Taking a seat on the couch, holding a big bowl of popcorn, you turn on the TV to watch a movie. You scroll through the options and come across a classic that you’ve seen a million times. Thinking back to the first time you watched it years ago, you wish you could experience that feeling again. Now you have that opportunity and can enjoy the story in a whole new way.
Hitting the big screen on Jan. 12, the new Mean Girls movie follows the same plot as the original 2004 film, with the addition of the soundtrack from the Broadway musical. The story follows new student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), who was homeschooled in Kenya, as she navigates the unfamiliar jungle of high school cliques and female friendships. Cady is accepted by queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her group of popular girls, called the Plastics. But when Cady develops a big crush on Regina’s ex Aaron (Christopher Briney), she sees just how much Regina can hurt her. With the help of her friends Janice (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damien (Jaquel Spivey), she enacts a takedown plan of the Plastics and Regina George.
The music of Mean Girls was absolutely one of the best parts. The movie has stellar musical stars like Rapp, who stole the show as Regina George, and Avantika Vandanapu, who played Karen Shetty. These two showed their musical talent during the Halloween party scene, which had some of the best music of the movie. Their voices and acting really brought the story to life, giving it a new edge to make the story entertaining. Rapp specifically did an amazing job in the movie, both with her acting and voice. She sang Regina’s big songs like “Someone Gets Hurt” and “World Burn” with lots of emotion, and it was captivating to watch.
Rice, who played Cady, fell flat when compared with the other singers because her voice wasn’t as powerful or dynamic. Her acting was fairly good, but she didn’t play the role as well as Lindsay Lohan, who played Cady in the original film. Audiences are going to compare these new actors with their counterparts from the original film, and everyone except Rice seemed to size up well or even bring something new to the role.
Mean Girls has the same plot as the musical and original movie, and includes the same songs as the Broadway adaptation. Therefore, nothing is surprising, as anyone who has seen the movie or musical will know exactly what will happen next, but the creators of the movie still did a great job making it interesting. Some of the actors from the original movie even came back to reprise their roles; it was really exciting to see Tina Fey come back in her role as Ms. Norbury and Tim Meadows return as Principal Duval.
The movie also took the events of the original and modernized it to be relatable to modern teens. The wardrobe and technology is modern while also sticking to the vibes of the 2004 film. Modern messaging and social media was worked into the movie without it feeling overwhelming or unnecessary. Many of the scenes were filmed vertically like on a phone, and some sections of the movie looked like a compilation of a TikTok video.
However, certain scenes of the movie felt like poorly hidden advertisements, with brand labels and products clearly visible. Though it was a little distracting once the product placement was noticed, it didn’t really affect the overall experience of the film. It might be a fun game for viewers to see if they can spot all the items.
Overall, the movie has great energy, catchy music, and brilliant stars, making it worth a watch. This movie is great to watch if you enjoy the original Mean Girls, Mean Girls (the Broadway musical), Legally Blond, or Heathers.
9/10
