On January 12, 2024, the musical adaptation of Mean Girls came out in theaters. The original 2004 “Mean Girls” movie heavily influenced American pop culture when it came out, and almost twenty years later is equally highly regarded and well-known.
In the movie, the protagonist Cady Heron, a naive teenage girl who previously lived in Africa navigates her way through high school’s social hierarchy. Though she became a mean girl due to her friends and desire to get revenge, Cady learns to correct her behavior, become a good person again, and successfully adjusts to high school.
People adore the original’s movie’s talented actors/actresses, enthralling plot, important takeaway messages, and the iconic quotes, outfits, and humorous details. In 2018, the musical version of “Mean Girls” debuted on Broadway. Later, Tina Fey, the movie producer, writer, and actress who played the Calculus teacher Ms. Norbury in the original “Mean Girls” movie, announced plans to create an adaptation of the renowned film. The official casting list was posted in December 2022, and the teaser for the movie was released in November 2023.
From the moment the teaser was released, the film was surrounded by controversy. Because the original movie was so cherished, there was lots of anticipation; if the musical adaptation was even slightly worse, it would be extremely disappointing to viewers. Ultimately, this led to varying thoughts on the movie.
To start on a worse note, many viewers believed the adaptation was a letdown for various reasons. For one, many audience members didn’t realize that the 2024 “Mean Girls” would be a musical version. The advertisements for the movie didn’t emphasize enough to the public that it was a musical, and many were shocked. Brodie, an audience reviewer, posted this January 26, 2024, on the Rotten Tomatoes website, “When I got there that is when I was told that it was a musical.” Many people didn’t want a musical reboot version as it felt too silly and took away from the intense scenes. The same day, Katie T, another reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes posted “I cringed the whole way through,” and Joanna D posted underneath, “Too much music very uncalled for.” In addition, many others thought the costumes were sloppy and cheap (not fetch, and not something the original Regina would ever wear). In addition, they believed the scenes lost their sly charm, and changes in the script altered the core message or made them less apparent. Many also thought that Angourie Rice, the actress who played Cady Heron, sang without emotion and could have sung better overall.
On the other hand, some people liked the movie. Many people watched the movie open-mindedly and didn’t compare the 2024 version to the original. It gave viewers nostalgia, and people overall thought it was a lighthearted, fun movie. Josh B, another reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes commented on January 25, 2024, “This movie was a TON of fun. I saw it for my bestie’s birthday. We rented out a movie theater and it was just a blast with all my friends there. We were screaming all the songs, it was just amazing. The movie itself was pretty good.” Many people were impressed by Renee Rap, who played the main antagonist Regina George in the original Broadway show and the movie. They complimented her acting, vocals, and charm. Furthermore, many people also enjoyed seeing the male lead Christopher Briney, who played Aaron Samuels, and Avantika, who played Regina’s ditsy friend Karen Smith. Without comparing it to the original and disliking singing, many people found the movie terrific.
On Friday, January 26, I watched “Mean Girls” in theaters with my family and friends. Overall, we thought it was pretty good. I prefer the original, but I also enjoyed the musical adaptation. I particularly loved Renee Rap and Auli’i Cravalho’s (Janis ‘Imi’ike/Ian) voice, and the movie was overall fun to watch. Though there will always be critics, this movie has perfectly demonstrated that it’s totally fine to like the movie and or simply agree to disagree.
