Film

The Wiz

Name: The Wiz
Genre: Fantasy, Family, Adventure
Released: 1978
Cast: Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King

The Wiz reimagines *The Wizard of Oz* as a glittering, soulful Black celebration of self-discovery and resilience. Diana Ross leads an all-star cast through a fever dream of choreography, funk, and soul music. It's visually audacious, emotionally generous, and an absolute spectacle. For anyone who loves musicals, fantasy, or just profound joy.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love big, unembarrassed musical theatre played as pure spectacle, where a soul-flavored reinvention of a familiar story gets total sincerity and a wildly inventive, glittering design sense.

Skip it if you find the 1970s soul-funk arrangements and cheerful, unhurried sentiment hard going, or you want the original 1939 film's tighter, more classic storytelling.

What it asks of you: Its 134 minutes unfold at a leisurely, song-driven pace, rewarding patience more than quick plot turns and a tolerance for cheerful sincerity.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Dreamgirls2006

Another Black musical epic with soul and scale. Laurence Fishburne and an ensemble cast deliver fierce performances through a story of ambition, friendship, and the cost of stardom. Glitter and heartbreak in perfect balance.

But Heavy and sometimes bleak. The glamour masks some genuinely painful truths, and the ending is not a triumph—it's a reckoning.

Hairspray2007

A joyous musical about integration and belonging that wears its values lightly. John Waters' heart on full display, with infectious energy and wildly likeable characters. Zac Efron and Queen Latifah are luminous.

But Very earnest beneath the fun. Some may find the 1960s Baltimore nostalgia and its social messaging a bit on-the-nose.

The Phantom of the Opera2004

Grand, Gothic, operatic spectacle with Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, and Gerard Butler. Lavish production design and haunting music. For anyone who loves immersion in a fully realized dark fantasy world.

But Gerard Butler's singing is divisive, and the film is long and sometimes glacially paced. If you need momentum over atmosphere, this will test you.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Wiz

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Phantom of the Paradise1974

Both are operatic fantasies that use music and visual excess not as ornament but as the language of emotional truth. Both center on outsiders transformed by spectacle and yearning.

Brian De Palma's operatic rock nightmare: a Faust story set in a glittering rock concert hall. William Finley delivers a wrecked, haunted performance. Pure cinema-as-fever-dream, with a soundtrack that enters your bones.

But Genuinely unsettling and, in places, quite violent. The tone is horror-adjacent, and the melodrama is the point—if you want grounding or naturalism, you're in the wrong place.

Mamma Mia!2008

Pure, uncomplicated joy. A sunny Mediterranean island, ABBA songs, and Meryl Streep having visibly the best time. Sometimes a film is just permission to feel good, and this understands that completely.

But If you don't love ABBA or broad comedy, this offers nothing else to hold onto. It knows exactly what it is and commits without apology.

Singin' in the Rain1952

The gold standard. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor deliver technical perfection married to genuine joy. Infectious rhythm, witty dialogue, and a romance that actually lands. A masterclass in what musicals can be.

But Black-and-white and mid-century—if you need color and contemporary style to stay engaged, the artifice might feel dated rather than timeless.

Cabaret1972

Liza Minnelli in Berlin, 1931, as fascism rises. Decadent, dark, and hypnotic. A musical that uses song not for escape but as counterpoint to moral collapse. Completely adult and absolutely gripping.

But Bleak and sometimes seedy. There's a reason the Weimar setting matters—this is not feel-good. Some scenes sit uncomfortably by design.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice2024

Tim Burton's dark comedy returns to the Afterlife with Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Jenna Ortega. Genuinely funny, visually inventive, and interested in what made the original strange. A sequel that respects its source.

But Not particularly musical or heartfelt. Leaning hard into the surreal and comedic means the emotional beats are thin on the ground.

An American in Paris1951

Gene Kelly again, this time in postwar France. A love letter to dance, to art, to possibility. The 17-minute ballet sequence is worth the whole film's runtime. Romantic and technically astonishing.

But Slower burn than you might expect. The first half meanders, and if you're not into classical ballet or 1950s aesthetics, the finale might feel overlong.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch2001

A rock musical about a genderqueer punk icon searching for her other half across America. John Cameron Mitchell is electrifying, the songs spit and soar, and it's funny, tragic, and genuinely transgressive.

But Low budget, shot mostly in lo-fi video. Deliberately rough and ugly in places. The comedy is dark and the subject matter heavy. Not everyone wants their musicals this raw or this queer.

Being John Malkovich1999

Both create fully realized worlds governed by their own logic—but where *The Wiz* invites you to dance in Oz, Malkovich traps you and watches you squirm. Same structural generosity, opposite emotional temperature.

Charlie Kaufman's debut: a portal into the actor's brain, absurdist comedy about identity and desire, and one of cinema's most genuinely strange achievements. John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Spike Jonze collide in pure imagination.

But Deliberately disorienting and conceptual. No clear rules, intentionally grotesque moments, and an ending that offers no comfort. Requires you to trust the strangeness.