Bring Your Own Book
Join our hosts Nikki and Kelly as they discuss a Young Adult and Adult novel every month! Mix yourself a drink, settle in, and relax as they talk about everything from their initial thoughts on each book to the nitty gritty of what happened and what they think about it all.
Bring Your Own Book
Wicked: Part 1 - Review
In this episode of BYOB, hosts Kelly and Nikki dive into the much-anticipated movie adaptation of Wicked, discussing its origins, character portrayals, choreography, and emotional impact. They explore the differences between the book and the musical, share their initial reactions to the film and the stunning visuals, set and costume design, as well as the extensive merchandising surrounding the film. As they transition into spoilers, they reflect on the emotional weight of the story and the pacing of the musical numbers, ultimately sharing their love for the adaptation despite some critiques.
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Did this adaptation do the book and Broadway musical justice? Let us know!
Kelly (00:11)
Hey everyone, welcome to BYOB, the Bring Your Own Book podcast. I'm Kelly. And today we are here to talk about, Wicked, the movie.
Nikki (00:16)
and I'm Nikki.
Yay!
Kelly (00:28)
For people who are not watching us talk about this. I just waved my Starbucks Glinda cup, not sponsored, just crazy obsessed.
Nikki (00:39)
At least you got the Glinda cup from Starbucks because she didn't get the Glinda cup from Cineplex.
Kelly (00:46)
I know, they were out! The movie came out today! Who are these people?
Nikki (00:50)
I I think that people were buying them like days ahead. I saw a girl in line with her Glinda bucket waiting to get popcorn.
Kelly (00:59)
What?
Nikki (01:01)
Yeah.
Kelly (01:02)
Okay, well, Nikki got the last Elphaba popcorn bucket and I got the last Glinda bucket, so take that.
Nikki (01:05)
Yep.
And really, I mean, with everything that we do with the podcast, like all of our colors that we do, Kelly's always light and I'm always dark. And it really just fits with the whole aesthetic that she would love Glinda and I would love Elphaba. Not that I don't love Glinda and she doesn't love Elphaba, but you know, we identify with who we identify with.
Kelly (01:27)
Yes. No. no.
Yeah, well, and that's the thing. I was thinking about that earlier myself. And I was like, when I was a little kid, when this all came out and when I saw it finally on stage, like I was always Glinda and I would look at Elphaba and think, I wish I could be like Elphaba, but I'm not, I'm Glinda, you know? And that's okay. Like you can't be everybody. No. Right? Yeah. And exhausting, but.
Nikki (01:47)
Right.
Right. Yeah.
No, you cannot. Cause that would be weird. Yeah.
Kelly (02:04)
Anyways, so all that to say, we do realize this is a book podcast. However, this is also our book podcast and this is a movie based off of a musical based off of a book. No, yes, that was based off of a movie that was based off of another book series.
Nikki (02:27)
His book is not based off of the movie. His book is based off of the book.
Kelly (02:34)
did I say that wrong order? See, it's like so many.
Nikki (02:37)
This is a movie musical based off of a Broadway musical based off of Gregory Maguire's book Wicked that is based off of L. Frank Baum's book, The Wizard of Oz.
Kelly (02:47)
Yes, which in turn had a movie that was made with Judy Garland that we all know. Even if you haven't seen it, you have heard of it.
Nikki (02:57)
1939 Wizard of Oz. Boom.
Kelly (03:02)
See, it's like down, down the rabbit hole. I'm like, where am I? Follow the yellow brick road. I have lost myself. I couldn't even keep that straight. There's so many stories related to his, I guess it's a series, not a book, The Wizard of Oz, but you know.
Nikki (03:02)
MGM.
Yeah. Well, The Wizard of Oz is a book, but it's in the Oz series that L. Frank Baum wrote 14 books on alone. That's just him. And then they continued the series, like his estate. So there are a lot of books. And yeah.
Kelly (03:25)
Mmm.
my God.
Yeah. Okay. Holy crap.
It's so interesting though. And this is based off of another book that was inspired by the original books. So Nikki is going to give us a little synopsis on the material that this movie and musical is based on because it's not quite the same as the Wizard of Oz movie that you're used to.
Nikki (03:45)
Yeah.
Yeah, so this is the synopsis for Wicked by Gregory Maguire. What started it all? Again. When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so Wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?
Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens. Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence.
And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.
Kelly (05:12)
Yaaaa!
Nikki (05:13)
And that's that.
which doesn't really tell you anything about what happens in the book.
Kelly (05:20)
It's a lot.
There's a lot in the book and like, I'm just gonna be upfront with everybody. I didn't read the whole book. I read half of the book when I was a kid. And I think I read it when I was way too young as happened to me all the time. Yeah. Because I was like, I love this and I love to read. I'm gonna give it a go. And I was like, this is very dark because the book is pretty dark.
Nikki (05:36)
A lot of people did.
Kelly (05:48)
I don't know if I can add it to my TBR at this moment because there's way too much going on with school and other books right now, maybe one day, but you read the book ages ago.
Nikki (05:57)
I did, and I read the first four books in the series. Yep. Yep, they're all connected. And to be honest, it was so long ago, I don't remember a whole lot of any of the plot points other than, well, a major plot point, which I'm not going to say in case people, because people are now going to want to read the series. And so I'm not going to say it.
Kelly (06:01)
are they all connected or? Okay.
Mm.
Yeah.
Nikki (06:25)
But the book and the musical are two totally different entities in terms of...
theme they choose to highlight in a lot of cases, the vibe, the essence, if you will, very different.
Kelly (06:36)
Yeah, tone.
Yes. Yeah, that's true. Because even just what I read of it. Yeah.
Nikki (06:47)
Yeah, but I I liked the book. Yeah. Yeah, I did like the book. I think I was too young to read it possibly, but I enjoyed it.
Kelly (07:00)
Hmm. I really remember. Well, that's not true. I remember like little things, but one thing that stuck out or stood out for me, people I've lost my mind after watching this movie. We'll get into it very soon. I promise. But like, I can't even form thoughts right now. This is gonna be interesting. But it was, it was an epic saga. It was two hours, 40 minutes for the first act of this show, which is normally like an hour 45.
Nikki (07:18)
This movie was long.
Kelly (07:32)
So, but yeah, I will say in the book, Fiyero, who's played by Jonathan Bailey in the movie from Bridgerton, we love him. How could you not? He's blue in the book. And I remember that and being like, he's blue, you know, but they didn't do that for the musical. They didn't do that for the movie. That's okay. We want Elphaba to stand out as much as she can. Right. So, but yeah, no, let's.
Nikki (07:43)
Right?
Kelly (08:00)
dive into this movie because holy crap I gotta say like I've said on here before when they first announced this movie I was like oh god what is this gonna be
Nikki (08:11)
Yeah, I was worried and I didn't think about it for a long time. Like not until the summer when it was like announced that it like or whenever they announced the actual like date like it's for sure coming out at the end of this year. I just pushed it to the back of my mind like it didn't exist.
Kelly (08:17)
Mm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Well, I was like, I was so worried and stressed. And this isn't even like my favorite all time musical. I loved it when I saw it. But I just like, we've seen so many adaptations just not meet our expectations. And maybe we have too high expectations, whatever. But when they announced Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, I was like, okay.
We know for sure that the music will be so good. And you know, people had their opinions, whatever. I freaking loved this movie. I'm just gonna say it right now. I freaking loved it. What did you think, Nikki? How did you feel?
Nikki (09:18)
I also really loved it. I was very skeptical, because of the people who were in it, like you said, Cynthia Erivo, already a Broadway legend, were... People who know, know. Also, she was in Harriet Tubman, like Harriet, the movie by Harriet Tubman. So we know she's got the film acting too. I wasn't worried. I...
Kelly (09:30)
my god.
Yes.
Yes, my god.
Mm-hmm.
Nikki (09:43)
wasn't really worried about Ariana Grande either, other than the fact like I'm just not a fan of hers, like I don't like her music. So I didn't really have anything to go off of other than I really hope that they don't ruin the integrity of the way that Glinda sings just because it's Ariana Grande, which they didn't do. And I'm very happy about that.
Kelly (09:52)
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Nikki (10:12)
Yeah, I mean, were there things, obviously, that I was like, yes. And we'll get into that later when we talk about some more like spoilery stuff. But I think on the whole, this is a very beautiful adaptation. They stuck so true to the source material in terms of the essence of the characters, which was really important to me.
Kelly (10:16)
Yeah.
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Nikki (10:40)
Granted, I cannot remember enough of what happens in the actual musical to be like, that's not the same, I saw it one time and I listened to the soundtrack, which is not watching the musical. So I wasn't really picky about that. The scenes were very long and obviously this was two hours and 40 minutes for an act that'd be an hour 40 on stage. So clearly they embellished. That's fine. That's totally fine.
Kelly (10:49)
Yeah, same. Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Nikki (11:08)
I think we all knew what we were getting into. I think my real critique will come when the second half comes out. And how are they going to make that a full length movie? And what are the new songs going to sound like? Because I don't really want new songs.
Kelly (11:14)
Yes.
Yes, I know. Did Stephen Schwartz write the new songs? I really hope so. Like, yikes. I hope so because that's like we all saw well maybe we all didn't see Cats. We saw Cats. And that was quite the trip and they only added like one or two songs but then they redid all the other ones and it was just
Nikki (11:25)
I don't know. I'm assuming so.
Yeah, we did.
Yeah.
Kelly (11:43)
Garbage I can't even say garbage. That's like an insult to garbage. Honestly, like it was so bad
Nikki (11:48)
I know. Why did you have to make a new tune for Mungo Jerry, and Rumpelteaser? That's one of the best songs in the actual musical. I'm a Cats fan, okay? Like, I'm a dancer, first and foremost, and if you have a dance background, you probably like Cats because it's all dancing. And it doesn't matter that it's silly.
Kelly (11:54)
That's one of the good songs, yes!
No.
Ugh.
Nikki (12:16)
the talent that people have to have to be in that show and the stamina you have to have is extraordinary and the fact that they just like shit so hard on it for the public to see just grinds my gears so bad.
Kelly (12:20)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
The fact that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber himself was like, I hate this. That's really bad. And also kind of like, I would feel terrible if I was in it. And the creator said that. Like, I, I'm sorry. Like, you know what I mean?
Nikki (12:52)
I mean, I know you don't like Taylor Swift, but he was probably like, the only part I liked was that I got to write a song with Taylor Swift. That was probably it. Because that shit was whack.
Kelly (12:55)
No.
right. I'm so happy for you. At least she wasn't in the movie as a cat. Like there were way too many people who didn't need to be in that movie looking like not even a cat. It was ridiculous. But anyways, what? No, she wasn't. Was she?
Nikki (13:14)
She was a cat in the movie.
Yeah. Yeah she was. She sang Macavity.
Kelly (13:24)
EWWW! See I blocked it out! EWWW!
Nikki (13:25)
Yeah.
Kelly (13:30)
Okay, well moving on, because I don't want to talk about her and ruin this, okay?
Speaking of dancing, what did you think of the choreo? What did you think of the dancing?
Nikki (13:45)
I have, I am of two opinions.
Kelly (13:48)
Okay, I have some opinions too, so I'm very curious.
Nikki (13:52)
I am going to preface what I say by I loved it. I think everybody did really well. That being said, I would have really liked to see them stick to the jazz roots of the choreography instead of making it hip hop. I understand that hip hop's like the thing now and Hamilton had so much hip hop in it.
Kelly (13:55)
Mm.
Hmm.
Nikki (14:17)
and people fucking choke on Hamilton's dick and they just like want to incorporate that into everything. I get it. I love Hamilton too, but this isn't Hamilton. It's not a hip hop musical. And we didn't really have to have people like twerking, crumping to No One Mourns the Wicked on the yellow brick road. Do I think they did a great job? Yes.
Kelly (14:22)
Yeah.
No.
Hmm.
Nikki (14:45)
do I think they needed to do it? No. What are your dance opinions?
Kelly (14:48)
Yeah, that's true. Like, as a mover with facial expressions, I would say I thought some of the dancing was really exciting to watch. And it reminded me of the Brandy- Whitney Houston Cinderella movie that I watched all the time as a kid, because you have these long dance sequences with like a huge ballroom of people all doing things.
Nikki (15:09)
yeah? Mm-hmm.
Kelly (15:17)
or even the village scenes where people are running around and everything is choreographed. I love that stuff. It makes it feel so alive and rich. However, I don't know if it's just me, but I don't really like the trend of making the stomps sound so loud when they're dancing. You know what I mean?
Nikki (15:37)
Yeah, you really got that in, what is it? The, I, No One Mourns the Wicked. They did it. And One Short Day, they did it really bad. I don't like that either. Either the mics pick it up and you put a little bit of that in, but like, don't have some Foley artists stomp over it, cause that's what it was. It was somebody in a studio stomping to match. Yeah.
Kelly (15:43)
One Short Day? One Short Day too.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yes.
Like, okay, I get it. Like I understand they're trying to make it like more like, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, like crisp, hard, whatever. But like, I don't want to hear that. If I'm going to hear the sound of them dancing, I want it to be a tap number. And I want to hear those taps and that better be part of the music. None of this dancing over the music with your tap shoes. I hate that. I can go on for an hour about that. So I won't, but that kind of bugged me, but I really liked the dancing overall.
Nikki (16:20)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kelly (16:37)
But I do agree with the hip hop stuff. When that came up, I was like, OK, interesting.
Nikki (16:42)
And I really liked the One Short Day number because it really seemed a call to consider yourself in Oliver. That's the vibe I was getting. You're seeing all the people in their different parts of the city and they're welcoming them and they're showing them kind of what they do day to day kind of thing. I love that. But also sometimes with the dancing, it felt kind of empty.
Kelly (16:53)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Nikki (17:11)
like they could have been doing with the exception of Dancing Through Life because that was like perfection really that whole dance number was just completely amazing but I find right but the larger I think the larger spaces like when the sets were larger they needed more dancers I feel like
Kelly (17:18)
yeah.
we all fell back in love with Jonathan like,
Mmm.
Nikki (17:38)
No One Mourns the Wicked felt like they were just in lines doing a dance and I would have liked to have seen more people and the same with One Short Day. I'm gonna reference Oliver again. In Consider Yourself you see like hundreds of people, looks like hundreds of people all doing this dance and I would have liked to have had more of that hustle and bustle but...
Kelly (17:43)
Mmm.
Mm.
Yeah. Yeah. I did like the clump in, is it Dancing Through Life or no, no, no. What is this Feeling with the books and stuff? And they were going, I got to walk it down with my books like that.
Nikki (18:05)
Not everything can be perfect.
yeah, yeah. People have been doing that on TikTok so much because they released that clip early. Yeah, I know. You did really good at shielding yourself. I didn't.
Kelly (18:23)
okay.
I tried. I watched so much promotional material, interviews, but as soon as they were like, we have a short clip, I left. was like, I don't want to see it. I saw the trailer. I saw like the five seconds of Dancing Through Life of like, you're perfect. You're perfect. So we're perfect together. That's it. I'm like, I don't want to see it. I want to see it in the big room with the big sound and yeah. my God.
Nikki (18:54)
Right.
Yeah, I will say, speaking of being in the big room with the big sound, I really appreciated that nobody made big sound of their own, because I was ready to fight if someone was going to sing.
Kelly (19:07)
Thank God.
Someone was ready to fight before the movie even started. We have to share that. Like what? It was crazy. You were closer to it. So you please share.
Nikki (19:14)
Yeah, that's true. my gosh. Yeah. So there's this whole saga leading up to the movie where my boyfriend ends up coming with us. He was happy to come. He shed tears. He loved it. At the beginning of the movie, Kelly says, this is my seat or this is seat nine and we're in nine through 12. And so we all sit down accordingly and Bryce is sitting in seat 12. And this guy
Kelly (19:28)
Yeah.
Nikki (19:44)
after they walked past us two times because nobody could count. That's another story.
Kelly (19:48)
Yeah. There's numbers on the frickin' chairs, people.
Nikki (19:52)
Yeah, he says to Bryce, you're in my seat. And Bryce says, I'm in seat 12. What's your seat? And he says, it's 13. That's my seat. And Bryce goes, no, this is seat 12. And then they're counting. And it turns out people over past us couldn't count. And so they're sitting in the wrong seats. And so
Kelly (20:13)
Yeah. Yeah. Couldn't read.
Nikki (20:21)
The guy sits down beside Bryce because his seat is 13, beside Bryce, and Bryce leans over to me and he says, I guess I'm watching this movie with Glinda the bitch. And I just died.
Kelly (20:25)
So awkward.
And I leaned over to Rabeka, our friend who came with us, and because I was watching this and like, no, am I in the wrong spot? And I looked and looked and looked, I was not in wrong spot. And I see this happen. And I'm like, my God. And I look over at Rabeka and I'm like, is he a good witch or a bad witch? I think he's a bad witch. It's like, what the heck? Why? It was so stressful. Like, why are you being aggro at Wicked?
Nikki (20:55)
Yeah.
I know. Everybody's just here to have a good time in their little pink and green outfits.
Kelly (21:04)
Yeah. Yeah. I wish I had pink. I have this. My pink bucket, which is not here. But you know.
Nikki (21:09)
I
Yeah, I'm wearing green pants, so...
Kelly (21:21)
I thought you were gonna say panties I was like okay like good to know
Nikki (21:24)
No, pants. Yoga pants.
Kelly (21:32)
I also, this is like so random, but it's because it's me. I got distracted by the amount of people leaving throughout the movie to go pee or throw out garbage or whatever. Hold your garbage, bitch. Okay? This is Wicked. Someone like, I know. I was like, what is going on? I was scared of the guy beside him.
Nikki (21:47)
like Bryce. Bryce got up twice.
because he has big thirst and a tiny bladder. That's why. He goes, he leans over during Dancing Through Life and he goes, I have to pee. And I was like, okay. And I was like, you can go.
Kelly (22:00)
Wow. mean, hey, can't help it.
What do want me to do about it?
Nikki (22:16)
And so he goes and he comes back and they're still in the dance. So he like literally didn't miss anything because that song is so long. And it's 10 times longer in the movie.
Kelly (22:20)
Yeah.
Yes. Well-
Did you see like the four girls who ran into the theater right before Defying Gravity started? I was like, girl, you're at the end of the movie. They ran in there like, ha, ha, like went to their seats. I'm like, yeah, hello, you almost missed the big climax.
Nikki (22:36)
No.
Yeah, why we're all here.
Kelly (22:46)
Seriously. my God. Before we get to spoilers, because I have so many spoiler things I need to say, but before we get to spoilers, let's just quickly touch on some other things, round this out, and then we got to just share our feelings about everything. The sets. I loved the sets. That, the Shiz University. my God. It was like Minas Tirith, but not like...
Nikki (22:55)
Yeah.
Banging.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yeah, was beautiful.
Kelly (23:13)
It was so beautiful. The paintings on the stone and the colors, the fields, the fields of tulips that they actually planted, which is bonkers because here I am watching the camera pan over them and zoom in as they're like running at the beginning. And I'm thinking, what if one of those tulips died? What if they had to like replant? What if it didn't get enough sunlight or what if you don't like?
Nikki (23:21)
Yeah.
Yep.
Yup.
Kelly (23:40)
Like, my god, the gardeners must have been so stressed. Frig.
Nikki (23:43)
I know. Yeah, it's just unreal, like how much real effect, real set, no CGI. I mean, there was CGI, but like, an overwhelming majority of what you're watching is real. And that's beautiful. I feel like that's very rarely done. And I feel like that's part of the reason this movie is so successful.
Kelly (23:55)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Nikki (24:14)
You we've all been there. You're watching something, you're like, wow, that's really fake. And it just takes you out of it. So I, yeah, I loved it. And their costumes were like to die for.
Kelly (24:21)
Yeah.
my god. Literally.
Nikki (24:31)
Just fricking beautiful Glinda's, like everything Glinda had was just like, oh my God. And so like, foofy and like, cute.
Kelly (24:36)
It
It was so beautiful and I love how they paid homage to the Broadway show even with the costumes but they made it fresh and unique and everything looked like a real world, you know? And it looked good quality too. It wasn't like, we used an Ikea rug for the cape, Game of Thrones. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. You know what I mean?
Nikki (24:51)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yep.
Kelly (25:10)
No, no shame in using IKEA rugs. Just you got to make sure it looks not like an IKEA rug. So just saying.
Nikki (25:15)
Yeah. Yeah. I also really loved Elphaba's glasses. I thought those were so cool. How much you want to bet that people are going to be wearing shit like that.
Kelly (25:21)
Me too.
a hundred, a hundred percent. That doesn't make sense.
Nikki (25:30)
I feel like it would feel lopsided on my face, but I don't know.
Kelly (25:36)
I don't know, because they still have like the little nose thingies that just kind of blended in, but...
Nikki (25:38)
Yeah. I know. They just look like they'd make me go, like, yeah. Or I'd be walking around like this to compensate.
Kelly (25:46)
just topple over. I am.
Her... Okay, blah, sorry. Now that we're talking about Elphaba, her wigs... Cause thankfully they got someone who knows how to do a frickin' wig for her. She looked so good. I loved her big braid she wore for half the movie. my gosh, it was so cute and just like, get it out of my way. I'm busy, you know? I loved it.
Nikki (26:01)
Yeah.
I know.
Yeah, I know.
Yep. And her nails. I was like, yes. As someone who loves long nails, I was like, yeah, I don't have any right now.
Kelly (26:23)
Yes.
People are definitely going to get her nails because they zoomed in on her nails after they went to the salon in the Emerald City and they looked so nice. Oh my God.
Nikki (26:37)
Yeah.
Yep.
I know. Also, Cynthia Erivo's nails on this press tour have been like insane. Like I can't do nails that long. I think I'd kill myself, but beautiful.
Kelly (26:53)
Yeah, she always has like the most on her fingers. I mean, you do you I could not I don't know how I would do anything. I always think how am I going to go to the bathroom? Literally?
Nikki (26:58)
Yep.
She could pay somebody to help her go to the bathroom if she wanted. Yeah. Yeah.
Kelly (27:09)
Now she could. She's got that Wicked money now, you know? Okay, speaking of, she's got the Wicked money, all the frickin branding stuff going on.
Nikki (27:20)
my God, I know it's insane how much merch and like brand. What am I saying? Like brand team ups that they're doing. Yeah, collaborations with different things. Luggage, clothing. What?
Kelly (27:29)
collaboration? Yeah.
Cars... cars... they look disgusting, by the way. I'll send you a picture after I took a screenshot, because I was like, this has to be a joke. Like, who's buying that?
Nikki (27:39)
Cars. That's weird.
Yeah, that's like a lot of money to spend to be like, I got my Wicked, Wicked branded car.
Kelly (27:53)
Well, and the thing is, said concept car. So I'm like, is this a real thing? Or? I don't know. I don't know. I'll send you a picture. It was bizarre. I tried to take screenshots of everything I saw that was Wicked related. And then I was like, this is too much. can't.
Nikki (28:00)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah.
Kelly (28:12)
There's roots, there's lush, there's makeup, there's Ariana's makeup, because she's got her own makeup line, right? But you know what, there isn't a Shiz University sweater.
Nikki (28:19)
Yep.
I know. What a letdown. I know. They do. They really do.
Kelly (28:27)
I want one! They look so cozy and cute!
I guess I'll go to Etsy. But I'm like, where did you get it?
Nikki (28:39)
Yeah.
Kelly (28:41)
I hate it. But anyways.
Nikki (28:42)
I know. And it's like missed opportunity because it's just like also funny because it's like shit. Like.
Kelly (28:49)
Yes. Yes.
Nikki (28:52)
Could we not have some merch for the meme girlies? Like, I exist.
Kelly (28:57)
Yeah. Hello. I don't fit my Wicked shirts anymore that I got when I was a preteen or whatever, a teenager. So I need something. I wish I had pink. I didn't have any pink, you know?
Nikki (29:06)
Right.
Yeah. Yeah, I know. Like, I don't know, I haven't, other than the popcorn bucket, I haven't gotten any merch and I haven't really like, felt like it. I think that unless it's something that I'm going to actively use, I just don't have space for it. Even though there's like definitely things that are cute.
Kelly (29:16)
It's fine.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Well, yeah.
Nikki (29:38)
But I'm like, do I want to carry around this very green or very pink thing all the time? Probably not.
Kelly (29:45)
Yeah, I will use my cup because I use these all the time. So I was like, I'm doing it. But yeah, no, I'm not going to get a Lexus, I think, concept car that's blinged out. Even like there was a really cute Roots sweater that was like the Emerald City and it was so expensive. But I'm like, you can't wear anything with that. That is your whole outfit. It was so busy and so expensive. I'm like, that's not me. Look at me. Like, are you kidding me?
Nikki (29:51)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yep.
Kelly (30:15)
That's not happening, so.
Nikki (30:17)
I know. Yeah.
Kelly (30:19)
But I will, I was, I was tempted to buy the record, like the actual vinyl of it. But then I thought, no, I don't want to spend like 80 bucks on a record when I've bought all the other ones for like a dollar. You know what I mean? So I'll just listen to it online.
Nikki (30:25)
yeah.
I think too, I will probably still listen to the Broadway soundtrack more than I will listen to the movie one. Because even though I loved the singular songs, there were just some vocal choices that happened in some of the songs that I don't like. And so...
Kelly (30:43)
Mm.
Yeah.
Hmm. Okay. Shall we transition into spoilers now so we can talk about it? Okay. Me too. Okay. So everybody. Right? Everybody, if you haven't seen Wicked, go see it or not. It's fine. But if you don't want to hear spoilers, yeah. It is worth it. Yes. Yes. I.
Nikki (31:06)
Yeah, I think that we should because I have things to say. It's hard to dance dance around them.
It's great. It's worth it. And bring your tissues.
Kelly (31:29)
I cried this morning watching the Tony performance while I ate my bagel. So that was fun. But no real tears came out during the movie. I welled up. I had like a heaviness in my chest, but I held it together and I don't even know how, but it is emotional. like Bryce was crying. You were crying. Rabeka was crying. I was like catatonic at the end. I said, I can't get up. I have to sit here for a sec. I'm, I'm so drained.
Nikki (31:33)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, I literally, like, I knew I was gonna cry, whether I liked it or not, because the music makes me cry. Because the music, the composition is so good. And also, I'm so tired. I'm in my reading week, I start exams next week. We have a renovation going on at my house. It's been the week from actual hell.
Kelly (32:07)
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Nikki (32:28)
And during the commercials, the commercials for the movies were making me almost cry before the movie even started. So I knew that I was like, I'm tired. And so I'm just gonna like, I'm just teary anyway. But I held it in through the whole thing. And then at the end, I was like, I can't even hold it in anymore, because I just feel like shit. And I just need to cry because I'm done.
Kelly (32:42)
Okay.
Yeah.
I thought you meant the commercials at the movie because there were so many commercials. I was like start the movie. my god Yeah
Nikki (33:02)
No, but like the trailers for the like Paddington. I don't even like Paddington Bear. I've never seen a Paddington Bear movie, but he's like, I have to go find my aunt and she's missing and she raised me and I was like, that's so sad.
Kelly (33:09)
It's cute!
It's a really good movie, I will say. I saw the first one and it's so good. It's very heartwarming. So you may cry. Yeah. Yeah, I think they came out like 20 years after Winnie the Pooh. So two big bear books from the UK. Hey. But yeah, I almost cried at the very beginning of the movie.
Nikki (33:20)
yeah.
Cause they were books, right? Paddington bear.
Okay.
Yep.
Kelly (33:43)
in No One Mourns the Wicked, because I love that song. I love the ensemble stuff. I almost cried, though, when she lit the big, like, matchstick man, wicker man, not matchstick man.
Nikki (33:56)
my god, yeah.
I know.
Kelly (34:02)
different Nick Cage. Wait, is he in that? Yes, the new one. Whatever.
Nikki (34:05)
Yeah, yeah, Nick Cage is in the Wicker Man remake.
Kelly (34:10)
I only saw, I saw the OG one, the musical, okay?
Nikki (34:13)
I've never seen the original, I've only seen the Nick Cage version.
Kelly (34:17)
I really liked it. It was creepy and Scott didn't tell me it was a musical and I was like, what is this? It was so good. Is the Nick Cage one not?
Nikki (34:20)
Yeah, it is.
It's so weird that it's a musical. No.
Kelly (34:30)
it's, I think you'll, you'll really like it. It's so good. It's not like musical like this one, but it's, it's so good. But 'kay no, when they lit that thing on fire, when she lit it, I was like, it's something about the height, you know, and the, fire and just everything. I was like, my God, like,
Nikki (34:35)
I'll watch it. Yeah, no.
Ha!
Yeah.
I know.
She did a very, very good job emoting. I really felt her emotion. Like you could tell that she, as Glinda, was really thinking about what she was saying when she is like saying to the kid, I can't even remember what part of the song it is now, but she's basically like singing about being like wicked, but she's singing about herself having no friends. And I'm like,
Kelly (34:54)
she did.
Mm-hmm.
Nikki (35:19)
that like, it gets you. And then you hear the ensemble sing their little one liners with a pop voice and it just totally takes you at all that. It was like.
Kelly (35:30)
Yeah, like one of my favorite parts of that song for whatever reason, like from the original soundtrack is the three women saying, through their lives, our children learn. I had to stop myself from singing it, but I love that part for whatever reason. And in the movie, I was like, okay, like it's there, but it's not as you know,
Nikki (35:42)
Yeah. Yeah.
It that I think the thing with Wicked, it's like from what 2001 or 2003 or something. It's still it's like in a transitional period in Broadway. Still very classical, but starting to become more. Pop or more like mainstream sounding, but it holds that.
Kelly (36:02)
three.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Nikki (36:21)
that kind of like Broadway voice. It's like elevated and very strong. But then when you have somebody sing and they're like, no one mourns the Wicked. And I'm like, what?
Kelly (36:23)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Cut my life into pieces! No one mourns the Wicked! Not like that.
Nikki (36:41)
This is my last resort. And I'm like...
But that, it just felt like, did you get lost? Are you on the wrong set? Are you supposed to be on like studio B over there? I don't know. That didn't happen very often through the movie. But to start off on that note, literally, I was just kind of taken aback.
Kelly (36:53)
Ha ha!
Yeah.
No.
I guess like, maybe what they were going for was like, we want to see your individuality, like all the different towns people, but I'm like, I don't want to see that. I'm here for the choral sound. That is supposed to sound in my mind, supposed to sound like the traditional.
Nikki (37:21)
I don't care. Yep.
Kelly (37:32)
MGM musical kind of like opening credit sequence where you have the choir singing whatever that's what you want to that's what I want to hear I want to hear that and yes you have your solo lines but yeah you got to give it give it some zazz yes yeah not the voice of the person the voice of the people okay yeah
Nikki (37:42)
Yeah.
You have to keep the... you have to keep that voice. Literally. The voice of the people. Keep it. No.
I like I don't remember who these people were. I don't remember what they looked like. I just remember that I heard that line and I went
Kelly (38:02)
No.
Nikki (38:09)
Well...
Kelly (38:10)
One of my, I don't want to say complaints because even though I have little things, I still loved the movie. yeah, like, hello, yes. One thing that bothered me, I will say, is because it's a movie, I understand you have to change certain things in terms of like pacing, flow, whatever.
Nikki (38:16)
yeah, it was beautiful. In every way.
Mm-hmm.
Kelly (38:33)
But did you find at moments they like dragged out the song a little bit too much and like put in way too many dialogue sequences? Because then you lose the momentum of the music. And I was like, the music is helping propel this emotional journey. And you keep interrupting me.
Nikki (38:48)
Yeah
Kelly (38:55)
when I'm feeling the things and then we're talking again and then I feel the crescendo of the music. I'm thinking of Defying Gravity. There were so many little scenes in there and there's a few in the show like in the musical but like I felt myself tearing up so many times and then it would go away because we're talking again and blah blah blah. Yeah.
Nikki (39:03)
yeah.
I know. Yeah, I like, I don't know, I wasn't really thinking about that. But when you say it, I agree. I feel like that song, if you know the story, even if you don't, Bryce had no idea what this movie really was like going into it. He hadn't even seen the Wizard of Oz all the way through, which is sacrilege to me because I lived on that movie growing up.
Kelly (39:28)
Mm-hmm.
What a treat.
Right?
Nikki (39:48)
but he even cried during Defying Gravity. And so you're preparing yourself because you know you're gonna cry and you're in a room full of like all of these other people that you don't know and you don't wanna be that bitch who's like, like in the theater because that's embarrassing. And so you're preparing yourself to like check and be like, like tension headache yourself out of tears.
Kelly (39:53)
Mm-hmm.
Hahaha!
Yep. Yes, me right now.
Nikki (40:17)
And, right? So you do that and you're like, okay, it's happening and I just got to get through it. But then they stop and you're like, it's just long enough for you to relax. And then they start up again and you're like, and then they stop again. And you're like, okay, yeah, cool. Breathing normal. Like my eyes are not popping out of my head anymore. And then they go again and I'm just like.
Kelly (40:30)
Yup.
Mm-hmm.
Nikki (40:45)
could we just get it over with already? Like, let me just feel the thing so I can get over the thing and my face can stop being red and I can breathe.
Kelly (40:46)
you
I
Right? Right? Like, I don't know how to describe it, so this is gonna sound so ridiculous, but it was what I would imagine Blue Balls feels like. I was like, can I please just have this emotional release that you keep promising me and then you stop and then you go again and then you stop?
Nikki (41:05)
Yeah.
Right?
Yeah, I know. Yeah, I feel like that too. And I also, there were moments with other songs where I felt like that, but not with that emotion, but just like, I forgot the song was even happening. Dancing Through Life, when they're dancing together, I don't think that happens in the musical.
Kelly (41:27)
Yeah.
Mm. Yeah, which is already long.
Nikki (41:41)
But I can't remember.
Kelly (41:43)
I think they, yeah, I don't think the two girls dance together. I think they have like a moment and they become friends. Yeah. Yeah.
Nikki (41:49)
Yeah, that doesn't last like 15 minutes. That was such a long thing. Like it was nice. And like I teared up, Bryce cried too when they were doing that together. And when she started crying, but then they all start, they sing the end of Dancing Through Life. And I was like, sorry, we're still doing this. And I felt like that, yeah, I felt like that too in One Short Day.
Kelly (42:01)
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Right? Fiyero's like, hello?
Nikki (42:18)
when we have the Idina Menzel Kristin Chenoweth thing happen and we're like, my God, that's so awesome. And then they go into the end of One Short Day and I was like, yeah, I forgot that there's a whole end part of the song that isn't really part of the rest of the song, but they segue and.
Kelly (42:21)
Yes!
Yeah.
Mm hmm. I will say I, I like heard a tiny bit about that, like barely anything I heard that there was going to be a Kristin Chenoweth cameo and then I kind of forgot about it. And when I saw
Nikki (42:46)
Right.
I didn't even know. I was surprised by them completely and I was like, this is amazing.
Kelly (42:54)
Well, when I saw them, yeah, I looked at you like, you know, because I was like, oh my god, I heard people gasping, people in the know. But like, I loved that they actually had them singing and not just like, hey, what you doing, kid? The the wizard's over there, you know, like they had them sing. And I loved the part when Kristin Chenoweth sang and then Ariana tries to join and she's like.
Nikki (42:57)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yes.
Yeah. I know.
And she goes, I know. Yeah.
Kelly (43:21)
I just, I loved Ariana's energy throughout the whole movie. She was like manic gerbil, like Energizer Bunny, like.
Nikki (43:28)
Well, she took a lot of Kristin Chenoweth's mannerisms from the show, which I loved. They really held the characters like true and paid great homage to Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. And that's what people freaking want. They don't want Mean Girls where Tina Fey says, we're doing something different. We're not doing Mean Girls on Broadway. Then don't do the musical, bitch.
Kelly (43:33)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Yes.
Nikki (43:58)
Why'd you write the Broadway musical if you just want to change it to be bad for the TV? I just don't get it. They gave the people what they wanted. And what we wanted was to feel like we are watching Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway.
Kelly (43:58)
Right?
Yeah, I know.
Yes.
We wanted to be in the world, in the world with them and enveloped by the sounds and the colors. And my gosh, it was just so, like it was an epic saga. It totally was. yeah, I don't even know. Like I found myself forgetting what songs were coming at one point because I was like, where are we? Like, are we gonna get,
Nikki (44:20)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Kelly (44:46)
As Long As You're Mine, you know, was like, no, that's the second part. Like I just was, I loved the forest. my God. That is like.
Nikki (44:49)
Yeah.
I know, right?
And her in the forest was beautiful because she's green and then everything else is green and she like blended but stood out so beautifully.
Kelly (45:03)
Yes. I that's like, like the Swan Princess Forest. Like, I don't know. It's, it's like the Disney Princess Forest of my dreams. It is just so lush and beautiful and private and cozy and magical and
Nikki (45:12)
Yeah.
I know.
Yeah, it was beautiful. It was really, really beautiful. But all the all the sets were beautiful. And I was worried that it was going to be very light. And that everything, you know, when people do a fantasy show or movie, and I feel like I say this a lot, everybody looks like they know what a cell phone is.
Kelly (45:30)
Yes.
Mmm.
Nikki (45:49)
and that they've come to put on this production and the sets show it and the costumes show it and the people's faces show it. That's what I was worried about because a lot of the clips you were seeing were very bright. And I am so, so happy that that is not the case because I was ready to be let down by that aspect.
Kelly (45:50)
Mm-hmm.
Mmm.
Yes.
I agree. think it was just right. It was just the right amount of color. It still looked like it was rooted in some kind of reality. I loved everyone's makeup. I think they looked like realistic and you know, the people who need to have a little pop, they had a little pop. I thought, I mean, Cynthia looked gorgeous. Oh my God. Like she already does. my God. I heard they did her whole scalp.
Nikki (46:36)
I know her, the green was flawless.
Kelly (46:43)
because of her wigs in case she moved and you saw some she's like I want it to be green you know like and she's already like she has a shaved head in her normal life so yeah it's like great just sit there do it up but I would be very surprised if she didn't or if they didn't win a Oscar for makeup for her alone because it was just beautiful yeah yeah
Nikki (46:44)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah. Yeah, it was just stunning.
Yeah, I think they'll be taking a lot of production awards.
Yeah.
Kelly (47:11)
I don't know about acting, not because they were bad, but because I don't know what they're up against, right? But like, I thought it was great.
Nikki (47:18)
Yeah, and I think it's hard too for a musical to win in acting because they're going up against films that are done by like Martin Scorsese and stuff like that where it's like very, not that this wasn't intentional because it was, but it's like very deep, intentional, like storyline focus on the plot. If you miss three sentences, you don't know what's going on. And people love that shit. I like that shit sometimes too, but
Kelly (47:33)
real.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Nikki (47:48)
I think that it's just not generally where people tend to lie when it comes to the academy.
Kelly (47:55)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So we'll see. What do you think? Which song do you think will be nominated or which songs will be nominated?
Nikki (47:59)
So.
I don't think we've heard any of them yet.
Kelly (48:11)
Really?
Nikki (48:12)
Because they would be like, it's like best song written for a movie. So I don't know if they're going to nominate any of the songs that are already in the musical because I don't think they count.
Kelly (48:18)
Mm-hmm.
yeah. That's a good point. I don't know.
Nikki (48:30)
And they're definitely not nominating that thing that Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth sang. Like, whatever the fuck that was.
Kelly (48:36)
No, no, no, I just, I just really want to see Cynthia sing Defying Gravity with the rig for the stage show because holy yes, there was nothing wrong. I would love it because it's like, that's the thing. There's like a few moments in theater, no matter what, I cry.
Nikki (48:45)
Yeah, do it like on Broadway. I wouldn't be surprised if they got to do it, her and Ariana.
Kelly (49:03)
And that is one of them. In the movie, it was still so powerful because it's like, how often do we see a woman taking her power, like taking control of her own powers? And she just soars literally and figuratively. And it was just so like overwhelming in the best way. I just.
Nikki (49:03)
Yep, I know.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I know.
Kelly (49:32)
I can't! I'm like you, I don't even remember most of the ending because I'm just like, like of the the next part, I mean, because I've only seen it once and I listened to the soundtrack, but that's not the same, you know?
Nikki (49:45)
Yeah. Yeah, like I know all the songs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I remember everything that goes on between the songs. Yeah. And they're going to add even more.
Kelly (49:49)
Yup.
No, and there's a lot. There's got to be. I mean, I remember some things, right? That's that's what's giving me a little bit of unease. Excuse me. Yeah, I they they haven't said anything to my knowledge about what's going to happen. So I'm like, what did you do? And who did it? After the fact, yeah.
Nikki (50:03)
anxiety. Yeah.
I know. Who do we have to fire around here?
Well, I don't know. mean, I'm just going to, I guess for now, be happy that this first part was a success. And you know, if I have to pretend that the second half doesn't exist, then I can do that. I really can. That was fine. Power to the people and...
Kelly (50:29)
god, was it ever?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Depending on my mood, I do that for Sound of Music, honestly, because the first half is like rom-com fun. Second half is like, shit.
Nikki (50:47)
Yeah.
When I was a kid, I didn't even know there was a second half because I didn't know you had to put the second VHS in to watch it. I only ever watched the first half over and over and over over again. I didn't know that it was about Nazis. I didn't know that they had to flee. I literally was like, Liesl and Rolf. And I sang the good songs and then I just put, I just re-wound the tape.
Kelly (51:02)
You
I mean, hey, good for you. Your mom's like, should we tell her?
Nikki (51:20)
Yep.
My dad's probably like, I'm too tired to explain Nazism to her right now. No.
Kelly (51:28)
you
that.
Nikki (51:34)
Yeah, so here we are.
Kelly (51:37)
gosh, I just, I, I'm probably going to see it three times. Honestly. I already have a date set for my mom and one of my sisters. I told Scott, I would like to go on a date with him to see it. Cause he was like, maybe I'll go with you and your mom. And I was like, or we could go together alone and share this together. So we'll see.
Nikki (51:57)
Yeah.
Yep. Yeah, I'm going with my mom on Wednesday. We already have the tickets booked. Yep. And I'm excited. She goes, you know, if you don't like it, you're going to have to sit through like three hours twice. And I was like, yeah, but I do. And I'm going to bring Kleenex this time so I can just quietly like sob into it and just
Kelly (52:06)
gonna love it. Good. Yes.
right?
Yes.
Nikki (52:29)
except that I don't know anybody else in the theater as long as I don't start hiccuping it'll be fine. Which, we went to see The Conclave and I wasn't crying but I did get the hiccups and I swear I hiccuped through one third of that whole movie. I couldn't stop.
Kelly (52:34)
yeah. Yeah.
God.
That's the one about the Pope, right?
Nikki (52:50)
Yes, that's very serious. And they're all like writing their ballots and walking them up and saying their like little pledge in Latin. And I'm like, the whole time.
Kelly (53:03)
Oh my god.
I'm glad you didn't do that today.
Nikki (53:08)
Me too. Me frickin' too.
Kelly (53:12)
What do you think your favorite part of the movie was? It could be a song, a joke, a scene, anything.
Nikki (53:19)
You know, I think that I like, it's not a favorite part per se, like a favorite scene, but my favorite part was Ariana Grande. Really? Yeah, I loved her, like Kristin Chenoweth vibes and her little like kind of spazzy like movements. Popular was so great when she's spinning on the little chandelier.
Kelly (53:28)
Mm-hmm.
Yes!
Wow!
Nikki (53:49)
And she like pushes Cynthia down and she's like singing on the pillow and then they come back up and then she like pushes Cynthia back down. And I just, loved all of that. I think that because the show is really emotional for me, for like a lot of reasons, it was nice to have the reprieve of being able to laugh instead of just like.
Kelly (53:56)
Yeah.
Yes.
Nikki (54:16)
constantly feeling like you're gonna cry, even though there's like happy and fun stuff going on. But it's just, I don't know if you grew up listening to it and you've seen it, it just does something to you. So it was really nice to be able to be like, ha ha ha, because it's like, if I don't laugh right now, I'll cry, but for real.
Kelly (54:19)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah, I thought she really handled that super well. Like she had a lot of Kristin in her, but also a lot of her in there. And I, yeah, I loved her like manic energy, just like, know,
Nikki (54:47)
Yeah.
Yeah. There were like points where I'm like, someone's going to just snap her arm off. She was like so tiny and like they're swinging around and picking her up. And I'm like, her arm's just going to pop right off. Like a little Barbie doll. she was great and her dancing was good. I think like I didn't really know what to expect from her because I've only ever seen her like just clips of her from like Nickelodeon. Is that what she was on? Like
Kelly (55:08)
True,
Yeah.
Yes. Yeah.
Nikki (55:21)
from Sam and Cat and stuff. So I've only ever seen her do that like kid acting. So I was like, I don't know like what it's gonna be like, but she did amazing.
Kelly (55:29)
Mm. Mm-hmm.
Like, god.
my god.
I just...
Nikki (55:38)
I will say on a totally different kind of topic, I really appreciated that they made the shoes silver.
Kelly (55:42)
Mm-hmm.
Yes. Yes. Agreed.
Nikki (55:51)
Because the shoes are not ruby slippers in the book, in L. Frank Baum's book. They're silver shoes, and they made them kind of like diamondy in this. But if you don't know that, or don't catch it because Nessa Rose is the Wicked Witch of the East, and the shoes that her father gives her are the shoes that Dorothy is going to get. So I was like, that's nice.
Kelly (55:56)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Nikki (56:21)
Thank you for that touch.
Kelly (56:23)
Yeah, Bryce is probably like, why are we zooming in on these shoes several times? Okay. Is this It Ends With Us?
Nikki (56:26)
I told him. I whispered that to him. also, I also, when Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel came up, I was like, they're the original Glinda and Elphaba from the Broadway production. I was like feeding him little tidbits so he could be impressed with everybody else.
Kelly (56:36)
Ha!
Yeah, and Stephen Schwartz made a super quick cameo, Yeah, he... so I did hear about that one. He was the guard who said, the wizard will see you now.
Nikki (56:47)
did he? I didn't even notice.
yeah, okay, I was looking at him and I was like, he looks so familiar and I feel like this is important. But I was like, I don't know who this fucking guy is.
Kelly (56:59)
Yeah.
It makes me think like who else was in here because they must have had other people from Broadway versions of it or something like, you know, West End maybe because it's been going for like 21 years or something. So.
Nikki (57:05)
Yeah.
yeah.
yeah, there'd be a part for anybody, like in the chorus and stuff. You need people young and old.
Kelly (57:18)
Yes. Yeah, I'd like, I'll just stand there and hold something. Please. You can use me as a model for the monkey if you want, and I'll just sit there with a sensor, you know?
Nikki (57:29)
Yeah. So what was your favorite part?
Kelly (57:34)
I think I can't pick a specific like scene like you said or a song, but I loved the sets and the like big panning like birds-eye view shots they had. I just felt like I'm being whisked away and it's so beautiful and whimsical and yeah.
Nikki (57:49)
Mmm.
Yeah.
So what was your least favorite moment?
Or thing or whatever.
Kelly (58:09)
Hmm. Well, I think the least favorite I've already said is the stomping. It took me right out. I was like, why? This is not hard. This is not a hard moment. I don't know why this means hard. my God. No, we're not. And we're not in like Rhythm Nation. Nothing wrong with Rhythm Nation. Love it. Not here. Not here. Okay. I kind of, I feel like sometimes when they were in the Emerald City,
Nikki (58:13)
Okay.
Yeah. Yeah, we're not in stomp the yard.
Yeah.
Kelly (58:37)
I was like, maybe they're trying to do like ticking and stuff to show like all the gears and stuff. But I'm like, I don't, shouldn't have to think so hard about this little thing. It should just be like, we're in a musical and we're dancing, you know, like, I don't know. I don't want to have to like dissect very specific 10 seconds of four people dancing. You know what I mean? It's too much, too much thought.
Nikki (58:51)
Yeah.
See ya.
I agree. I agree.
Kelly (59:05)
So I think the stomping was my least favorite, took me out.
Nikki (59:09)
What did you think about Jeff Goldblum?
Kelly (59:11)
He was just kind of there for me. Like, sometimes I was like, is he just ad-libbing? Did he forget his lines and he just like was like, yeah, by the way, you know?
Nikki (59:24)
He just plays Jeff Goldblum all the time, which I don't agree with in a fantasy story. I think you need to embody the character. Also, his Sentimental Man, they cut it down, which, yeah, because...
Kelly (59:30)
It's gotten him pretty far.
Yeah.
Yes, thank God. Thank Oz.
Nikki (59:52)
Well, first of all, that song sucks. Snooze Fest. It's like that one song in every show. They also cut down Something Bad.
Kelly (59:55)
Yes. Yes.
Yep.
Yeah, Peter Dinklage!
Nikki (1:00:05)
I know the whole frickin movie. Bryce. He's going, I think that's Peter Dinklage. And I'm like, we can look it up after. Yeah. Let me feel included.
Kelly (1:00:13)
He's like, I know something. I love you, Bryce. I'm just like, you're like, I'm working. Okay. I've been waiting. I have to pee. Go. You know?
Nikki (1:00:24)
Yeah. When she spun around with the cape on and the dust flies up, he goes, the drama. And I was like, girl, just like zip it.
Kelly (1:00:36)
I know, I know, this is the thing. I was kind of worried, like, I mean, I wasn't worried, but I did think to myself, what if like, people are trying to like make comments to me while I'm watching it? I'm like, I'm zoned in, that did not happen. No one tried to talk to me, like Rabeka didn't try to talk to me, you didn't try to talk to me. The only time was when we got spooked by the monkey and we went, and we laughed for a sec.
Nikki (1:00:49)
Yeah.
No.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like can tune him out. He does that all the time. And I'm just like, could we not?
And it's always when something's like emotional or something, because it's like a boy thing, they get uncomfortable and then they feel like they need to say something funny to like lighten the mood. But really, I'm just like.
Kelly (1:01:09)
Not the time.
Yes.
Yeah, you just ruined my mood.
Nikki (1:01:22)
Yeah. Yep.
Kelly (1:01:24)
What was your least favorite part or aspect?
Nikki (1:01:29)
Mmmmm
Madam Morrible.
Kelly (1:01:35)
She was just kind of there for me also.
Nikki (1:01:37)
I just feel like...
It just was not good. It was not acted. There was a lot of just focus on saying the lines. There wasn't any kind of like feeling with the lines. I also find the way Michelle Yeoh talks, she just sounds the same all the time. It doesn't matter what she's saying, in what movie she's saying it in. It's just always the same. Yeah.
Kelly (1:01:54)
Mm.
Like very monotone. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Nikki (1:02:11)
And I don't like that. And I was waiting for at the beginning of The Wizard and I, her part kind of like amps you up. like, I've been waiting for you when you're like, your powers are so great and we're going to like have this grand future for you. And I didn't feel like that. I was just like, wow, they changed a lot of notes. Which. Yeah, she was like.
Kelly (1:02:30)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, it was very Rex Harrison, you know, talking and then singing one word.
Nikki (1:02:41)
Yeah, and I didn't like that. I really didn't like that. I feel like they could have put her into the movie in a different way if they wanted her in there and they could have found somebody who was more suited to the role. I feel the same way about Jeff Goldblum.
Kelly (1:02:43)
Hmm.
Mm.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, like they both were just kind of there for me. Like the one part I really liked with her with Madam Morrible wasn't even really to it didn't have much to do with her. It was like more the camera. When she turned around after she like talked to the flying monkeys and she's trying to like rile them up. She had like a Regina George moment.
Nikki (1:03:03)
He was like pretty mid.
Yeah.
Right.
yeah, and she's walking and they're like, yeah.
Kelly (1:03:27)
Yes, because it was like Regina George was like, ha ha ha, I have started this, you know, I liked that. But yeah.
Nikki (1:03:31)
Yeah.
Yeah, I was trying so hard not to cry after she does the spell and then the monkey is like in pain.
Kelly (1:03:42)
Yeah, I know. I forgot that part from the musical because I just know, as we know from the movie, like the Wizard of Oz movie, I gotta be clear here, that the Wicked Witch of the West and the Flying Monkeys work together. So I was like, no, like what's happening? I was, I forgot about it.
Nikki (1:03:47)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, we haven't seen in this movie, like how they come together yet, because clearly right now they're attacking her because the Wiz, the wizard and not her. Yeah. So, but that part was just like heartbreaking. And then the little lion in the cage.
Kelly (1:04:11)
Yes.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. That was, that's another one. Another musical god.
Ugh.
Nikki (1:04:30)
when they took Dr. Dillamond away and they were grabbing his horns and his glasses fell off and I was just like, ugh.
Kelly (1:04:30)
I know.
Yeah, I thought they used her visions really effectively. her seeing him in the cage and she's like, oh no, like, like, this vision is an actual vision and not just me like having a moment, you know, like, yeah.
Nikki (1:04:41)
Yes, yeah, I liked that.
Yeah, I know. And the lion is the cowardly lion. And like, ugh.
Kelly (1:04:58)
Yeah.
I, we're in spoilers, so whatever, I'll just say it. I'm so excited for No Good Deed. I'm excited for Fiyero to become the Scarecrow and she saves him and all that. Like that's going to be so dramatic and epic. I don't remember how we learn about Elphaba's dad in the musical. Like I don't remember when that's revealed, but it's got to happen. So.
Nikki (1:05:08)
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah, I don't remember.
Kelly (1:05:32)
Yeah, I don't know, but I'm excited for No Good Deed and As Long As You're Mine. I used to listen to that song on repeat. I love it so much. Oh my God. So.
Nikki (1:05:41)
Yeah.
Yeah. I'm excited for For Good. Like, I'm excited, but also, like, I'm gonna cry.
Kelly (1:05:55)
Yeah. Yeah.
Nikki (1:05:59)
because tearjerker of a song.
Kelly (1:06:03)
Well, and this is thing you mentioned earlier when Cynthia Erivo was crying in the Oz Dust ballroom or whatever it's called. I did not feel emotional until I saw her crying. And every time there was a moment like that in this movie, it just felt so real because they were actually upset, you know, and they were in it to win it. It was so effective.
Nikki (1:06:11)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, for real. Yeah, when Ariana like brushed the tear.
Kelly (1:06:33)
Yeah.
when they yeah, because that immediately made me think like, what if Elphaba's never had someone hold her like this in a dance, because she's never been to a party and everyone's so awful to her. You know, and so she gets emotional and she's like, no, it's like, it's okay, like we're together.
Nikki (1:06:45)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, like the only person other than her sister that has ever, like, touched her.
Kelly (1:07:00)
Is a bear.
Nikki (1:07:02)
Yeah. Only person, not animal.
Kelly (1:07:06)
Yeah. Yeah.
Nikki (1:07:10)
I mean, I could think of worse, I mean, like in this context, I could think of worse things to cuddle with than a bear because it would be really cozy in this context, not in our world, because that would be bad news, bears, for real.
Kelly (1:07:17)
Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
Depends on the bear, okay? I'm a vegetarian.
Nikki (1:07:27)
That's true. It doesn't speak English.
Kelly (1:07:33)
Maybe I speak bear, okay? That's another episode. I can't. I have to leave some tricks up my sleeve I need to keep people coming back, okay? Did you clock when he said the wizard was like, give the people what they want, whatever he like sang a little thing.
Nikki (1:07:36)
Please enlighten us, Kelly.
Ugh.
my gosh.
Kelly (1:07:58)
I so badly wanted to look at you and go, give the people what they want.
Nikki (1:07:58)
I don't know people what they want. No, but I didn't at all. When was that?
Kelly (1:08:09)
He is when he did the three second tap dance.
Nikki (1:08:14)
Ohh yeah. I was focusing on the tap dancing because they didn't have his face and his feet in the shot. And I was like, that's not his feet. That's all I was thinking.
Kelly (1:08:15)
Yeah. Why, I don't know.
Those are young people feet.
Nikki (1:08:26)
Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Kelly (1:08:30)
Oh my gosh.
Any final thoughts on this movie?
Nikki (1:08:36)
No, I don't. I don't think I do. I think I got all the important stuff out.
Kelly (1:08:42)
Yeah, I am super happy we saw it when we did because A, it's very long. So when we got out, it was just after six. And like I said earlier, when the movie was done and the lights came up, I said to everyone who came, who I went with, I was like, I need to sit here for a sec. Like I am so just taken. My body is left.
Nikki (1:08:49)
Me too.
Yeah.
yet.
Kelly (1:09:12)
Like my soul went somewhere. had to just like recharge for a sec. Like, I don't know. I was hit by everything that they threw our way and I was exhausted in the best way. I have a tension headache that this Coke is definitely not helping with, but I will fix that after you need to do what you need to do. But, I am happily surprised. Like I did not think.
Nikki (1:09:18)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah.
Kelly (1:09:41)
I was going to like it as much as I did. was like, well, I hope it's good. At least I'll like the music, you know? And I think they did a really good job.
Nikki (1:09:46)
Yeah.
I do too. It kind of like you'd think, it made me want to read Wicked. It didn't. It made me want to read Fairy Tale again, actually.
Kelly (1:10:00)
Ohh yeah, I can see that. Okay.
Nikki (1:10:03)
Cause it's like very similar like fantasy aspects like Emerald City, that kind of thing. Yeah, lots of danger. Yeah, I don't know. I'm excited to see it again though.
Kelly (1:10:10)
the danger. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Me too!
Nikki (1:10:20)
And I'm excited for when it comes out to be able to watch at home.
Kelly (1:10:25)
Yes, ugh, with a bathroom break.
Nikki (1:10:29)
Yeah, 2 hours and 40 minutes is a long time to hold your pee.
Kelly (1:10:34)
Yeah, I didn't drink at all in the movie. So my mouth was like so salty with the popcorn, but I was like, I refuse. I was like, I'm here for a long time and a good time. Okay, like, you're not going to see me running in and out before Defying Gravity like an amateur. Okay.
Nikki (1:10:45)
Yep.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, by the time we got to that part of the movie, I was kind of like, is it going to happen soon? I feel like we've been here for a long time.
Kelly (1:10:54)
my god.
I know, every time they kept going up, I was like, where is she going to go in the air? How is she going to go? She's going to go through the glass? She's going to shatter the glass ceiling? She didn't. I'm glad because ow. And also on the nose, you know, I, yeah, I did, I browsed through Rotten Tomatoes when I got home to see what the bad reviews were saying, because it has a 90 from the critics and a 98 with the audience right now.
Nikki (1:11:05)
Yeah.
I know.
Yeah.
Yep. A little too on the nose.
Kelly (1:11:32)
So very good. And one of the rotten reviews was that they were like, this was too political and trying to say things when it's supposed to be like escapist fantasy. And I'm like, sure.
Nikki (1:11:51)
It's not escapist fantasy. It's like the book is very political. That's the point.
Kelly (1:11:56)
Yes! Isn't she like, doesn't she spend time with like nuns or something? Like she's like in a convent at some point, I want to say? Yeah. Like when she's on the run, maybe?
Nikki (1:12:06)
Yeah...
I do remember that like very, very vaguely as you say it.
Kelly (1:12:14)
Yeah, yeah, like it's not in the musical at all, but I remember reading that and being like, okay, like something's going on here. But I just thought that was so funny. I was like, dude, you didn't do any research before. Like as a critic, I would think you would want to know just like what the source material is. So, you know, like don't read the book. You don't need to do that, but like, okay, cool.
Nikki (1:12:16)
No.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I will say, I know we're like, we don't have any other thoughts and then we keep talking, but it was kind of surprising to me that they don't mention the water thing at all other than Madame Morrible just putting the umbrella over her and being like, you can't get wet.
Kelly (1:12:59)
Yeah.
Nikki (1:12:59)
And I'm like, like, I get it, but I don't get it. Like I get, I obviously, I get it because I've, I've read the book and I've watched the Wizard of Oz, but I just felt like maybe there should have been more about that or even like something with her, taking a bath in milk, because that's what she does in the book. She like bathes in milk, which I think would just make you smell awful, but like whatever, I guess. Yeah.
Kelly (1:13:09)
Mm-hmm.
Mmm.
You'd be sticky. You'd have to take a bath after your bath and then you'd just be sticky forever for good.
Nikki (1:13:32)
Yeah. Yep. For good.
Kelly (1:13:38)
Also, their blend, the two of them, it was like one voice.
Nikki (1:13:44)
So good.
I know.
I know it was perfect. And I watched, well, I feel like they said this in so many interviews maybe, but they were talking about that. And I think it was Cynthia saying, a lot of the time it's hard to sing with other people because one person wants to sing louder or like have more attention or something. And they had this ability to sing together, like for each other to like
Kelly (1:13:51)
What?
Mmm.
Nikki (1:14:18)
to bolster the other person, basically, and that helped them really, like, combine. I think, too, when you're hired to be Elphaba and you're hired to be Glinda, what do you have to prove? Just, like, do the job. Like, you're there. You have it.
Kelly (1:14:31)
Right? Like that is, yeah, that is one of the biggest roles you could get as a, as a female voice, you know, and you're not baked in best friends, but like you kind of become them. So you would think and hope that they would want to uplift each other and support each other while they're singing and not be like, I'm going to fight over you. I don't care that you're the belter. I'm going to fight over it. You know, like, okay, that's a little weird, but you know what?
Nikki (1:14:41)
Yep.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Kelly (1:15:01)
Singers can be weird, like musical theater people can be weird, but like singers, sometimes they have huge egos and attitudes and it's like, so you can sing, other people can paint, other people can whatever, you're not any better than anyone else, you know I mean? Like that's coming from someone who does sing, like shut up, you know? Holy.
Nikki (1:15:06)
Weird. Yep.
Well, that's the thing, right? Like, it was nice to see them, like, just seamlessly mesh. I'm seeing a lot of things online of people, because you know, theater kids, you know, theater kids are, and it's like, they're best friends now, but wait until the second movie's over and they're going to be enemies. And I'm like, but that is pretty theater kid. Like, frenemies, like, my God, I love you. I love you too. No, I hate you. I hate you.
Kelly (1:15:33)
Mm-hmm.
Yep. Period.
Yep.
Nikki (1:15:55)
For real. I'm hoping that's not the case. I don't think it will be because they're very professional, but it's just funny to see because that's like, it's just a very, it's just very theater.
Kelly (1:15:57)
Seriously. my god.
Yeah, yeah. Well, like, and I know, like, Ariana is the bigger name going into this. So a lot of people are like, even in interviews, they're like, oh my God, Ariana, like your voice, blah, blah, blah. And she's always like, Cynthia, can we get like recognition for her because she's like, an alien, she has said she's like, she's so good. And that's the truth. They're both so good. But I love that they're both like, Hello, like I get to go to work.
Nikki (1:16:14)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kelly (1:16:36)
and sing with one of the best singers on the planet like holy
Nikki (1:16:39)
yet.
Yeah, and they're doing it for each other, which is really nice. I saw an interview with the two of them, Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum, and Ariana goes, well, we're all singers here. And Jonathan and Jeff look at each other. And I was like, Jonathan's a singer. I would say Jonathan's a singer. But would I say Jeff Goldblum is a singer? No. But she's like, what? What is so funny? She just keeps like talking. Well, we're all singers here.
Kelly (1:16:45)
Yes. Yeah.
So kind.
Nikki (1:17:10)
I am a sentimental man. Song's over. Yeah.
Kelly (1:17:14)
Yeah, let go behind the curtain. That's enough. Go away moon. I was like...
Nikki (1:17:19)
Yeah, and he comes out through like the the vagina opening and the thing like it's like the beginning of vagina monologues
Kelly (1:17:30)
What is he doing here? Get out of here! God. Cis Het Man, get out of here!
Nikki (1:17:31)
Ha ha ha!
Right?
so happy we went to see it and I'm glad that we get to talk to everybody about it.
Kelly (1:17:41)
Me too. Yes! my gosh. Are you guys gonna see the movie? Are you gonna bring your friends? Have you read the book? We would love to hear your thoughts. yeah, I would talk to anybody about this. I'm just like so over the moon, excited, happy. I feel fulfilled.
Nikki (1:18:00)
Yeah.
Me too! I feel like it's been a long time since we've got something like this. And it was needed.
Kelly (1:18:08)
Yes. And I mean, Jon M. Chu, he did In The Heights, the movie, and I loved that too. So, cried in that one, cried like a baby in that one. So...
Nikki (1:18:15)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Yeah, I did too, but I was at home so I could do it safely.
Kelly (1:18:26)
Yes, same. I am cautiously optimistic about part two.
Nikki (1:18:35)
same.
Kelly (1:18:36)
We'll see. They've buttered me up. We'll see how part two goes. At least we'll have a few really good songs.
Nikki (1:18:44)
Yeah, that's true. Guaranteed good songs. And then we'll just...
Kelly (1:18:46)
So yeah, yes. And it will probably be shorter than the first part. Probably.
Nikki (1:18:56)
I kinda hope so.
I mean, really, it would be nice if it was short enough that you could conceivably watch both of them in one night, since they are... one story.
Kelly (1:19:08)
Yes. Yeah. you know what would be cool if they did like a midnight release viewing whatever double feature watch part one.
Nikki (1:19:19)
yeah, and you can watch the first half and then at midnight you watch the second half. Yeah, that would be nice. Yep.
Kelly (1:19:24)
have your little concession bathroom break in between.
Nikki (1:19:31)
I would do that.
Kelly (1:19:31)
Just saying, me too. my god, yeah. Sign me up. Where do I buy my tickets?
Nikki (1:19:35)
Mm-hmm. We can do that at once it's out. We can do that at my house on the projector. And then we can just cry. We can just have the lights off and ignore each other and we can just fucking cry because we don't have to get a headache. We can just let it out.
Kelly (1:19:43)
Yes!
Yeah, like, my God, I need I was gonna say I need someone to say something mean so can cry and get this out. But no, I'll just find another way to cry.
Nikki (1:20:02)
You could just listen to Defying Gravity.
Kelly (1:20:04)
I'll watch the video again of her going up. my god. Yeah, I can't I I have to lie down
Nikki (1:20:06)
Yeah.
I know, I'm ready to crawl in bed.
Kelly (1:20:17)
right. So with that, everybody, thank you so much for watching or listening to this episode and manic review of Wicked Part 1. If you want to stay up to date on all of our other bookish, mantic goings on. mantic, what the heck is that? And you just looked at me that whole time.
Nikki (1:20:35)
I don't know. I was like, we're tired. We're just rolling with it. Well, we're trying to say antics, bookish antics? Manic.
Kelly (1:20:45)
It's because I've been listening to make believe words in Wicked. Manic, manic antics. If you want to keep up to date with all of this and this energy that we're bringing, you can follow us on Instagram at BYO book podcast or on TikTok at bring your own book podcast. So with all that being said, remember no one mourns the Wicked.
Except us. See ya!
Nikki (1:21:15)
except us.
