Bebe Wood, left, Reneé Rapp and Avantika in “Mean Girls.” (Jojo Whilden/Paramount Pictures/TNS)
“Mean Girls” (2024) may not be quite as fetch as many moviegoers were expecting.
The brand-new iteration of the iconic 2004 “Mean Girls” film, which serves as an adaption of the 2018 Broadway musical of the same name, aims to “Gen Z-ify” the iconic plot and characters, all the way down to the trailer’s tagline, “This isn’t your mother’s ‘Mean Girls.’”
The film bites off more than it can chew as it attempts to appeal to both musical theater lovers in its casting of Broadway and pop icon Reneé Rapp and to those less familiar with the musical — seeing as it wasn’t explicitly marketed as a “movie musical” — by cutting nearly half of the musical’s original songs. In doing so, it provides a confused and lackluster experience for theater nerds and haters alike.
While the plot itself largely remains the same, the movie’s new opening number — titled “What Ifs” — was written separately for the film adaptation to replace the musical’s first track, “It Roars.”
Both songs place the audience in Kenya as Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) longs to experience the stereotypical American high school experience. However, “What Ifs” lacks the yearning and enthusiasm of “It Roars,” disheartening the musical’s devotees before the movie even really starts.
Despite Rice’s disappointing vocals — most notably heard in a later song called “Stupid with Love,” which sounds more like a playful “Glee” cover than a Broadway ballad — the Australian actress plays Cady well and establishes a relatable likability carried throughout the film.
Lindsay Lohan, left, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert and Rachel McAdams in the 2004 movie “Mean Girls.” (Michael Gibson/Paramount Pictures/Zuma Press/TNS)
While it is nearly impossible to fill the shoes of the original film’s star, Lindsay Lohan, Rice succeeds in portraying the morphing of Cady as she slowly turns “plastic” herself, which continues as the climax of the story just as it is in the original film.
Though heavily flawed, the film features a delightful handful of familiar faces, including Tina Fey as math teacher Ms. Norbury, Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall and a cameo from the original “jungle freak,” Lohan.
Cady’s love interest and the film’s heartthrob, Aaron Samuels, is played by Christopher Briney, best known for his role as Conrad Fisher in Amazon Prime’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” series.
Briney seems to be more of a stunt cast than anything else, as he doesn’t sing and seems to be there to attract a Gen Z audience. Despite this, his acting is solid and he flirts well with both Cady and the camera, giving viewers butterflies with ease.
While much of the film is disappointing to the fans of the original musical, they are not left empty-handed. Rapp, whose portrayal of Regina George on Broadway when she was just 19 kickstarted her career, brings the icon’s bitchy persona to life through both stellar acting and powerhouse vocals.
While Rapp stands out as one of the film’s highlights — along with Busy Philipps, who portrays Regina’s mother with perfect wit and comedic timing — her costumes leave much to be desired.
In fact, most of the film’s characters appear more “fast-fashionista” than “designer chic,” a major miss considering Regina, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Shetty, as the “plastics,” are meant to appear richer than rich. After all, Gretchen’s dad is canonically “the inventor of Toaster Strudel.”
Played by Bebe Wood, Gretchen is one of the film’s saving graces, as she emits deep despair in her longing to be liked and accepted by Regina, complete with a beautiful rendition of the Broadway musical’s “What’s Wrong With Me?” If anything, her limited screen time and similar styling to Cady leave an underwhelmed and slightly confused audience wanting more.
Completing the plastics lineup, Karen, played by Avantika Vandanapu, is not quite on par with Amanda Seyfried’s initial portrayal of the “dumb blonde” archetype. However, much of this can be attributed to poor writing, as it seems the writers’ room failed to remember that Karen is an actual person and not merely a caricature.
Despite this, Vandanapu’s performance of “Sexy” is one of the best of the entire film, as she brings unadulterated joy and excitement to the already upbeat and absurd number.
While many of the original musical’s songs are absent from the film, those included that stand out from the rest have one thing in common: characters Janis ‘Imi’ike and Damian Hubbard, played by Auliʻi Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey, respectively. The two work perfectly in sync, moving the story along with wit and charm, especially in their performances of “Apex Predator” and “Revenge Party.”
Beyond the lack of music within this movie musical, it also crashes and burns in its attempt to appeal to the younger demographic that did not grow up with the original film.
The overuse of TikTok filters, excessive inclusion of social media influencers and product placement with the subtlety of a speeding school bus reveal the film’s desperate attempt to relate to Gen Z, who should opt to tune into the original film and relish in its timeless and iconic glory, rather than this more than disappointing adaptation.
Rating: 3/5
