This week:
- The good, bad, and ugly of Wicked: For Good.
- A major SNL announcement.
- Quite possibly the cutest video ever.
- The highlight of BravoCon.
- A fascinating video of Tom Cruise.
Will You Be Changed For Good?
Wicked is back!
Did Wicked ever really leave us? If I think really hard, there may have been a stretch of 10 days or so over the last two years when I didn’t see Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on some TV show, or hear someone make a joke about “holding space.” (Genius marketing trick: Audiences don’t have to hold space if the actors never leave the damn space.)
It’s a Wicked era. We’re a Wicked culture. The United States of Oz. My skin has been looking strangely green.
Still, it’s a testament to the enthusiasm for this piece that, despite a saturation that could be deemed relentless, the release of Wicked: For Good in theaters still feels like an event. The sequel earned the year’s highest box-office tally in its previews, with $30.8 million. The gravity-defying prediction is a $180 million opening-weekend total, which would also be 2025’s biggest debut.
That means that a lot of people are going to be chatting about wicked witches, scarecrows, and flying sex come Monday morning.
I already saw and reviewed the film. Read that here. (If you had a heart, a brain, or any sort of courage, you’d give me those clicks, so that I can continue to afford my home.) And now that I’ve been changed for good…ish, here is my rundown of the things people will have the most to say about:
Ariana Grande is unbelievable. This is Glinda’s movie, and Grande commands it, as exceptional in her acting scenes as she is when she’s singing. Her work in the last 30 minutes of the film, as her reality crumbles around her and she finds the strength to scale the rubble, is heartbreaking.
There are two new songs, one for Erivo’s Elphaba and one for Grande’s Glinda—each with a Wizard of Oz-inspired title.
Erivo is among the greatest musical performers of her generation. So when I say that, when “No Place Like Home” starts, it’s time for you to take your bathroom break, that means the song is that bad. Elphaba sings the number to, and amongst, a forest of CGI animals, and you won’t be able to resist cringing with second-hand embarrassment.
Glinda’s “The Girl in the Bubble” is a masterpiece by comparison. At the very least, it adds a poignant layer to the Good Witch’s arc, which For Good—and Grande in her performance—take great care to flesh out.
Wicked: For Good is where the tie-ins to the Wizard of Oz stories we know and love really ramp up.
It starts immediately with the construction of the Yellow Brick Road—using animal slave labor!—and continues with the revelation of the Tin Man’s origin story, the return of the Cowardly Lion, and the most controversial twist: the unveiling of who the Scarecrow is and how he got that way. Dorothy arrives in her flying, murderous house, but is only ever seen from behind. Outside of a few great laugh lines from Grande, these all feel increasingly labored and distracting.
There are some bold moves taken in Wicked: For Good: Opening right away with a superhero-esque vigilante action sequence featuring Elphaba, giving more of Glinda’s childhood backstory, letting Michelle Yeoh sing… But the thing everyone will be talking about is the big sex scene.
Yes, there is a Wicked sex scene.
The sultry duet “As Long As You’re Mine” between Elphaba and Fiyero always heats up Act 2 of the stage show as the characters belt in each other’s faces. In the film, it’s now actualized. Elphaba and “Sexiest Man Alive” Jonathan Bailey strip down, make out, and get down to business. Or, rather, they get up to business, as their love scene levitates, thanks to Elphaba’s magic.
There’s even a post-coital shot of them after doing the “wicked” deed, in which Bailey is shirtless. (My theater gasped.) Elphaba, inexplicably, is wrapped in a chunky cardigan. A choice!
Over the last decades, fans of the stage musical have quietly whispered among themselves that Act 2 of Wicked is so much worse than Act 1. Wicked: For Good certainly has to contend with that reality, but it finds ways to elevate the source material into a compelling, emotional film. And thank goodness for that—I don’t have the fortitude for handling Wicked slander if people didn’t like the movie.
Does it seem like, over the past 18 months or so, that Wicked has been a bit everything, everywhere, all at once? Sure. But I’ve had to suffer through similar slogs with all those silly superhero franchises I have no patience for. Let me have this! May the press tour never end! May I be babysitting my grandkids in 2065, and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo still be crying while uncomfortably tactile talking about how they made each other feel safe!
I’m ready to hold space forever.
Merry Christmas to All the Gays
The good news, then, for people like me who haven’t had enough of Wicked shenanigans: Ariana Grande was announced as host of the Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live on Dec. 20.
My jaw dropped, however, when I clocked who was booked as the musical guest for the same episode. It’s Cher! “This is one of the gayest SNL episodes that they’ve done, right?” Grande recently asked Jimmy Fallon, and the answer is, yes—or, at least, certainly the gayest episode since RuPaul hosted. (The musical guest that week was Justin Bieber, so the rainbow flag wasn’t billowing with quite as much gusto.)
Moreover, this should only amplify the attention that Cher’s holiday song, “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” gets. I maintain that that track, released in 2023, is the first truly great Christmas pop song we’ve gotten since Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree,” which is already 12 years old! Justice for Cher!
This Was Almost Too Much to Handle
One last Wicked thing, I swear. But I would be negligent in my civic duty to inform the masses about the pressing issues of our time if I didn’t spotlight Jonathan Bailey’s appearance on Sesame Street.
He appeared in a lovely segment with Elmo about “taking a moment” for oneself, chatting with him with the gentle pride, patience, and enthusiasm of the world’s greatest uncle. My ovaries couldn’t handle it. At one point, I heard them groan.
He also got to “dance through life” with Bert and Ernie, which just might be every gay man’s dream. (Sure, sure…they’re “roommates.” Don’t tell me those Sesame Street producers didn’t know what they were doing with this one.)
The BravoCon Highlights
Clips from BravoCon have spread across my newsfeed and social media timelines this week like rumors that someone’s husband was caught making out with another woman and farting the entire time. (The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, the greatest show in television history.)
There seemed to be a lot of fun moments. Still, the video that resonated most with me was from Salt Lake City Housewife Bronwyn Newport, who expressed her support of the LGBT+ community and, in gratifying Housewives fashion, called out any Bravolebrities who don’t do the same.
At Least He’s Having Fun
For reasons I can’t explain, I played this video of Tom Cruise dancing with Debbie Allen at the Academy’s Governors Award on loop for seven minutes straight.
If I had to see it, so do you.
More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed:
The making of Train Dreams, one of the best movies of the year. Read more.
The story of the wildest true crime documentary of the year. Read more.
What it’s like playing one of the victims in a TV show about the Murdaugh Murders. Read more.
What to watch this week:
Wicked: For Good: It doesn’t fully defy gravity, but it puts up a darn good fight. (Now in theaters)
Sisu: Road to Revenge: One of the most bonkers action movies of the year—a compliment! (Now in theaters)
Rental Family: Brendan Fraser’s big swing for a second Oscar. (Now in theaters)
What to skip this week:
Christmas Movies: Christmas season doesn’t start until Santa rides that sleigh down 5th Avenue in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is not up for debate!
