The Plastics are back, and they’re campier than ever.
This weekend, I saw Mean Girls in theatre. As a former theatre kid and former Mean-Girls-quoting teenager, I was super excited for this movie. I heard amazing things from my sister who saw the musical on Broadway and was excited to see what spin the new cast would put on the original movie characters.
Before delving into the review, I must say, going to the movie theatre is such a fun and underrated weekend activity to do with friends—the vibes, the snacks (particularly the soft pretzels) are unmatched, and the movie theatre experience is impossible to replicate at home.
Now, let’s get into this review. Be warned, some minor spoilers are ahead.
First and foremost, the music stole the show for me. It was great to finally see Mean Girls in musical form after all the Broadway songs first trended on TikTok. The eclectic dance numbers of the musical performances reminded us how dramatic and over the top the characters are in the first place. Regina George, played by Renee Rapp, was perfectly cast and her solo in the “Meet the Plastics” number served as a reminder of just how dramatic and truly vindictive her character is.
I also loved the modernization of the storyline and its characters. From the outfit choices to the inclusion of social media references—like when Janis turned on the sprinklers when Regina was named homecoming queen, allowing her to “bring back the wet look” and inspire others to do the same—I thought it was a great portrayal of the modern high school experience, which has certainly changed since the original Mean Girls came out. The way certain elements of the original story, like Regina getting hit by a bus blew up on social media in the new story, was a hilarious addition that brought the story into the new generation.
The celebrity and influencer cameos were another treat. Having intentionally kept myself in the dark about the movie beforehand, appearances by Megan Thee Stallion, TikTok star Chris Olsen, and most importantly, Lindsay Lohan were delightful surprises.
Of course, no review is complete without some criticisms.
Cady Heron, played by Angourie Rice, didn’t capture the essence of Cady that some of us were expecting. She lacked the vocal power needed for some of the numbers early in the film and was too nice towards the end of the film when Cady is supposed to have reached a point of being a fully fledged b*tch.
Aaron Samuels’ performance, played by Chris Briney, doesn’t include any musical numbers, which was strange considering the nature of the film. I was upset as numbers like “Stupid With Love (Reprise)” and “More is Better” were completely cut due to Briney’s inability to sing. Fortunately, the rest of the cast, particularly Janis (Auli Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), made up for Briney’s lackluster performance.
Aside from the casting, I wasn’t entirely obsessed with some of the storyline changes. Although some changes were part and parcel of the Broadway musical adaptation—such as changing the “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” dance to “Rocking Around the Pole” and the exclusion of the Trang Pak-Coach Carr storyline (maybe that’s for the best—I’ve always found that side story hysterical but also super weird), some were unique to the new film, like the addition of Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall’s love story, among other minor storyline differences. Some of these changes were a bit upsetting for folks like myself who are stans of the original movie.
However, at the end of the day, it comes with the territory, as this project was more focused on the Broadway version than the original film version. While I really loved a lot of the new cast, some members of original cast are simply irreplaceable—athough John Hamm as Coach Carr came pretty darn close (coming from an unapologetic Coach Carr stan).
If you’re looking for a fun movie to watch, one that brings back teen nostalgia with a good amount of singing along, I’d highly recommend Mean Girls. And for those of you calling it cringe, lighten up—it’s not cringe, it’s camp.
Tags
Mean Girls, movie, musical, Review
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