Aunt Em (Theresa Merritt) gathers the family together for Thanksgiving (?) dinner at her home in Harlem. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves except Dorothy (Diana Ross), who seems afraid of her own shadow. After being teased by Aunt Em about being 24 years old and never being south of 125th st., Dorothy has to chase down her dog Toto, who ran out into a snowstorm. Right when Dorothy grabs Toto, a snow tornado hits and Dorothy is transported to Munchkinland (which looks a lot like Brooklyn). When she landed in Munchkinland she crashed through an electric Oz sign that ended up killing Evermean - The Wicked Witch of the East. She had put a spell on all the munchkins turning them into graffiti. After they finish rejoicing their freedom, Dorothy receives the silver shoes of the witch and is told to seek out The Wiz by following the yellow brick road. Ironically, they all disappear before Dorothy can find the yellow brick road.
She stumbles along, frightened, and not sure of where she is going until she comes across a group of crows harassing a scarecrow (Michael Jackson). The scarecrow just wants to get down but the crows tell him it's not possible and since he doesn't have a brain he believes them. That is until Dorothy gets him down. After a little practice he is able to walk. He tells Dorothy that he wishes he had a brain and Dorothy tells him to ask The Wiz for one. He joins her on her travels.
They then reach what I believe is to be Coney Island (They had a sign for Nathan's and roller coasters, what else could it be). They hear a man calling for a help and find the Tinman (Nipsey Russell) trapped under a large (metal?) woman. When they free him, the Tinman remarks about how he is wit and knowledge but his maker forgot to give him a heart. He too joins their journey to find The Wiz.
Next they reach the New York Public Library, where one of the Lions (Ted Ross) comes to life. He puts up quite a show, but when Toto nips at his paw he freaks out. Turns out the Lion is lacking courage. So once again, they add another to their group.
I think everyone pretty much knows the story of the Wizard of Oz and this isn't much different so I will just stop there. Although I hated Diana Ross's acting in this movie, I still had high hopes for it. And that may be why I'm judging it so harshly. Diana Ross was pretty bad (please just stick to singing) and she seemed way to old for the part. I didn't know what her problem was in the beginning (other than seeming to hate her family) but I got really annoyed with her frightened expression that she wore all the time. The make up was pretty bad (or maybe it was good considering it was the 70's). I felt like you could always see the make up line on Michael Jackson's face. The set design and costumes were pretty impressive though (minus the Lion). They really took advantage of the magical world filled with vibrant colors yet still giving it an urban feel. They did have a few catchy songs (mostly just the upbeat ones) but they also seem to have songs were people were just shrieking. I kind of feel that this movie could be a great remake. Just make it a little more up to date and maybe change some of the songs up and get people that could act (preferably unknowns) and it would be amazing.
Rating: **
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