Synopsis: The fabulous land of Oz rocks in the spectacular musical based on the smash hit Broadway show. In this Motown production, Dorothy is a shy Harlem kindergarten teacher who, while searching for her lost dog Toto in a swirling blizzard, is whisked to a wonderland to follow the yellow brick road.
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The ambition of MGM + the stylistic sense of Sesame Street x doing blow all night in the local discotheque’s bathroom =

The Wiz 6.0

First off, I have to state that I generally loathe musicals. LOATHE. I only watched this one because I was already curious to see Michael Jackson in his younger days – I was a huge fan when I was a kid (who wasn’t back then?). Unsurprisingly, I made up my mind to watch it within hours of his untimely death.

Gosh, I haven’t seen such undisciplined choreography since The Blues Brothers. The difference is that the latter had more heart (and, ironically, more soul) than The Whiz does – so you could overlook its ineptitude and just tap along gleefully.

The acting was ungood; the performers were (obviously!) mostly non-actors. However, when MJ wasn’t “acting”, he provided quite a lift to the movie with his natural buoyancy and vocal flair. If not for his bits, actually, it would have almost been a total washout – because even Diana Ross only delivered half the time.

Basically, it was like an inner-city version of The Wizard of OZ – complete with dancing hos (in the traditional sense ) and sweat shop workers. No joke – you have to see it to believe it

Well, it) satisfied my curiosity. Will it ever warrant a repeat viewing? I highly doubt it.