{"id":2164855,"date":"2025-11-18T19:13:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2164855"},"modified":"2025-11-18T19:13:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:13:07","slug":"wicked-for-good-review-cynthia-erivo-and-ariana-grande-bring-on-the-tears-in-musical-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wicked-for-good-review-cynthia-erivo-and-ariana-grande-bring-on-the-tears-in-musical-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Wicked: For Good&#8217; review: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande bring on the tears in musical finale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F11%2FUntitled-4-copy-2.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tmovie review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tWICKED: FOR GOOD\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Running time: 137 minutes.\u00a0Rated PG (some suggestive material, action and violence). In theaters Nov. 21.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Thus ends the longest intermission ever.<\/p>\n<p>A whole year after Elphaba belted \u201cDefying Gravity\u201d midair and the credits of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/11\/19\/entertainment\/wicked-review-decent-movie-adaptation-doesnt-defy-gravity-without-second-half\/\">Wicked<\/a>\u201d rolled, the witch is back in \u201cWicked: For Good,\u201d an emotional and elongated version of the Broadway musical\u2019s second act.<\/p>\n<p>Theater-lover common wisdom has it that<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/11\/19\/entertainment\/wicked-review-decent-movie-adaptation-doesnt-defy-gravity-without-second-half\/\"> the first half<\/a> of composer Stephen Schwartz\u2019s \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d riff based on Gregory Maguire\u2019s novel is infinitely better than what comes after the bathroom break.<\/p>\n<p>Onstage that\u2019s true. All its best ballads (\u201cThe Wizard and I\u201d) and company numbers (\u201cDancing Through Life\u201d) are front-loaded. It\u2019s a bright and poppy YA boarding-school story about a misunderstood cultural icon that ends with power.<\/p>\n<p>Darker and grimmer Act 2, though, by a hair, makes a meatier movie because characters aren\u2019t as\u00a0silly \u2014 the first flick was practically a pageant \u2014 and they are actually propelling toward a satisfying conclusion.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star in \u201cWicked: For Good.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There is still something off about it. \u201cWicked\u201d was mostly fun; a Dylan\u2019s Candy Bar with singing. \u201cFor Good\u201d is all tears \u2014 to the point I\u2019m not sure kids will enjoy it much. The creatives were dumb (or greedy, or both!) to imbalance the musical by splitting it in two.<\/p>\n<p>But the paths of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) as an activist rebel trying to inform oppressed Ozians that their vaunted wizard is a fraud, and that of Glinda (Ariana Grande) as a popular-if-conflicted government official tasked with raising morale with glittery propaganda is far more compelling than \u201cWe weren\u2019t friends, and then we were!\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a\u00a0sole\u00a0beam of lightness through the storm\u00a0clouds. That\u00a0belongs\u00a0to Jeff Goldblum\u2019s Wizard, who croons an old-fashioned showbiz song called \u201cWonderful,\u201d playfully telling idealist Elphaba, \u201cyou\u2019ve got to give the people what they want.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Elphaba (Erivo) is now an activist trying to inform Ozians that the Wizard is a fraud. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Plenty of L. Frank Baum\u2019s magical creations make their awaited entrances.<\/p>\n<p>The Wicked Witch of the East, Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow and Dorothy all shuffle in. Although a lot of their rather childish backstories should\u2019ve been cleaned up from Winnie Holzman\u2019s Broadway book.<\/p>\n<p>And, like the Tin Man, the film finds a beating heart.<\/p>\n<p>The love triangle between Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) hits harder than it\u00a0tends to\u00a0do on Broadway thanks to Bailey\u2019s fervor and genuine concern.<\/p>\n<p>That said, audience members will stifle laughs when, at the beginning of \u201cAs Long As You\u2019re Mine,\u201d essentially a Bonnie Tyler-style PG sex song sung by Elphie and her man, Erivo dons what has to be the largest gray sweater ever made.<\/p>\n<p>It looks like she\u2019s about to go dog sledding.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The love triangle between Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) is more involving than usual. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even with a lotta wool, the pair of lead performances are richer and more poignant. Fabulous, really. Erivo, who has an easier handle on the Wicked Witch of the West\u2019s serious side than her cackle, is giving surely the best movie-musical vocal turn since Jennifer Hudson in \u201cDreamgirls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mixing strong, to-the-rafters singing with intimate, subtle scene work isn\u2019t easy. Thank goodness Erivo can do it.<\/p>\n<p>And she continues to have a wonderful rapport with the delightful Grande, who digs deeper as Glinda\u2019s engagement is on the rocks and she questions the meaning of her life.<\/p>\n<p>Beefing up Grande\u2019s role is one of the forgivable ripples of tacking on\u00a0so much padding\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cWicked\u201d films,\u00a0which total nearly five hours.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Grande goes deeper as Glinda\u2019s life crumbles around her. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What should have never happened, however, is allowing no-good-deed Schwartz to transparently compete for an Oscar by ramming in two atrocious new songs:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s No Place Like Home,\u201d for Erivo, which just makes you wish you were listening to \u201cHome\u201d from \u201cThe Wiz\u201d instead.<\/p>\n<p>And Grande gets \u201cThe Girl in the Bubble,\u201d a soft, existential-crisis ditty that would be forgettable were it not for its moronic lyrics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s time for her bubble to pop,\u201d sang Glinda as my ears handed in their two weeks notice.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The \u201cWicked\u201d films total out to nearly five hours. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Once we arrive at the sweet climactic friendship duet \u201cFor Good,\u201d though, those indulgences are forgiven.<\/p>\n<p>Director Jon M. Chu shoots it with tender simplicity and just lets the pair connect and feel. He wisely shows much more restraint in Part Two. There was a symphony of sniffles in my theater, and not because of cold-and-flu season.<\/p>\n<p>Intermission of \u201cWicked\u201d lasted an entire year. And now begins \u201cFor Good\u201d\u2019s four-month-long curtain call \u2014 a k a the road to the Oscars.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>movie review WICKED: FOR GOOD Running time: 137 minutes.\u00a0Rated PG (some suggestive material, action and violence). In theaters Nov. 21. Thus ends the longest intermission ever. A whole year after Elphaba belted \u201cDefying Gravity\u201d midair and the credits of \u201cWicked\u201d rolled, the witch is back in \u201cWicked: For Good,\u201d an emotional and elongated version of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2164856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[25538,24076,40246,21741,21993,304995,21912],"class_list":["post-2164855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-actors","tag-ariana-grande","tag-cynthia-erivo","tag-entertainment","tag-films","tag-movie-reviews","tag-movies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Wicked-For-Good-review-Cynthia-Erivo-and-Ariana-Grande-bring.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2164855"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2164857,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164855\/revisions\/2164857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2164856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2164855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2164855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2164855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}