Category Archives: Kristin Chenoweth

2024 Films, Ariana Grande, Bowen Yang, Cynthia Erivo, Fantasy, Idina Menzel, Jeff Goldblum, Jon M. Chu, Jonathan Bailey, Kristin Chenoweth, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Musical, Musical Drama, Peter Dinklage

Wicked: Part I-2024

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Wicked: Part I-2024

Director Jon M. Chu

Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande-Butera, Jonathan Bailey

Scott’s Review #1,453

Reviewed December 1, 2024

Grade: A

The extravagant Broadway musical Wicked (2024) is brought to the silver screen with beautiful results. Overtaking the nation in hefty box office returns with many donning witch hats for the event, the production has enough substance to justify the craze.

It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name, loosely based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, which in turn is based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and its 1939 film adaptation.

Part II will emerge in late 2025.

Powerhouse Cynthia Erivo leads the charge as Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her unusual green skin who has yet to discover her true power. When conceived, Elphaba’s mother and her secret beau drank a mysterious potion assumed responsible for her nature.

Elphaba is noticed by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the Dean of Sorcerer Studies, and welcomed at Shiz University. Her disabled younger sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is a new student there.

Ariana Grande plays Glinda, a privileged and ambitious young woman who is jealous of yet enamored with Elphaba and yearns to discover her talent and powers.

Elphaba and Glinda forge an unlikely but powerful friendship. After encountering The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads, and their lives take very different paths.

The film begins with Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) recounting their relationship as Elphaba (or The Wicked Witch of the West) has just died to much celebration.

Whether viewers are familiar with the novels, the 1939 film, or the stage version, the rich history is well-combined.

The colorful sets and visuals are marvelous, with luminous greens encompassing the shimmering Emerald city. The Shiz University is more pastel with muted blue and pink colors.

Aside from the story, there is so much to look at visually. Be sure to glimpse background activity during dancing or celebration scenes to notice even more particulars.

Hints of what’s to come (the Cowardly Lion, a broomstick) also can be noticed.

The second half is the better portion when the action takes off and gets to a darker place. The colors are also darker than in the first half.

Watching the monkeys start to transition and grow wings painfully is a bit scary, especially for younger children.

The side story of animals losing their rights and being caged in the beginning, when they speak and even teach university, is complex to watch and represents the current state of the United States.

Director Jon M. Chu and screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox wisely replace humans with animals as they remind audiences of groups of people (immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community) targeted by hate.

Sadly, the world needs an ‘other,’ as the Wizard of Oz and Madame Morrible remind Elphaba. The parallels between animals and humans are readily apparent.

Perhaps to combat the hate, Chu includes gay actors Jonathan Bailey and Bowen Yang in prominent roles.

Chu, most notable for Crazy Rich Asians (2018), delivers a stunning product filled with glamour, bravura, and necessary female empowerment.

The dynamic between Erivo and Grande-Butera is strong, making their rivalry/friendship believable and layered. Erivo gets the showier, albeit in a less attractive role, but she powerfully uses her voice to her advantage.

‘I’m Not That Girl’ and ‘Defying Gravity’ have quickly become favorites.

Wicked: Part I (2024) is an intriguing and spectacular production dotted with societal questions that must be discussed further. Whether marveling at the visuals or diving deeper into gender and repression, the film has something for everyone.

2020 Films, Adventure, Children, Comedy, Kristin Chenoweth, Stanley Tucci

The Witches-2020

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The Witches-2020

Director-Robert Zemeckis

Starring Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer

Scott’s Review #1,314

Reviewed November 16, 2022

Grade: B

A remake of the 1990 film starring Anjelica Huston, The Witches (2020) sometimes delivers the goods and occasionally derails off the tracks into campy, over-the-top, wackadoo.

Mostly, on the part of star Anne Hathaway who plays an evil and powerful witch.

But, regardless of what this adult thinks, it will please, surprise, and fascinate youngsters who see it. There’s a comforting and vital message of friendship and family roots ingrained in the story which is a nice touch.

In 1968, seven-year-old orphan Charlie Hansen (Jahzir Bruno) travels from Chicago to Alabama to live with his grandmother, Agatha (Octavia Spencer), after his parents are killed in a car accident.

After he is approached by a dastardly witch in a grocery store they flee to a seaside resort to avoid the child-hating witches. Agatha has a troubled past with the witches who long ago turned her best friend into a chicken.

When the two arrive at their hotel, they find a coven with villainous plans. They are accompanied by a mouse named Daisy and an English boy named Bruno (Codie-Lei Eastick).

I much prefer the first half of The Witches to the last.

The wonderful and caring relationship between Agatha and Charlie is a beautiful dynamic. When she envelops him with love and southern cooking in her cozy home, understanding the trauma he has endured, it is heartwarming and genuine.

Spencer is terrific in any role she plays, of course, but her calm and stoic demeanor when paired against the witches is lovely. She is prepared for trouble and sneaks to a back room where she keeps crystals, and other anti-witch weaponry.

But the relationship with the little boy is darling and top-notch. I wish they would have just stayed at home and nurtured their relationship with Daisy and Bruno.

The weakest section of the film involves the witches themselves. As they flock to the hotel for a convention to plot the destruction of children everywhere, they appear more silly than scary, especially when they remove their wigs and reveal bald, scabby heads.

Director, Robert Zemeckis must have given Hathaway free range to ham it up because she certainly does just that.

I’m a fan of hers so it’s not a personal knock but she teeters toward ridiculous pretty quickly. I get the need to make a children’s film villain colorful, memorable, and loud but there is no restraint, causing the character to feel more silly than terrifying.

On the plus side, Hathaway must have had a ball letting loose and leaving all constraints on the sidelines.

Inevitably, the kids are changed into cute mice and must convince their loved ones that they are themselves while figuring out how to change back to human children.

Not much is different from the 1990 version besides a tweak here and there and the story is the same but I think I prefer the original by a hair.

Huston beats Hathaway in a comparison.

Some inconsistencies emerge like how Agatha can afford to stay in a grandiose hotel. She knows someone connected to the hotel but the who’s and why’s aren’t clear.

It’s never explained what happened to Agatha’s friend who wound up as a chicken and I wanted more from Stanley Tucci than an uninteresting hotel manager role with little to do.

But, the action sequences are adventurous and energetic and it’s fun cheering the turning of the Grand High Witch (Hathaway) into a rat.

I wanted more of the homespun love between Agatha and Charlie and the simple southern town that felt so lovely and welcoming, but The Witches (2020) provides family fun entertainment that many can enjoy.

2022 Films, Amy Schumer, Ben Stiller, Bowen Yang, Comedy, Kristin Chenoweth, LGBTQ+ Comedy, LGBTQ+ Films, LGBTQ+ Romantic Comedy, Romantic Comedy

Bros-2022

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Bros-2022

Director-Nicholas Stoller

Starring Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane 

Scott’s Review #1,304

Reviewed October 5, 2022

Grade: A

Even if Bros (2022) was a bad film it would still hold the monumental distinction of being the first LGBTQ+-themed romantic comedy released and supported by a major distributor.

In the year 2022, years after the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States and various other firsts that would take way too long to list, surprisingly, Bros is the first of its kind.

Fortunately, Bros is not a poor film but an exceptional one with brazen confidence and a lot to say.

Led by crisp and intelligent dialogue, lovable lead actors, a cast solely made up of the LGBTQ+ community, strong characters, and hilarious moments, it has something for everyone, gay, straight, or otherwise.

Before readers pigeonhole the film as one only to be seen by the  LGBTQ+ community, I will cry bullshit.

Straight audiences will fall in love with the characters and learn valuable lessons about stereotypes and deep seeded emotions of gay men who are not always comfortable in their skin.

Unfortunately, Bros was not the box-office smash hit the studio hoped it would be. Some straight viewers felt the film was not for them and that’s a shame.

There’s more work to do to eliminate conscious and unconscious bias and education others to embrace differences.

Billy Eichner, who co-wrote the Bros screenplay along with director, Nicholas Stoller, stars in the film, alongside Luke Macfarlane.

Eichner plays a sardonic, gay Jewish male named Bobby Leiber who resides in New York City.  We meet Bobby while he is doing another episode of his New York podcast and radio show The Eleventh Brick at Stonewall, talking to callers about his written works on gay history and gay icons.

He claims to be fine with being single and not having found love, instead hooking up with random men over a dating application called Grindr, though he is successful in his career and has good friends.

He awkwardly meets Aaron Shepard (Macfarlane), a hunky masculine guy deemed ‘hot but boring’ by those in Bobby’s circle, in a gay club.

The two men slowly develop a romantic relationship despite commitment problems and hectic schedules that seem designed to put the kibosh on love.

Despite all the other aforementioned wins for this LGBTQ+ film is that the screenwriting feels fresh and intelligent. Above all else, it wisely paints the struggles that most gay men seeking a relationship of substance face.

As in other romantic comedies, some setups and situations cause conflict that risks Bobby and Aaron not getting together. Bobby feels Aaron is out of his league preferring other muscular men to his overbearing and critical approach.

One can understand Bobby’s angst but in one of the film’s most poignant and beautiful scenes, Aaron tearfully reveals that Bobby constantly challenges him and it feels good.

He needs to be with Bobby because it is right. Bobby serves as a mentor to Aaron as he wrestles with being true to himself. Stuck in a depressing yet financially secure job, Aaron instead longs to be a chocolate maker.

Beauty is only skin deep. Regardless of occasional insecurities, the two men are strongly connected and that beats everything else.

On a personal level, both characters resonated with me making me feel their angst. One would assume that Aaron the hunk would be more confident but is that the case? Both men teach and learn from each other which makes their relationship powerful.

Other than the romantic moments, Bros has its share of raunchy comical scenes justifying its ‘R’ rating. In typical Judd Apatow (the film’s producer) form, the sex scenes are revealing.

There are enough orgies, toe-sucking, and fist-sucking, to make the prudish blush. The planned ‘rimming’ scene didn’t make the final cut. Does one wonder what that would have been like?

The film follows a distinct comedy formula and includes a helping of standard annoying, clueless, or over-the-top colorful characters that appear to justify its mainstream comedy placement.

The genius is that Bros works.

I implore straight audiences to give the film a chance if for no other reason than to show that gay people are as different from each other as apples and oranges. As Bobby makes clear some are nice and some are assholes.

Bros (2022) treads conventional but with a twist, and shows that gay characters are as genuinely funny as straight characters. It provides laugh-out-loud moments and teary sentimental ones.

I can’t wait for the next project from Billy Eichner.

2010 Films, Andy Fickman, Betty White, Catherine Bach, Cloris Leachman, Comedy, Daryl Hall, Dwayne Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Oates, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth, Sigourney Weaver

You Again-2010

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You Again-2010

Director Alan Fickman

Starring Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver

Scott’s Review #510

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Reviewed November 4, 2016

Grade: C

If not for the cast (Jamie Lee Curtis, Betty White, and Sigourney Weaver) You Again (2010) would have been a bad experience and a dimwitted, by-the-numbers comedy, but the talent involved has helped matters greatly.

This is not meant to parlay much credit to the film.

As it is, it is not a great film, and quite silly and dumb, but the cast successfully turns it into a light, fun, dumb movie instead of solely drivel- with a less likable cast this would have undoubtedly been the case.

Bell is not my favorite actress, but alas she seems to be currently receiving star turns in these types of films.

The premise is basic and tried and true- A twenty-eight-year-old “beautiful” woman (Kristen Bell) who was an ugly duckling in high school, returns to her hometown for her brother’s wedding and his fiancé turns out to be her high school nemesis.

It is a standard Hollywood comedy cliched with typical gags, and a “we have seen this before” story.

A gripe- Kristen Bell is a cute, sort of all-American, girl next door, but I would be remiss if I did not point out she is not the beauty they make her out to be.

Thanks to the aforementioned cast, and the wit that Curtis and Weaver bring to their rivalry (as mothers of the respective fiancé and Bell’s character- they were high school rivals a generation before), You Again (2010) does get some meager credit.

Not much, but some.

2015 Films, Bailey Chase, Ian Nelson, Jennifer Lopez, John Corbett, Kristin Chenoweth, Rob Cohen, Ryan Guzman, Thriller

The Boy Next Door-2015

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The Boy Next Door-2015

Director Rob Cohen

Starring Jennifer Lopez

Scott’s Review #254

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Reviewed July 5, 2015

Grade: C-

A steamy direct rip-off of the 1987 classic film Fatal Attraction, The Boy Next Door (2015) is a mainstream thriller starring Jennifer Lopez as a separated suburban Mom raising her son alone.

One day a handsome young man, Noah (Ryan Guzman), moves in next door. He makes friends with her son and develops an unhealthy obsession with her.

The film is your basic thrill ride with some jumps mixed in but predictable as they come and is safe mainstream fare.

Claire Peterson (Lopez) lives a cozy suburban existence with her socially awkward teenage son Kevin (Ian Nelson) and works as a literature teacher at the local high school.

She lives a modest yet successful life.

Her estranged husband Garrett (John Corbett) has cheated on her with his secretary.

One day a hunky twenty-year-old neighbor, Noah, moves in, takes a shine to Kevin and an attraction develops between Noah and Claire, despite him being half her age. The audience knows that there is something off.

The inevitable happens, a lonely Claire winds up in bed with Noah after a disastrous blind double date with her friend and confidant Vicky (Kristin Chenoweth), also the vice-principal of Claire’s school.

The sex scenes are titillating and sensual with lots of skin.

I went into my viewing not expecting an invigorating or thought-provoking film and was not disappointed.

The film is lightweight, predictable, and has a lifetime television movie feel. The acting is not great and the setups are seen a mile away. When Claire and Noah meet there is instant chemistry between them but there is also a sinister quality to Noah that the audience is aware of.

There is no doubt he will make trouble for Claire.

As we progress we become aware that Noah has a temper, another setup for things to come. If he feels wronged he strikes back. Once Claire realizes their passionate night was a mistake, Noah becomes obsessed with and vengeful of Claire and everyone around her.

The plot is filled with one implausibility after another. I could list silly nuances for hours, but here are a few that immediately come to mind.

I do not buy Jennifer Lopez as an intelligent, sophisticated, literature genius (despite the film hysterically having her wear nerdy glasses) nor the good-looking Ryan Guzman (Noah) as a scholarly expert in literature either.

This is done to construct the plot with no believability whatsoever.

Throughout the film, Noah can do whatever he wants, somehow hacking into Claire’s computer, arranging for printouts of his liaison with her to fly endlessly from the ceilings, tampering with brakes, and seamlessly splicing Claire’s voice into conversations.

The entire film is ridiculous and unbelievable, but, again, it’s what I expected it to be.

The ending surprised me abruptly with no cliffhanger or hint at a sequel as is common with thrillers. Perhaps the filmmakers had low expectations for audience turnout.

One jarring point is that Jennifer Lopez, clearly Latina, plays a character in a suburban neighborhood, named Claire Peterson. Nowhere is her Latina heritage mentioned. The character is about as white as you can get.

A dumb, entertaining ninety minutes of escapism, The Boy Next Door is not a good film (2015) but fun. Some thrilling moments, some fun to kick back relax, and take it for what it is.

It is comparable to a McDonald’s hamburger, you know what you will get and expect nothing more.