Nessarose not dress like any of the other people in their uniforms? And why is the school named Shizz? And the animal subplot? Anybody else just find this movie eh if not downright awful? DH and I had this exact same discussion after we watched it! Yes! Wonderful singers. But …. Their ages! I actually went online and looked how old the cast was. I was surprised to find out how far removed they were from school age. I’m not really sure I understand the casting on that decision. But oh well. The costumes felt like they were used as an attempt at a tie in to the book and original story. Very out of place. The over the top CGI and AI made me feel like I was watching a musical version of Avatar. I think the most disappointing part was the songs. I really did not like the songs. I was so surprised. I kept waiting for “the show stopper”. And it never happened. I didn’t find any of the songs all that memorable and all they were was just LOUD. I noticed Peacock had a “sing along” version you could watch. Mama Mia, The Greatest Showman, Grease - yes. This- not so much. The next morning, my DH asked what happened at the end. I’m not sure if he fell asleep or he just really couldn’t remember. Overall it was disappointing. I’ll not watch it again. |
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Post by Merge on Mar 23, 2025 13:14:29 GMT
I mean ... if you watch musical set in a fantasy world expecting realism in sets and costuming, that's kind of on you. Neither musical theater nor the fantasy genre are known for such things.
IDK if the Peacock version has sound issues. I've noticed sound issues in other TV shows in the past, where the music was much louder than the dialogue, but I've been lead to believe that it's something to do with a mismatch between the sound being broadcast and the way my TV interprets it. But I'm far from expert. I can say that I didn't notice the issue you mention when I saw the movie in the theater. I haven't watched it on the small screen.
I agree that the score is not going to be to everyone's taste. A lot of it is very campy. That's just the style of the show. Glinda's style of singing in her high range is very bel canto - the role was created by Kristen Chenoweth, who trained as an operatic soprano - and while I think it fits the grandiose nature of the show and character, I know some people are really turned off by it. I actually loved some of the new musical choices they made with the score in the film version - I had found Dancing Through Life kind of a snoozefest in the stage version, but Jonathan Bailey and his magic charisma doing that snappier version in the film? Yes please.
Anyway, artistic tastes are very personal so of course I'm not offended that others didn't like it.The main target audience, I'd say, is theater kids of a certain age who have a nostalgic connection to the show and its songs. I think of Wicked as "the" show for older millennial theater kids - the cast album they all had memorized. GenX had Les Mis and, to a lesser extent, Miss Saigon, and GenZ has Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton.
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Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 14:31:34 GMT
I don't want to yuck anyone's yum on the other thread, so I started this one. If you are going to be offended that someone doesn't like this, please read a different thread. I really don't want to be convinced that I am wrong or that it is a great movie and obviously I am an idiot or uncultured or what not for not "getting it". Granted I am only probably 30 minutes in, but I don't think I am going to make it. It is pretty to look at it and the ladies can sing, but the songs so far are just awful. First off they are exceptionally loud. It seems like they're projecting to the people in the back but I am sitting at home and can hear just fine and if I couldn't I would turn up the volume. The songs are so much louder than the dialogue it's unreal. I would have had to plug my ears in the theater. And what age is the school supposed to be? I know Ariana Grande is early 30s but she does look like she's 14. The guy she's chatting up right now looks like he's in his late 30s. Frankly all the speaking characters but the 3 main girls look mid to late 30s. Which is really odd compared the background people who look high school age. Good Lord the man is now singing in the library these songs are really awful. I mean I love musicals trust me. I love Grease 1 and 2. I love Annie, I love Les Miserables, Chicago, Cabaret. I even liked the Greatest Showman and Moulin Rouge. This is just so meh. I really don't know how much longer I can hang on. Well this Library song at least wasn't obnoxiously loud. I have many complaints about inconsequential things too besides just the horrible plot and songs. First why do Glinda and Nessarose not dress like any of the other people in their uniforms? And why is the school named Shizz? And the animal subplot? Anybody else just find this movie eh if not downright awful? DH and I had this exact same discussion after we watched it! Yes! Wonderful singers. But …. Their ages! I actually went online and looked how old the cast was. I was surprised to find out how far removed they were from school age. I’m not really sure I understand the casting on that decision. But oh well. The costumes felt like they were used as an attempt at a tie in to the book and original story. Very out of place. The over the top CGI and AI made me feel like I was watching a musical version of Avatar. I think the most disappointing part was the songs. I really did not like the songs. I was so surprised. I kept waiting for “the show stopper”. And it never happened. I didn’t find any of the songs all that memorable and all they were was just LOUD. I noticed Peacock had a “sing along” version you could watch. Mama Mia, The Greatest Showman, Grease - yes. This- not so much. The next morning, my DH asked what happened at the end. I’m not sure if he fell asleep or he just really couldn’t remember. Overall it was disappointing. I’ll not watch it again. Musical Avatar made me laugh out loud. Avatar is another movie I just hate and don't get all the hype about. I thought the costumes were beautiful, I hate pink but loved most of AG's looks. I agree that it was an odd choice to connect to the original source material. Especially since a lot of things don't match the source material anyway. It kind of felt like the costumes were trying to outdo the 1939 movie. The ages were so odd. Especially since AG and really could pass for younger than she is. It was jarring to see the main guy look so old and the red head and then Bowen Yang and his sidekick. Either make them all old or find younger supporting actors. Again, the ladies can sing. I was just disappointed in just about everything else. |
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Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
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Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 14:45:50 GMT
I mean ... if you watch musical set in a fantasy world expecting realism in sets and costuming, that's kind of on you. Neither musical theater nor the fantasy genre are known for such things. IDK if the Peacock version has sound issues. I've noticed sound issues in other TV shows in the past, where the music was much louder than the dialogue, but I've been lead to believe that it's something to do with a mismatch between the sound being broadcast and the way my TV interprets it. But I'm far from expert. I can say that I didn't notice the issue you mention when I saw the movie in the theater. I haven't watched it on the small screen. I agree that the score is not going to be to everyone's taste. A lot of it is very campy. That's just the style of the show. Glinda's style of singing in her high range is very bel canto - the role was created by Kristen Chenoweth, who trained as an operatic soprano - and while I think it fits the grandiose nature of the show and character, I know some people are really turned off by it. I actually loved some of the new musical choices they made with the score in the film version - I had found Dancing Through Life kind of a snoozefest in the stage version, but Jonathan Bailey and his magic charisma doing that snappier version in the film? Yes please. Anyway, artistic tastes are very personal so of course I'm not offended that others didn't like it.The main target audience, I'd say, is theater kids of a certain age who have a nostalgic connection to the show and its songs. I think of Wicked as "the" show for older millennial theater kids - the cast album they all had memorized. GenX had Les Mis and, to a lesser extent, Miss Saigon, and GenZ has Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton. I didn't go to this movie expecting realism. I don't know what makes you think that. I love the original Oz movie. I like the original Oz book. I did not go into this movie. Expecting realism. I did find the age visually discrepancy odd. Ag looks like she's 16 even though she's not. The main man and Bowen Yang and the redhead and all the other characters looking like they're in their mid to late thirties, dancing around and singing with someone who does look like she could be in high school is weird. I mean in Grease everyone looked 30 and it didn't bother me. It would have been weird if Sandy and Danny looked like they were 16 hanging around with a bunch of 30-year-olds. Since they all looked 30 it was fine. I just find it odd for the two girls to look age appropriate and everyone else look old. As I've said several times I thought the singing was fantastic. I didn't mind that it's just the songs were just awful and completely forgettable. Regarding the target audience, maybe I'm not the target audience, but I don't think most of the peas are either based on your description and they all seem to love it. I feel like I'm the age of most of you guys here. Early '50s. I have not seen Miss Saigon but I have seen Evan Hansen. I loved that. I've seen Six ( you didn't mention that one, but it is more current) but I do love that. I love Hamilton. I've seen a fair amount of plays over the past 30-40 years. I can't think of any that I haven't enjoyed except Mamma Mia. I loved the music in that one. I just hated the story. I really don't think it's an age thing. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Mar 23, 2025 14:57:05 GMT
I read the book 20 years ago and I very much enjoyed it. I saw the musical like 12 or 13 years ago and I enjoyed that too. I enjoyed the movie but....I literally left the theater feeling like I was on sensory overload. Granted I don't watch TV and I haven't seen a movie in the theater in so many years I can't remember the last time. But my Chloe was keen to see this so we went.
I felt like I had to hide in a quiet room with a dim lamp for hours afterward. I'm not sure that's a movie failure or just a brain failure.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Mar 23, 2025 15:47:10 GMT
I enjoyed the book. Loved the live stage show. Fell asleep watching this movie. I just could not get into it.
I also didn't make it through Hamilton (on TV) - but might like it better on stage live.
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Post by Zee on Mar 23, 2025 16:18:30 GMT
I usually really don't like musicals, they're so over the top and they literally make me cringe. There are exceptions, like 40s and 50s musicals. Grease, only because I grew up with it. Mamma Mia because it was filmed in Greece and has a great soundtrack. Basically, of it's a film version, it's probably a lot less, uh, Broadway? Camp?
So knowing that's how I feel, I thought I'd probably enjoy this version a lot more than any other. I was right. I read the book, have never seen a stage version. I like Ariana Grande's voice and I liked the previews so I watched it at home through Prime (bought it).
I thought Hamilton was so boring, I didn't last more than a half hour. This I was able to watch the entire thing and actually enjoyed it. Loved Elphaba. Loved Galinda. I didn't really think of it as high school too much, since it's a magical school, but I did snicker that the "new guy" appeared to be 35 years old 🤣🤣 (he's actually even older).
I wondered about the uniforms but didn't stress over it too much. It's a musical, I can suspend disbelief.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Mar 23, 2025 16:23:02 GMT
… have you seen the stage version or heard the music, or is this your first experience with it? This was my first experience of seeing the story. I had tried to read the book back when it first came out, but I have heard some of the music. I saw Hamilton cold and loved it. Just for reference. I know popular opinion is for that one you need to be familiar with the music to enjoy it, but I did not. I had not even heard one piece of music before I saw the play and I loved it immediately. I honestly don't think being familiar with music would have made me enjoy this movie at all. The directing/camera angles were just odd. The choreography was weird. The songs were dumb. Everyone looking their age compared to AG who looks 14 was creepy. At least in Grease they all looked 30. I find the story silly. I think it's just not for me. I really liked many of the aspects of it but I also really loved the stage version when I saw it years ago so I was already familiar with many of the songs. TBH, the ages of the actors never even registered with me because I was busy paying attention to all the detail in the costumes and set designs. As a visually creative person, those were the things that jumped out and were appealing to me. I can’t wait for part two. 💚🩷 On the flip side of the coin, I was just as excited to see Hamilton when it was finally available to stream due to all the hype that preceded it. We sat down as a family to watch it and I think we turned it off less than 30 minutes in because none of us could understand any of the lyrics and it just seemed so… I don’t know. Fast? Busy? It was too hard to follow. DH actually said, “Do we HAVE to watch the whole thing?” Yeah, no. I wanted to love it like everyone else seemed to but I just didn’t. Maybe I would have liked it more if I would have known the songs first, which I didn’t. I guess my point is, different strokes for different folks. I’m cool with people not liking Wicked, just like I didn’t like Hamilton. If it’s not your thing it’s not your thing. 🤷🏻♀️ ETA: The animal subplot is actually an integral part of the original book so it makes sense to bring it in here in part one, so hopefully it will make more sense as that plot line is developed more in part two. It’s all backstory to the original Wizard of Oz movie to set up how Elphaba ended up as “the wicked witch” the way she did. |
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Post by catck on Mar 23, 2025 17:00:31 GMT
After all the hype I thought it was a big let down. I have not seen the stage version and the only song I know was Gravity! When it started and they were at magic school I immediately thought of Hogwarts set to music!! I love musicals but this was not for me.
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Lurkingpea
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Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 17:05:50 GMT
This was my first experience of seeing the story. I had tried to read the book back when it first came out, but I have heard some of the music. I saw Hamilton cold and loved it. Just for reference. I know popular opinion is for that one you need to be familiar with the music to enjoy it, but I did not. I had not even heard one piece of music before I saw the play and I loved it immediately. I honestly don't think being familiar with music would have made me enjoy this movie at all. The directing/camera angles were just odd. The choreography was weird. The songs were dumb. Everyone looking their age compared to AG who looks 14 was creepy. At least in Grease they all looked 30. I find the story silly. I think it's just not for me. I really liked many of the aspects of it but I also really loved the stage version when I saw it years ago so I was already familiar with many of the songs. TBH, the ages of the actors never even registered with me because I was busy paying attention to all the detail in the costumes and set designs. As a visually creative person, those were the things that jumped out and were appealing to me. I can’t wait for part two. 💚🩷 On the flip side of the coin, I was just as excited to see Hamilton when it was finally available to stream due to all the hype that preceded it. We sat down as a family to watch it and I think we turned it off less than 30 minutes in because none of us could understand any of the lyrics and it just seemed so… I don’t know. Fast? Busy? It was too hard to follow. DH actually said, “Do we HAVE to watch the whole thing?” Yeah, no. I wanted to love it like everyone else seemed to but I just didn’t. Maybe I would have liked it more if I would have known the songs first, which I didn’t. I guess my point is, different strokes for different folks. I’m cool with people not liking Wicked, just like I didn’t like Hamilton. If it’s not your thing it’s not your thing. 🤷🏻♀️ ETA: The animal subplot is actually an integral part of the original book so it makes sense to bring it in here in part one, so hopefully it will make more sense as that plot line is developed more in part two. It’s all backstory to the original Wizard of Oz movie to set up how Elphaba ended up as “the wicked witch” the way she did. Oh I get the animal subplot is integral to the story, I just hated the story line. I guess part of it is that I didn't feel it was necessary to even write this prequel. And when's the fact that everyone ostracized her because she was green be enough? It reminded me of the Grinch movie That had this whole subplot about the Grinch being mean because people were mean to him. I mean in the original Grinch story by Seuss it flat out says he was born with his heart too small. I don't know why people feel the need to alter source material to make up their own story. Just write your own damn original story. Don't take somebody else's work and alter it to make a buck. And I mean, I too loved the sets and the costumes but that doesn't make a movie to me. I mean I suppose Avatar was visually beautiful but incredibly stupid. I guess I need more from a movie than just pretty. And I also feel like I'm a creative person. |
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Post by Zee on Mar 23, 2025 17:37:06 GMT
I really liked many of the aspects of it but I also really loved the stage version when I saw it years ago so I was already familiar with many of the songs. TBH, the ages of the actors never even registered with me because I was busy paying attention to all the detail in the costumes and set designs. As a visually creative person, those were the things that jumped out and were appealing to me. I can’t wait for part two. 💚🩷 On the flip side of the coin, I was just as excited to see Hamilton when it was finally available to stream due to all the hype that preceded it. We sat down as a family to watch it and I think we turned it off less than 30 minutes in because none of us could understand any of the lyrics and it just seemed so… I don’t know. Fast? Busy? It was too hard to follow. DH actually said, “Do we HAVE to watch the whole thing?” Yeah, no. I wanted to love it like everyone else seemed to but I just didn’t. Maybe I would have liked it more if I would have known the songs first, which I didn’t. I guess my point is, different strokes for different folks. I’m cool with people not liking Wicked, just like I didn’t like Hamilton. If it’s not your thing it’s not your thing. 🤷🏻♀️ ETA: The animal subplot is actually an integral part of the original book so it makes sense to bring it in here in part one, so hopefully it will make more sense as that plot line is developed more in part two. It’s all backstory to the original Wizard of Oz movie to set up how Elphaba ended up as “the wicked witch” the way she did. Oh I get the animal subplot is integral to the story, I just hated the story line. I guess part of it is that I didn't feel it was necessary to even write this prequel. And when's the fact that everyone ostracized her because she was green be enough? It reminded me of the Grinch movie That had this whole subplot about the Grinch being mean because people were mean to him. I mean in the original Grinch story by Seuss it flat out says he was born with his heart too small. I don't know why people feel the need to alter source material to make up their own story. Just write your own damn original story. Don't take somebody else's work and alter it to make a buck. And I mean, I too loved the sets and the costumes but that doesn't make a movie to me. I mean I suppose Avatar was visually beautiful but incredibly stupid. I guess I need more from a movie than just pretty. And I also feel like I'm a creative person. If you don't like the idea of someone taking the original and "altering it to make a buck", why would you even watch this at all? Genuinely curious? The whole entire point of the book (and hence, this) was to show how the wicked witch became wicked, and why. It's even called Wicked, in case you were unclear about the entire point of the book, show, and movie. I totally get not liking it, but some of your reasons seem a little, well, not reasonable. |
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huskergal
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Post by huskergal on Mar 23, 2025 17:53:30 GMT
Strangely, I loathed the book. I struggled to finish it. I am not a big musical fan. I have a few I love, but generally I am not a fan.
I loved Wicked. It was visually stunning. I liked the songs even though I wasn't familiar with them.
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Lurkingpea
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Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 18:57:49 GMT
Oh I get the animal subplot is integral to the story, I just hated the story line. I guess part of it is that I didn't feel it was necessary to even write this prequel. And when's the fact that everyone ostracized her because she was green be enough? It reminded me of the Grinch movie That had this whole subplot about the Grinch being mean because people were mean to him. I mean in the original Grinch story by Seuss it flat out says he was born with his heart too small. I don't know why people feel the need to alter source material to make up their own story. Just write your own damn original story. Don't take somebody else's work and alter it to make a buck. And I mean, I too loved the sets and the costumes but that doesn't make a movie to me. I mean I suppose Avatar was visually beautiful but incredibly stupid. I guess I need more from a movie than just pretty. And I also feel like I'm a creative person. If you don't like the idea of someone taking the original and "altering it to make a buck", why would you even watch this at all? Genuinely curious? The whole entire point of the book (and hence, this) was to show how the wicked witch became wicked, and why. It's even called Wicked, in case you were unclear about the entire point of the book, show, and movie. I totally get not liking it, but some of your reasons seem a little, well, not reasonable. Because everyone RAVES about it, so I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. Were you unclear about my entire point of this thread? I am sorry you find my distaste for the forgettable lackluster songs, odd casting, insipid plot points, and ridiculous over the top trying to hard directing to be not reasonable reasons for not liking this. What would be reasonable reasons for not liking it in your opinion, genuinely curious. |
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Lurkingpea
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Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 18:58:53 GMT
Strangely, I loathed the book. I struggled to finish it. I am not a big musical fan. I have a few I love, but generally I am not a fan. I loved Wicked. It was visually stunning. I liked the songs even though I wasn't familiar with them. it absolutely was visually stunning. I do concede that. |
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Post by MichyM on Mar 23, 2025 19:00:23 GMT
I mean ... if you watch musical set in a fantasy world expecting realism in sets and costuming, that's kind of on you. Neither musical theater nor the fantasy genre are known for such things. IDK if the Peacock version has sound issues. I've noticed sound issues in other TV shows in the past, where the music was much louder than the dialogue, but I've been lead to believe that it's something to do with a mismatch between the sound being broadcast and the way my TV interprets it. But I'm far from expert. I can say that I didn't notice the issue you mention when I saw the movie in the theater. I haven't watched it on the small screen. I agree that the score is not going to be to everyone's taste. A lot of it is very campy. That's just the style of the show. Glinda's style of singing in her high range is very bel canto - the role was created by Kristen Chenoweth, who trained as an operatic soprano - and while I think it fits the grandiose nature of the show and character, I know some people are really turned off by it. I actually loved some of the new musical choices they made with the score in the film version - I had found Dancing Through Life kind of a snoozefest in the stage version, but Jonathan Bailey and his magic charisma doing that snappier version in the film? Yes please.Anyway, artistic tastes are very personal so of course I'm not offended that others didn't like it.The main target audience, I'd say, is theater kids of a certain age who have a nostalgic connection to the show and its songs. I think of Wicked as "the" show for older millennial theater kids - the cast album they all had memorized. GenX had Les Mis and, to a lesser extent, Miss Saigon, and GenZ has Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton. For me, the bolded part in spades. Prior to this movie, I'd never seen him in anything. IMHO, he absolutely oozes charisma in WICKED, and I love Dancing Through Life. It makes me smile in a big way. Also, reading and watching some of the behind the scenes info about that song and how it all came off (stunts, camera work, all of it) makes me appreciate it even more. Just wanted to add my 2 cents about that particular nearly 20 minute number  To be clear, I am not here to argue with anyone about not liking the film, nor has anyone here yucked my yum in this thread, I promise! Hey, I don't care for movies and/or TV shows with violence, bloody stuff (I have to cover my eyes during scenes in shows like ER, Grey's), jump scares, and the like...and I know others really love that genre of movies). Never watched a Marvel movie either. Also, I think there was a question in the OP about why the school is called Shiz. Here's a very short article quoting the Gregory Maguire, the author of "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West": www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/wicked-author-gregory-maguire-explains-origin-of-shiz-universitySpeaking of naming universities, does anyone know why Hogwarts (the first book in that series was released a few years after the Wicked book) is named what it is? I never read the books and only watched the first movie. Off to google! ETA: totally agree about the ages of the cast members. I have never paid attention to Ariana Grande, and have thought pretty negatively about Cynthia Erivo (due to the way she treats those around her) for over 10 years, so I went in there with low expectations for their respective performances. Boy, was I proven wrong. Even though they are older than a normal incoming college student would be, I can't imagine those characters being played by anyone else now. |
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Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 19:16:05 GMT
I mean ... if you watch musical set in a fantasy world expecting realism in sets and costuming, that's kind of on you. Neither musical theater nor the fantasy genre are known for such things. IDK if the Peacock version has sound issues. I've noticed sound issues in other TV shows in the past, where the music was much louder than the dialogue, but I've been lead to believe that it's something to do with a mismatch between the sound being broadcast and the way my TV interprets it. But I'm far from expert. I can say that I didn't notice the issue you mention when I saw the movie in the theater. I haven't watched it on the small screen. I agree that the score is not going to be to everyone's taste. A lot of it is very campy. That's just the style of the show. Glinda's style of singing in her high range is very bel canto - the role was created by Kristen Chenoweth, who trained as an operatic soprano - and while I think it fits the grandiose nature of the show and character, I know some people are really turned off by it. I actually loved some of the new musical choices they made with the score in the film version - I had found Dancing Through Life kind of a snoozefest in the stage version, but Jonathan Bailey and his magic charisma doing that snappier version in the film? Yes please.Anyway, artistic tastes are very personal so of course I'm not offended that others didn't like it.The main target audience, I'd say, is theater kids of a certain age who have a nostalgic connection to the show and its songs. I think of Wicked as "the" show for older millennial theater kids - the cast album they all had memorized. GenX had Les Mis and, to a lesser extent, Miss Saigon, and GenZ has Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton. For me, the bolded part in spades. Prior to this movie, I'd never seen him in anything. IMHO, he absolutely oozes charisma in WICKED, and I love Dancing Through Life. It makes me smile in a big way. Also, reading and watching some of the behind the scenes info about that song and how it all came off (stunts, camera work, all of it) makes me appreciate it even more. Just wanted to add my 2 cents about that particular nearly 20 minute number To be clear, I am not here to argue with anyone about not liking the film, nor has anyone here yucked my yum in this thread, I promise! Hey, I don't care for movies and/or TV shows with violence, bloody stuff (I have to cover my eyes during scenes in shows like ER, Grey's), jump scares, and the like...and I know others really love that genre of movies). Never watched a Marvel movie either. Also, I think there was a question in the OP about why the school is called Shiz. Here's a very short article quoting the Gregory Maguire, the author of "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West": www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/wicked-author-gregory-maguire-explains-origin-of-shiz-universitySpeaking of naming universities, does anyone know why Hogwarts (the first book in that series was released a few years after the Wicked book) is named what it is? I never read the books and only watched the first movie. Off to google! ETA: totally agree about the ages of the cast members. I have never paid attention to Ariana Grande, and have thought pretty negatively about Cynthia Erivo (due to the way she treats those around her) for over 10 years, so I went in there with low expectations for their respective performances. Boy, was I proven wrong. Even though they are older than a normal incoming college student would be, I can't imagine those characters being played by anyone else now. I think Hogwarts is named after a plant. I have a relative that writes fantasy novels and they are not fans of all the things/plots that Rowling borrowed for her books. I have heard a whole litany of other works that were lifted for names and plot points, but Hogwarts is one I think is legitimate. I agree that AG and CE were perfectly cast. |
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,444
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Post by Gennifer on Mar 23, 2025 19:25:02 GMT
I freely admit that it’s been decades since I read Wicked (and it was a struggle for me to get through that anyway) so I’m not sure if this is canon for the book or just the play, but some of my merch from seeing the Broadway play is a pair of sweats that says Shiz University on it… this isn’t about high schoolers. It also spans a long time, like 5-10 years IIRC, not the short time frame that you are led to believe in the movie. I don’t have any problem with Jonathan Bailey’s age based on that… nor do I think Ariana Grande looks 14 in this. 🤷🏼♀️ I love the original Oz movie. I like the original Oz book. That isn't the source material for this movie, though. Its source is the Broadway play, which is very loosely sourced from the book Wicked, which is very loosely sourced from the original Oz books. There are some characters that overlap, but it’s not at all meant to be the same story. |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Mar 23, 2025 19:41:06 GMT
For me, the bolded part in spades. Prior to this movie, I'd never seen him in anything. IMHO, he absolutely oozes charisma in WICKED, and I love Dancing Through Life. It makes me smile in a big way. Also, reading and watching some of the behind the scenes info about that song and how it all came off (stunts, camera work, all of it) makes me appreciate it even more. Just wanted to add my 2 cents about that particular nearly 20 minute number To be clear, I am not here to argue with anyone about not liking the film, nor has anyone here yucked my yum in this thread, I promise! Hey, I don't care for movies and/or TV shows with violence, bloody stuff (I have to cover my eyes during scenes in shows like ER, Grey's), jump scares, and the like...and I know others really love that genre of movies). Never watched a Marvel movie either. Also, I think there was a question in the OP about why the school is called Shiz. Here's a very short article quoting the Gregory Maguire, the author of "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West": www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/wicked-author-gregory-maguire-explains-origin-of-shiz-universitySpeaking of naming universities, does anyone know why Hogwarts (the first book in that series was released a few years after the Wicked book) is named what it is? I never read the books and only watched the first movie. Off to google! ETA: totally agree about the ages of the cast members. I have never paid attention to Ariana Grande, and have thought pretty negatively about Cynthia Erivo (due to the way she treats those around her) for over 10 years, so I went in there with low expectations for their respective performances. Boy, was I proven wrong. Even though they are older than a normal incoming college student would be, I can't imagine those characters being played by anyone else now. I know what you mean about not seeing anyone else in those roles now. I thought they were very well cast. FWIW, I was curious how old Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Mendel were when the play originally opened in 2003 so I Googled. They were 35 and 32 respectively, so it doesn’t seem to me like casting Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in those roles is really very different. |
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Post by Zee on Mar 23, 2025 19:56:20 GMT
If you don't like the idea of someone taking the original and "altering it to make a buck", why would you even watch this at all? Genuinely curious? The whole entire point of the book (and hence, this) was to show how the wicked witch became wicked, and why. It's even called Wicked, in case you were unclear about the entire point of the book, show, and movie. I totally get not liking it, but some of your reasons seem a little, well, not reasonable. Because everyone RAVES about it, so I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. Were you unclear about my entire point of this thread? I am sorry you find my distaste for the forgettable lackluster songs, odd casting, insipid plot points, and ridiculous over the top trying to hard directing to be not reasonable reasons for not liking this. What would be reasonable reasons for not liking it in your opinion, genuinely curious. Settle down, hombre. Reasonable reasons are the ones you mentioned above. Unreasonable ones are you don't like that they explored the back story of how she became the wicked witch, since that's literally the entire point of the book and therefore the movie. If I had a problem with the entire plot from the get go, I wouldn't probably devote three hours to watching it. |
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Post by busy on Mar 23, 2025 20:54:58 GMT
My son, niece and I were all pretty meh on Wicked. Especially the length - seems totally unnecessary to make it two movies and there was so much in this one that could have been tightened up. We didn’t enjoy Ariana Grande’s performance either. It was just.. too precious? Idk quite how to describe it.
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Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 20:58:29 GMT
Because everyone RAVES about it, so I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. Were you unclear about my entire point of this thread? I am sorry you find my distaste for the forgettable lackluster songs, odd casting, insipid plot points, and ridiculous over the top trying to hard directing to be not reasonable reasons for not liking this. What would be reasonable reasons for not liking it in your opinion, genuinely curious. Settle down, hombre. Reasonable reasons are the ones you mentioned above. Unreasonable ones are you don't like that they explored the back story of how she became the wicked witch, since that's literally the entire point of the book and therefore the movie. If I had a problem with the entire plot from the get go, I wouldn't probably devote three hours to watching it. I have been mentioning those reasons since the get-go. You're the one that said I was being unreasonable. I was told by several people in the other thread that even if I didn't like the book I would probably like the play because it was different enough. And I know it is a message board and tone is hard to read, but calling someone hombre in a dismissive post comes across to me offensive. |
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Lurkingpea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Apr 24, 2022 18:37:20 GMT
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 23, 2025 21:01:25 GMT
My son, niece and I were all pretty meh on Wicked. Especially the length - seems totally unnecessary to make it two movies and there was so much in this one that could have been tightened up. We didn’t enjoy Ariana Grande’s performance either. It was just.. too precious? Idk quite how to describe it. Precious, that is the perfect description of her speaking parts. |
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