ONLY: PART ONE IS SOMETHING LIKE a musically oriented origin story from the early era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: the characters are broad and the backgrounds are computer-generated and the conflicts are weak and the whole thing serves mainly to demonstrate how the hero gets her powers to let we’ll watch her unleash them in the future, better installments of the franchise.

The story, as I’m sure you know, is a revisionist retelling of The Wizard of Oz. The so-called ‘wicked witch of the West’ was a scapegoat, chosen to serve as an effigy for the people to gather around as she burned. Glinda was a pawn of the Wizard; Dorothy an unwitting dupe. Bad tells the ‘real’ story, a story of oppression and discrimination against the green-skinned witch.

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is her name; she is the illegitimate daughter of the mayor of Munchkinland, whose mother was seduced by a man whose face we never see, but whose voice sounds suspiciously like Jeff Goldblum, who plays the wizard. As a result of the task – which was accomplished while her mother drank a mysterious green liquid – Elphaba is born with a distinct green color and unexpected magical powers that reveal themselves when she is upset.

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Her childhood is unhappy; she grew up unloved and unwanted, raised by a talking bear sitter. It is only by accident that Elphaba is admitted to Shiz University along with her crippled sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when her latent magical powers manifest in the presence of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). Unexpectedly and therefore unhoused, Elphaba is paired with Glinda (Ariana Grande) in her private suite, where the two are polar opposites: Glinda is blonde and popular and does nothing to risk that reputation; Elphaba, brunette and despised and always trying to study, become quick enemies.

The core of the story is their disgusting friendship, and the best musical number in the film, at least in terms of cinematic presentation, is “What Is This Feeling?” The whole thing is shot like a music video, with the different locations cut into a match to create the mirrored sensation of the housemates starting to hate each other, yet connecting them in mood and movement. They’re not so different, these two; they both find it very important how others see them, even though Glinda is more transparent about that.

The most moving moment in the film comes a little later, at an illegal underwater club. Glinda shows her mercy to Elphaba and she is accepted by the rest of the students as worthy of their friendship and admiration; once again, their story is told through dance, but this time it all takes place in the same location, with the camera panning between the two of them and the student spectators as director Jon M. Chu gets up close and shows us the emotional growth of Glinda and that of Elphaba shows. crumbling stoicism.

I didn’t really care Bad: Part One– I’m terribly tired of movies being half of one movie, especially when that movie has a running time of 160 minutes – but Ariana Grande delivers one of the best performances of the year as Glinda. Yeah, it’s mostly one note, and that note is “ditzy blonde consumed by self-righteousness.” But she hits that note like she’s Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl: Grande is raucously funny and charming, and Glinda’s moments of growth — like when she looks behind Elphaba’s stony facade and acknowledges the girl’s suffering — are both heartfelt and heartfelt. . There’s conflict at the heart of this ditz, and she conveys it clearly with her eyes.

I’ve seen people suggest that this film is a satisfying whole rather than an unsatisfactory half of a whole, yet still has the same running time as the Broadway musical. This is confusing, because virtually every subplot – including the hamhanded metaphor about animal oppression that implicitly compares talking goats to Jews in Nazi Germany and the desperately boring relationship between Nessarose and a Munchkin in love with Glinda – is left completely unresolved.

Fortunately, all my questions will be answered: regardless of my exhaustion, the film will likely be a monstrous hit with audiences and Oscar voters alike. The audience I saw it with seemed entranced; it laughed and snorted at all the right moments. It’s not for me, but you’ll know if it’s for you. Please don’t let my grumpy nature keep you from braving the severity of my disapproval.

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