Wicked review: Just some notes on a wizard and a goat
Just a con man we used to like and a talking animal that created Glinda's branding.
We’ll buy that Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Marissa Bode, and Ethan Slater 100% earned their roles in Wicked. But as we dip into the supporting cast typically played by older actors, it becomes clear that the producers were looking to cast industry veterans for their prestige. Jon M. Chu knows Michelle Yeoh from Crazy Rich Asians, and then also somehow got Peter Dinklage and Jeff Goldblum on board with this.
Dinklage voices Doctor Dillamond, a talking goat who is a history professor at Shiz University and something of a bad joke in the Broadway community. His song “Something Bad” is lost in Wicked and long enough to feel like it’s dragging on, in comparison to other slow fillers like “Dear Old Shiz” and “A Sentimental Man.” However, Dinklage’s austere voice and association with fictional geniuses lent some weight to Dillamond’s character which he is lacking in the show. They brought some interesting shadow puppet work and more animal characters into “Something Bad” which made it truly foreboding. A weakness of the animal oppression storyline in Wicked is that Dillamond is the only animal character ever seen. The movie also features Elphaba’s (Erivo) bear nanny Dulcibear (Sharon D. Clarke) and an animal band at the mildly-illegal Ozdust Ballroom. Furthermore, Elphaba is supposedly trying to help animals the whole time she is on the run; the second movie should actually show this.
Then another industry legend ended up in the equally legendary role of the Wizard of Oz. Goldblum is a bit underwhelming when Elphaba and Glinda (Grande) meet him, but that’s kind of the point. Goldblum’s Wizard still has a friendly, home-grown charm that I associate with the classic version of the character. Perhaps the most disturbing part of his time on screen is that he very much resonates with the Wizard that Judy Garland’s Dorothy meets. Wicked’s story is just showing his persona from a completely different angle. I do love how the movie briefly cuts away to him during “Defying Gravity”—props to Golblum and the general advantages of this being a movie rather than a show so we can see just how terrified of Elphaba the Wizard is.
In conclusion, these are definitely publicity casting choices but ultimately serve the movie well. Goldblum and Dinklage pushed the characters just a little bit beyond what they are in the source material, underscoring Wicked’s core themes as they are conveyed by the movie. Dillamond’s story is pretty much over, but the impact of Dinklage’s version of the character on the movie could still be seen in Wicked: For Good if it develops a storyline where the Wicked Witch of the West is more of a heroic figure among the animals of Oz. I also can’t wait to see Goldblum and Erivo perform “Wonderful.” A vastly underrated song, this tune drives home the contrast between The Wizard of Oz’s idealism and Wicked’s tragedy, with the Wizard and the Wicked Witch, just for a moment, being on the same page.