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Rating: 3 out of 5
The Wizard of Oz will forever be an all-time classic film. We black people will always take a movie, make it in our own way, and add a definition of coolness to it. Case in point is the Wiz. The Wiz is a 1974 musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls. It takes the Wonderful Wizard of Oz and puts it into the context of contemporary African-American culture. Think Hamilton and using rap culture. In 1978, The Wiz was brought to the big screen. I wasn’t born when this film came out, and I have a wonderful and fantastic mother who introduced this musical and film to me. Now, I won’t talk about the controversy over Diana Ross’ age and all of that. I am strictly going off what I have seen, and if you don’t like this version, ABC made a version with all the musical stars, which was pretty good.
The Wiz, directed by Sidney Lumet, is the film version of the 1974 Broadway musical of the same name. In this version, Dorothy Gale (Ross) is a shy, sheltered, 24-year-old elementary school teacher. She was raised by her aunt and uncle in Harlem. During Thanksgiving with her extended family, she becomes angry at feeling nothing grateful in life and runs off. During a snowstorm while chasing after Toto, she is whisked away and transported to the Land of Oz. She accidentally crushes a woman who is the Wicked Witch of the East and learns that the only way home is to get the help of the powerful wizard (Pryor) in the Emerald City. As she begins to ease on down the road, she befriends a Scarecrow (Jackson), Tin Man (Russell) and Cowardly Lion (Ross). They must fight against and defeat Evillene (King), the Wicked Witch of the West, to get home.
The story is the same as the original. Dorothy gets taken to the realm of Oz, gets slippers, and must help rid the realm of the Wicked Witch of the West. There is really no difference in that area. Now, everything else is where the differences lie, and I thought they were cooler but also stranger than the original. First, Dorothy comes from the mean streets of Harlem, and it’s during Thanksgiving. This time around, rather than being a fifteen-year-old girl, Dorthey is a twenty-four-year-old elementary school teacher. I would’ve rather had her as a young girl. Not because of the age, but it would’ve been better as a children’s adventure. This Dorothy really didn’t click with me. It would’ve connected with people if it was one of her students.
Dorothy makes it to Munchkinland through a snowstorm. This is where another difference happens. Munchkinland looks to be in the hood. I think they used kids because it resembled a playground. Oh, and she kills the Wicked Witch of the East with a neon sign that falls on her. Have to love my black people. Also, I forgot that Dorothy’s slippers were silver rather than ruby. Like in the original film and book, Dorothy goes through Oz meeting many famous characters. The Scarecrow is being picked on by some of the grooviest crows you will ever see. The Tin Man works at an amusement park, and his wife is a big, beautiful woman. His wife treats him bad because he doesn’t know the right woman to pick because he has no heart. The Cowardly Lion was banished from the jungle because he couldn’t roar and had no courage. Now, just like my black people, we can’t say poppy fields; we go straight to prostitutes and heroin. How about the damn flying monkeys? We didn’t get monkeys that flew; we got monkeys that rode motorcycles, and they must have been extra funky.
Two big difference I want to talk about is The Wiz and the Wicked Witch of the West, aka Evillene. The Wiz isn’t a giant green-ass head but a steal robot-looking figure with an afro. It is insane to look at, but hey, we black people have to go big and wild. The version of the Wicked Witch of the West is still evil as she dismembers the Scarecrow, flattens the Tin Man, and hangs the Lion up by his tail, but she runs a freakin sweatshop. Yea, you read that right. She has a sweatshop, and her throne is a literal throne, aka a toilet. The way they defeat her is by turning on the sprinkler system.
With any musical, we have to talk about the music. I love almost every song. “He’s the Wizard,” sung by Thelma Carpenter, is a catchy song. Love how she talks about how great the Wiz is, and the song gets it going with the kids doing the chorus. You really think the Wiz is great beyond belief. I will say that Carpenter hit them notes. How about “You Can’t Win” sung by Michael Jackson. It is probably the best song in the whole film. Jackson was about to be on another level with his music in a few years. I love how Jackson sings, and all the crows just put him down with each lyric. My favorite song in the film is “Slide Some Oil to Me” by Nipsey Russell. I feel like it is one of those songs that makes you want to dance as Russell hits those tap-dancing moves. I just love the song. “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News,” sung by Mabel King, is another one of my favorite songs. Hell, this can be my work song. I don’t want anyone bringing me any bad news because I don’t have time for it, and my mood is probably already bad. The song has that old type of Southern gospel feel to it. You can tell that a sista sang this song.
As far as the cast goes, everyone did well, as it is a fun-loving film. Diana Ross as Dorothy Gale might have been too old, but she did a good job. Michael Jackson as Scarecrow was one of the best as he was fun, goofy, and an oddball. Nipsey Russell as Tin Man was fun. He was a great casting as the somewhat wise person of the group. Ted Ross as Cowardly Lion was equally great as everyone else. Mabel King as Evillene was one of the best. I love how she made Evillene despicable but has that soulful sound to her.
The Wiz is a fun-loving musical showing off the contemporary African American culture. There are many differences from the original film, but it holds up well. Many movies are amazing and fun to listen to and dance to. Even though many had a problem with Ross’s age, she did well. The supporting cast also did a great job and moved the movie along. Watch this film or try to watch the ABC version.
BONUS CLIPS!!!
