“Mean Girls” (2024) cast (photo credit: Teen Vogue)
Spoilers ahead! Do not read unless you have seen “Mean Girls” or do not mind the spoilers.
Released January 12, 2024, a modernized version of “Mean Girls” is taking the world by storm. Anticipation was high for this gratifying twist on the 2004 classic combined with the 2017 Broadway musical.
The new cast of “Mean Girls” includes Reneé Rapp (Regina), Avantika Vandanapu (Karen), Bebe Wood (Gretchen), and Angourie Rice (Cady), who surprised me in the excellent job they did of capturing the feel of the original film.
Let’s not forget Auli’i Cravalho (Janis) and Jaquel Spivey (Damian); the two excelled at carrying their characters’ humor and arguably have the best songs in the film.
However, many viewers did not go into the movie knowing it was supposed to be inspired by the musical. Trailers for the film incorporated songs from certain scenes, but this is a common practice for many advertisements. This left a lot of viewers shocked and confused, taking to social media to share such frustrations.
I enjoyed the idea of a musical interpretation of “Mean Girls,” as it adds to the uniqueness of this adaptation. However, I did find that a lot of the songs seemed to lack the energy commonly found in the musical genre, which took away from a lot of the scenes and felt out of place.
I also noticed there were audible gasps and collective sighs whenever a new song started. At certain points, some of the music felt like it was mocking the story or solely served a comedic purpose, yet it is unclear if this was the goal of the directors.
One standout example for me was the scene for “Stupid With Love,” where Cady sits behind Aaron in math class and develops a crush. This leads to her bursting into song in the middle of class. There are parts of the scene that made me laugh, but it still gave me secondhand embarrassment as I desperately waited for its conclusion.
Yet, other tracks like “Apex Predator” were rather enjoyable. This particular song happened as Janis and Damian warned Cady of who Reginia was. Through it, the cast was making animallike motions and noises, adding to what high school can look like on the outside.
This was a scene I enjoyed, but maybe I just liked listening to Janis and Damian sing, as their voices definitely stood out compared to everyone else.
However, I cannot say the film itself was entirely bad, as a lot of reviews have emphasized.
The experience of watching was nostalgic in the best way, with reprised roles from Tina Fey and Tim Meadows combined with a cameo from Lindsay Lohan, who appears as the judge in the final mathletes competition. Without these three appearances, I do think the film would have been significantly impacted for viewers comparing it to its inspiration.
We also receive the unexpected cameo from Chris Olsen, a TikTok star claiming over 12 million followers. He appears in the collage of rumor spreading videos symbolizing what people are saying online about the characters as the story unfolds. The easily recognizable face was fun to see, and I expect younger audiences appreciated this as well.
Seeing some parts carry over from the original movie was enjoyable.
My favorite part was the Halloween party, as Cady’s out-of-place costume was kept the same and brought back memories from the first time I watched the original. Another highlight was Damian’s iconic “She doesn’t even go here,” line that will simply never get old.
I do believe that this version of “Mean Girls” will be better understood for the current generations. The film does a good job of creating relatability with a younger crowd, incorporating aspects of social media and innocuous jokes that differ from the original.
In the reinvented iconic holiday talent show scene, Regina ends up falling over, which gets recorded and shared by several people at the school.
Regina faces a lot of cyberbullying because of it, with nasty rumors spreading and her reputation tarnished. This is just one example capturing how bullying has transformed in the age of the Internet, with people being unforgiving outside of the school halls.
As far as the humor goes, there were a lot of aspects from the original film that were kept, with some of the same lines being used word for word. However, some of the more offensive jokes we remember from the 2004 film have been removed, replaced by lines that are sure to be well received by audience members.
As a final comment, I do also appreciate the overall message “Mean Girls” gives its audience. The movies provide a realistic interpretation of what people go through in high school and demonstrate the consequences of judging other people.
For a two hour film that had a lot to live up to, “Mean Girls” brings a fun twist to a cult classic that will help the story live on for generations to come.