You'd be harder pressed to find a "Glicked" movie poster than you were for the "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie Movie" double release of 2023. A quick tap into Google provides the following image, created by Sean Longmore for film merchandise and collectible publishing company Layered Butter. This now iconic image appears alongside hundreds more edits and experiments in photoshop surrounding the event.
But it was more difficult to come across "Glicked" images of the same creative nature and jest. Most images in a search for this keyword are simply two separate scenes cut from each movie stitched side-by-side into one image.
Is this just because of its recency? Will more sophisticated images come? Is a summer blockbuster moment just more powerful than a November pre-holiday season amp up? Did "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie" simply have better marketing teams?
I will explore basically none of this factually throughout post, partly because it's a blog and so I'm just offering musings rather than journalistically researched articles. And partly because no one is reading anyway.
But let's get to it! Because I've seen all four films in theaters and I've got thoughts.
First, let's start with Glicked, since we're working with recency value here.
Friday, Nov. 22 filled my work day with a certain amount of whimsy. It was the Friday before a long Thanksgiving break, but it was also a secret faculty spirit day. We were asked earlier in the week to wear green or pink on the day of the premiere and see if students noticed we were dressed up for something. Broadway musical songs played over the intercom during passing periods. From students I heard mostly about Moana 2. I heard nothing about Gladiator II. Any coworker my age couldn't contain herself from singing a line of "Popular" or "Defying Gravity." The musical rose to fame while we were walking similar halls - talent shows, art fairs, orchestra concerts - all of those lyrics repeated for years until "Hamilton" came around.
It was a thespian's moment to shine. But I was an athlete in high school so after work that day, I made made my way to the premiere of Gladiator II. Ooops :)
I'm going to preface this section with the fact that I had never seen the first Gladiator all the way through. I watched it mere days before going to the premiere of the second film. This also means I went into the whole experience with an open mind and absolutely no nostalgia glasses warping my opinions of the sequel.
Hot Take: The sequel is just as good as the first
Director Ridley Scott does an excellent job of picking up the storyline, honoring the original characters and feel, and keeping audiences engaged throughout the 2.5 hour runtime (even though my butt began to go numb in my seat). Considering he directed the first film almost 25 years ago, that's everything you could hope for in a follow-up for a Best Picture winner.
The movie takes place 16 years after the death of Russel Crow's character, Maximus, and subsequent death and replacement of Joaquin Phoenix's emperor Commodus. Rome continues to exist in a state of unrest and plots thicken when politicians with varying intentions scheme to overthrow the mad twin rulers in power. Doing my best to avoid spoilers (though I'm not sure why, as no one reads these posts), I've created a list of top 10 things I loved and hated about Gladiator II. I will not denote if I loved or hated the list item - you decide.
Consistently revealed muscular arms and lil' leather skirts on men
Pedro Pascal
An obvious gambling addiction
Paul Mescal occasionally looking like an absurdly buff AI of Daniel Radcliffe
Denzel Washington failing to ignore the sleeves of his lavish robes
Syphilis infecting the brain and monkeys as politicians
Game of Thrones--esque violence that I am semi-immune to due to watching "Game of Thrones"
Nods to Maximus, Lucilla, and the representations of the Greco-Roman afterlife
Sharks that don't behave as sharks ever would...during a water battle in the Coliseum
An exploration of power and the reasons people seek it, keep it, lose it or refuse it
Honestly, I love this kind of sh*t. A cinematically beautiful historical piece with personal and political journeys with a dashing and saucy rebellious hero and the grey areas and growth or decline of humanity all spliced and shown in a captivating way.
Which brings me to "Wicked"
...Which is sort of all of that plus girlhood and song.
Similarly to "Gladiator," I had never actually seen the "Wicked" musical before going to the theater on this new venture. Of course, I've seen the 1930s "Wizard of Oz" and I know the songs from the broadway show due to its popularity while I was in high school. I could sing "Popular" with the rest of 'em. I also once attempted to read the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel for which the show is based on - but the book is unbelievably long and depressing and much, much darker in nature. Like...give it a Wiki plot browse sometime and you'll see what I'm talking about.
With all this in mind and knowing I'm not exactly a "superfan," I was still excited to get out there and see it. Here's another top 10 list - you know what to do.
Elphaba's freckles and microbraids
A Bridgerton, an Oscar winner and Jeff Goldblum
Familiar songs that people refrained from singing along to
Friends gained and friends lost
Animal abuse
Delightfully ignorant confidence
Pink and green
Nods to the original film or book
One middle-aged woman sobbing beside us during "Defying Gravity"
An exploration of power and the reasons people seek it, keep it, lose it or refuse it
Look, it made me cry. Not as hard as the woman in the row next to us, but tears fell nonetheless.
I think most women have felt the feelings evoked through Elphaba's story. The feeling of being outcast, of being pushed aside, of an almost uncontrollable inner strength that pours out unexpectedly.
Elphaba is dedicated, smart and vulnerable with a strong sense of justice. She knows the hardship of doing the right thing even when it isolates you.
She takes the path less traveled because it's the right thing to do, even if it means leaving loved ones and heading into the unknown. There's a lot to feel for, so I felt it.
And I felt it in Barbie - all the weight and the tears and the laughter and childlike wonder and nostalgia.
I experienced the wonder of black and white cinema and the dependable storytelling of Christopher Nolan (even though I did think it was a touch too long).
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