Mean Girls is worth the hype…sort of. As a fan of the OG Mean Girls released back in 2004, I was excited to watch the theatrical release of the musical version. While I haven’t seen the theater production, I have heard the songs and they are catchy as hell. Unfortunately, the music wasn’t nearly as “fetch” when translated to the big screen.
The musical numbers were cut down, which was to be expected, but the tempo was also slowed down and the choruses were not nearly as massive and encompassing as a live stage production. However, there were some absolute stand-out’s that managed to salvage what could have been a lackluster movie otherwise. Firstly, the queen bee herself, Regina George as portrayed by Reneé Rapp, who clearly played this role before on Broadway (and I’m sure absolutely crushed it there too). Every number she sings immediately sucks viewers into the screen. “Someone Gets Hurt,” though mostly only showcasing Regina instead of both Regina and Aaron, was by far the best musical number. The choreography, the lighting, the costuming—if you only see a portion of this film, make sure it’s that Halloween house party scene.
Sadly, Angourie Rice’s portrayal of Cady fell absolutely flat. I’m not sure if it’s because she doesn’t come from a musical theater background or if it was because of directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.’s choices, but she did not feel like the star of the show—even when she claimed the role of the “apex predator” after Regina’s fall from grace. I also found Karen (Avantika) and Gretchen (Bebe Wood) to be somewhat forgettable. Karen’s song at the Halloween party was fun, but she wasn’t given the opportunity to be nearly as endearing as the original version played by Amanda Seyfried. There was a small moment in Regina’s closet where Gretchen had a touching moment to provide us with some insight into her life, but aside from that, we didn’t hear much else from her.
The real dynamic duo of the movie are Janis and Damian. We all knew Regina would crush it, but these two were honestly the most entertaining and most passionate character portrayals in Mean Girls. Having previously seen Jaquel Spivey perform his heart out in Broadway’s A Strange Loop, I knew he would bring the sass and the energy needed to portray Damian. Auli’i Cravalho blew me away as Janis, having only heard her as Moana, I loved seeing her transform into this angsty, bold teenager. From her wardrobe and makeup to her attitude and voice, she truly brought this role to life.
With 20 years since the release of the original film, humor changes and evolves. Knowing this, Tina Fey managed to rid this new script of previous problematic tropes and storylines as well as write in a few new surprising laughs and character developments—such as an obvious nod to Ms. Norbury and Mr. Duvall having a relationship. As a viewer, I did miss having Cady’s internal monologue available to help guide her character growth, because the songs, while introspective for some characters, really didn’t provide much insight into Cady’s mind. It felt as though she went from zero to plastic in this version, instead of the slow and obvious change we saw from the original film.
There were also some definite choices made with updating this film to 2024, including modern fashion and technology. The original plastics’ outfits were iconic, 2024’s version felt very fast fashion and cheap. Aside from Regina’s angel costume or Janis’s makeup, the fits just weren’t memorable. The product placements and abundance of influencers were very apparent in several scenes—to the point of almost being too much. That being said, I can appreciate updating a story based around high school to portray how technology and social media impact the virility of information in this day and age. Gone are the days where Regina had to make copies of the burn book, she simply dropped the only copy in the middle of the hallway and it exploded like wildfire across the school in a matter of minutes.
So, the real question is, is it worth the hype? Yes and no. If you are someone who isn’t able to see the touring production of Mean Girls the musical but desperately wants to, then I think this film will suffice in its place. And there is a bit of a surprise appearance that’s an extra treat! However, if you simply want to watch the film because you like the story of Mean Girls, then I recommend watching the original film. For the most part, the OG version still holds up to how ruthless and outlandish high school cliques can truly be, and how important it is to be yourself at the end of the day.
