We’ve been talking a lot about musicals in the last two months. The Color Purple and Wonka both burst onto the scene over the holidays in all their singing and dancing glory. This week, we get the third in this holiday musical triple threat. Mean Girls. That’s right, it’s a musical now. As someone who refuses to believe 2004 was that long ago… is the teen classic ready for a remake? Is it fetch? Or should we stop trying to make it happen? Read on.
Mean Girls follows Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), a new student in an Illinois high school. She’s shocked when she is quickly pulled into the top clique … The Plastics. When she falls for the Queen Bee’s ex-boyfriend (Christopher Briney), she’s set on a crash course for a showdown in the jungle that is high school. Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows and Jon Hamm co-star in the movie. Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. direct the film from a script by Tina Fey.
Many will know that Mean Girls is a remake of the 2004 teen classic of the same name starring Lindsay Lohan. However, many may not realize that it’s indeed a musical. Yep. We’re talking Broadway. Cady, Regina and company both sing and participate in highly choreographed music numbers.
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As someone for whom Mean Girls is nostalgic, I find this film’s existence a challenge. From the get-go, the movie tries to distinguish itself from the first film. Trailers herald it as “Not Your Mother’s Mean Girls.” First of all … ouch. At the same time, though, except for a few social media montages and the occasional inclusion of a TikTok video screen, it really doesn’t feel any more “modern” than the 2004 film. In fact, except for the inclusion of songs and the removal of some particularly dated humor, it’s a very close remake. Even some of the costumes are spot on.
This in itself makes Mean Girls hard to process with a film critic hat on. At no point does the movie feel particularly young or “hip.” As someone who enjoys the first film immensely, I laughed at many of the same moments. “You go, Glen Coco!” Simultaneously, the film bears such a close resemblance to its predecessor even the performers aren’t immune to these challenges.
This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the performances. The supporting cast (particularly Avantika and Wood) shines in the face of this noted complexity. Both performers have mighty shoes to step into as Karen and Gretchen Wieners, respectively. However, both noticeably tap into their predecessors’ portrayals, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert. As I watched the film, I was repeatedly reminded of the original portrayals in this supposedly “new take.”
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The movie’s biggest hurdle seems to hit toward the end of the second act. There is a plucky quirkiness to the film’s first half. To make a comparison, I was repeatedly reminded of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. From the humor to the vocal quality and the tone, Mean Girls not only feels comfortable but also strikes a fun chord. Readers, do with that what you will.
Unfortunately, as the film speeds toward its ending, it doesn’t move as smoothly. Does it dive headfirst into its thematic message? Perhaps. During this stretch, it finally strays away from the source material. In fact, it’s largely the only point where the movie steps out from under the original film’s shadow.
Ultimately, Mean Girls leaves this critic with questions. Who is this fun little film really for? As mentioned, from a marketing perspective, Mean Girls sees itself as the 2004 movie’s young Gen-Z cousin. However, with a film that (with a few musical exceptions) is a carbon copy of its source material, are a few allusions to social media enough to bring in “the kids”? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun, enjoyable movie with plenty to love for fans of the musical. However, it’s difficult to see why fans of the 2004 film wouldn’t just watch that movie.
Mean Girls opens in theaters nationwide on January 12, 2024.
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