Kiss of the Spider Woman is a great addition to the musical genre and perfect for audiences dying to see Wicked: For Good. The sequel to 2024’s box office smash and the second half of Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the legendary Broadway smash, Wicked: For Good is already gearing up to be a mᴀssive hit for Universal Pictures.

With the film over a month away, some Wicked fans are likely on the edge of their seats waiting for the return of Elphaba and Galinda. While they do, they should make sure to check out Jennifer Lopez’s new musical, which explores many of the same themes as Wicked with a similar love for classic musicals and emotionally powerful storytelling.

Fans Of Wicked Will Find Plenty To Love In Kiss Of The Spider Woman

Wicked: For Good may be over a month away from theaters, but eager fans can whet their appeтιтe by checking out Kiss of the Spider Woman. Both are styled like classic movies with modern subversions, embracing the boisterous and bombastic history of the genre while infusing them with modern themes and politics.

At the core of both stories are innocents who are slandered and judged by their appearance and behavior. Elphaba’s green skin may be a fantastical element of the story, but the derision and mistrust she faces are reflective of real-world prejudice. Kiss of the Spider Woman is more overt, with Molina frequently insulted and ultimately arrested for being gay.

Both films use large-scale musical numbers to convey the arcs of their respective leads, utilizing the imagery of ornately designed songs and dances to ironic effect. While the songs are often romantic and inspiring and catchy, they convey tragic arcs about persecuted people struggling to survive under harsh rule.

Both movies also base their emotional arcs in the relationship between two unlikely friends. Wicked focuses on Elphana and Galinda’s evolution from rivals to friends to reluctant enemies. Kiss of the Spider Woman focuses on Molina and his cellmate, the revolutionary Valentin, whose thick skin and personal walls slowly fall as he bonds with Molina.

While Wicked has some LGBTQ parallels, and the relationship between Elphaba and Galinda is easy to read as romantic, that subtext is unnecessary in Kiss of the Spider Woman. It overtly becomes a love story as the film progresses. Both of them use their tragic core relationships to keep the audience emotionally invested, especially as the world becomes more dangerous.

Both films explore the power of stories, albeit from interestingly parallel directions. In Wicked, public perception and misinformation are crucial tools of the Wizard and Madame Morrible, the power of art and stories as a tool for oppressors. In Kiss of the Spider Woman, Molina uses his love of film as an escape from the cruelties of their circumstances.

Kiss Of The Spider Woman And Wicked Prove Classic Musicals Still Work

Wicked and Kiss of the Spider Woman make for compelling parallels precisely because of how they modernize the musical genre while still deliberately recalling the history of the form. Both films are deliberate throwbacks to an older decade, where the likes of The Wizard of Oz and Singin’ in the Rain dominated the box office.

Both movies rely on those big showstopper numbers to propel the movie forward, even when (as in the case of Kiss of the Spider Woman) the songs don’t always advance the plot. What they do convey is the emotional state of the characters, as well as their motivations and desires. They’re classic in structure, but modern in their storytelling.

The result is two movie musicals that wear their feelings on their sleeves, with big emotional performances that feel like a perfect modern showcase for what the genre can be. Musicals have always been a tricky proposition for modern audiences, with several modern musicals hiding their songs in advertising and trailers.

Neither Kiss of the Spider Woman or Wicked suffers from that problem. Both films are unapologetic about their musical cores, something that benefits each of them. Both take that classic formula and infuse it with modern touches. Both are nominally remakes of older material, but strive to make them wholly of the moment.

Both also succeed in a way that makes them must-watches for fans of the genre. There’s a sense of heart and humanity to both films, with a tragic edge that makes them beautifully bittersweet. Both are deeply cinematic, with bombastic dance numbers that contrast well against their quieter, more emotional moments.

Both Wicked films and Kiss of the Spider Woman prove that there is still very much a place for classic musical tropes and stylization in modern Hollywood. Emotionally devastating and surprisingly uplifting, Kiss of the Spider Woman and the Wicked movies both highlight what makes musicals so powerful.

Kiss of the Spider Woman isn’t as much of a crowd-pleaser as Wicked, but it does stand well alongside that more fantastical musical. With strong songs, good choreography, and wonderful performances, Kiss of the Spider Woman is the perfect movie for musical lovers to watch while they wait for Wicked‘s return to the big screen.