“Mean Girls” Review
The Burn Book is out and The Plastics are back in “Mean Girls”, a new musical adaptation of the 2004 teen comedy classic.
Much like “The Breakfast Club”, “American Graffiti” and “Clueless”, the original “Mean Girls” somehow pulls off being a perfect product of the times while still feeling timeless. The 2004 teen film certainly is a marvelous time capsule of the Millennial generation but, as someone who is a member of Generation Z, I have also found a lot to love from Mark Waters’ energized direction to Tina Fey’s sharp script to the iconic performances of Rachel McAdams and Lindsay Lohan. So, I was just as dismissive as everyone else when I saw that a new version of “Mean Girls” was to hit cinemas with this adaptation being based on the Broadway musical that was based upon the original film. However, with fun songs, a refreshing change of pace and likable performances, this musical version of “Mean Girls” has enough entertainment value to justify this new film.
Just like the original, Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) has spent much of her life homeschooled by her zoologist mother (Jenna Fischer) in Kenya and now has moved to Illinois to attend high school amongst other kids her age. While Cady quickly makes friends with outcasts Janis and Damian (Auli’i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey) , she quickly catches the eye of the clique of popular girls known as “The Plastics.” However, when the leader of The Plastics, Regina George (Reneé Rapp), crosses Cady by deliberately stealing Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), a boy that Cady has a crush on, the pair engage in a back-and-forth of revenge that seeks to dominate the entire school year.
With the original film having quickly amassed a big following (I saw the original film in Bryant Park a few months ago and the park was teeming with thousands of fans), it would be difficult for the new adaptation to dig its way out from the weight of that teenage masterpiece. However, like “The Color Purple”, making the film a musical does lead this new “Mean Girls” into a direction that might just appeal to hardened purist fans of the 2004 film. With this new script, Tina Fey has taken a good chunk of the original film, another sizable portion of the Broadway musical and new material and has blended it into a story that has a strong appeal for Generation Z. As an early member of this generation, it’s so refreshing to see that Tina Fey did her homework to accurately portray this strange generation of confused and crazy high school misfits.
As Cady, Angourie Rice brings this meek personal that undergoes a massive evolution over the course of the film as she finds herself torn between being her authentic self and being plastic. While I have enjoyed seeing Rice in fun supporting roles like Betty Brant in the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy, it’s quite exciting to have her be a main character again, especially after she did such a wonderful job in “The Nice Guys”.
But the real challenge has to go to Reneé Rapp who has to compete with Rachel McAdams’ iconic performance as the devious, two-faced, controlling Regina George. Rapp has very much succeeded in her task. Not only is her singing incredible with the attitude her voice conveys, but Rapp brings a lot of fun energy to the film. She’s the kind of character who wants to watch the world burn but is having such a marvelous time that you’d gladly hand her the matchbook.
Throughout the film, I was contemplating if I was enjoying it because of my leftover love for the original or because I was legitimately loving what this new adaptation was offering. Well, after much consideration, it’s because of the latter. There’s a fun energy associated with the film that I think fans are going to gravitate towards and I think there’s enough new material added that justifies this new adaptation. The direction of Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. is so fun and has this youthful energy that strongly compliments this new adaptation. However, there are some fun nods to the original that I think will satisfy fans including Tina Fey and Tim Meadows reprising their roles as Ms. Norbury the math teacher and Principal Ron Duvall.
I could go on and on comparing the original film and this remake like how Avantika Vandanapu’s Karen Shetty is somehow more enjoyable dumb than Amanda Seyfried’s spin on the character or how resident math geek Kevin G (Mahi Alam) is still a legend but I would rather just say plainly that this new film is enjoyable enough for me. This especially includes this little scene where Regina and Cady have a conversation at the Spring Fling where they just have a private talk and hash out their feelings. It’s a great addition that makes me feel that the film wasn’t just a soulless corporate cash grab at a popular story. Tina Fey wanted to retell this story because of the new ideas that had blossomed over 20 years.
While I have never seen the Broadway musical, after listening to the soundtrack of the stage show and seeing the film, I think that fans of the play are going to be disappointed. Reneé Rapp certainly brings all of her Broadway chops to the musical numbers and they are filmed in an interesting way but several of these actors don’t have a background in musical theater and it clearly shows. I can’t think of an actor whose singing I found to be bad but it left something to be desired when compared to a Broadway stage. I don’t know why studios don’t reach out to performers that can really sing but I still found these musical numbers, especially songs like “Sexy”, “Revenge Party” and “I’d Rather Be Me” to be fun in their execution.
Does this new version of “Mean Girls” need to exist? Well, no but I still think it’s a fun way to spend a few hours at the movies. I certainly think the original feels more fresh and has more personality but this adaptation is still enjoyable enough. After two months of films that are guaranteed picks for awards shows, this is a refreshing palate cleanser that doesn’t like a waste of time. There’s passion behind this film that I hope gravitates with viewers and fans of the 2004 classic.
