Mean Girls is a 2004 comedy film written by Tina Fey about American teen Cady Heron, who moves to Illinois from Africa. At North Shore High School, Heron must navigate the high school jungle of cliques, friendships, bullies and crushes as she infiltrates the “Plastics”. The hit movie became a pop cultural phenomenon, inspiring a stage musical on Broadway in 2018 and, recently, a musical movie refurbishing released on January 12, 2024.
While critics have had mixed feelings about the new film, I thought it was a funny, fresh, musical journey worth a trip to the theater.
One major improvement that the new film brought was its more diverse casting, as the original movie featured an almost exclusively white cast. It is especially important in films as widely watched as these to have the cast be reflective of many different cultures and ethnicities.
In addition to increased representation, the casting department hit another gold mine by bringing back cast members both from the 2004 movie and the Broadway show.
Angourie Rice takes on Lindsay Lohan’s heavy mantle in her role as Cady Heron. Rice was casted for her prowess as an actress- she expertly embodied Cady’s naivete, allowing for more dynamic personality development for her character. Unfortunately, her singing skills were not quite up to par. Some of her songs were in a weak falsetto or were more spoken than sung, leaving her pieces flat and emotionless. Luckily, there was enough going on onscreen to compensate for and draw attention from what she was lacking. To be fair, it is almost impossible to compete with vocal powerhouses Reneé Rapp and Jaquel Spivey, who play Regina George and Damian.
Rapp was absolutely phenomenal- she played Regina George on Broadway until COVID-19 forced the musical to close in 2020, and her mastery of the material was obvious. Jaquel Spivey, my personal favorite character from this year’s film, was hilarious to watch and was a big vocal support for the film. Auliʻi Cravalho, most well known for voicing Moana, joins the mean girls universe as an out-and-proud Janis ʻImi’ike. Cravalho added her own personal touch to her character by owning Janis’ queerness, wearing a set of artsy outfits, and doing her own makeup.
Some interesting changes were made to make the movie more accurate to the high school experience of 2024. Social media had a heavy involvement in the story line, used both as a framing and transition technique as well as to show the drama of the online rumor mill. While the choreography was generally good, some pieces seemed like they came straight from a TiikTok dance. These routines stood out uncomfortably against the other Broadway style moves, but I suppose it was fitting for the Gen Z target audience.
Where the costuming for the original movie was undeniably iconic, fodder for countless Halloween costumes and themed parties, the outfits in the new movie are so not fetch.
Most of the characters were often dressed in clothing that looked cheap and low quality- like fast fashion. I think the idea behind it must have been to try to match what high schoolers today might wear, but seeing the iconic Regina George in cheap looking clothing felt blasphemous. Furthermore, wearing thrifted and vintage clothing are in style today, so Regina George’s outfits make no sense on a girl known for flaunting her money and status.
My main critique of the movie was that it did not fully commit to being a remake of either the movie or of the musical, so worshipers of either one individually were left with a watered-down version of what they wanted. There were definite pros and cons to the final result. On the bad side, many musical numbers were deleted from the movie, along with a significant amount of tap dancing. While this was tragic for musical fans, it made for a generally well-paced film. The Broadway ballads, originally written for theater voices, were pop-ified in this new version. This made some of the songs fall flat emotionally, but the soundtrack translates fairly well overall. Whichever version you prefer, it is undeniable that the musical elements elevate the original movie by adding some much needed depth to the characters we adore.
The lines of the original movie are so iconic that a reprise just would not be the same without them. However, because the movie adhered so much to the original script, the new material added was not enough to allow the new movie to escape the shadow of the original. There was a missed opportunity to add a new message or take-away specific to today’s generation, so there was no real thematic need for this new version. Despite this, some new quotable scenes were added, my favorites of which being a reenactment of Janis’s past with the Plastics by plushies, a scene with Regina George on pain meds at the Spring Fling, and Damian’s French rendition of the iCarly theme song at the infamous talent show.
Overall, the new Mean Girls movie was a good time. Do not go into the theaters expecting groundbreaking cinema but instead let yourself enjoy the fresh take on a film we all know and love. As the original film turns twenty years old, a new generation is exposed to Tina Fey’s hilarity and older ones can once again experience a new magic in the form of a beloved story.
