Mean Girls (2024) does a great job of combining the original film with the stage show. An incredibly talented cast and super fun musical numbers.
It’s been twenty years since the original Mean Girls came to the big screen and six years since the musical made its Broadway debut. Now, these two mediums have merged to create a musical film that does a great job of combining the two. Mean Girls (2024) delivers musical numbers that are an absolute blast while also paying homage to the 2004 movie.
The new cast embraces their characters perfectly and while they are all fantastic — from the teachers played by Tina Fey and Ashley Park, to the Plastics played by Renee Rapp, Bebe Wood, and Avantika Vandanapu — there are a few that stole the show. Cady Heron was always the main character of Mean Girls, but that doesn’t mean that everyone didn’t fall in love with Regina George. People love a mean girl, there is no denying it.
Renee Rapp is no stranger to this role, as she played Regina in the musical, so it should come as no surprise that she absolutely knocks it out of the park in this film. In fact, one of the complaints that we have about the film (they are all nitpicks, mind you) is that Regina’s part seems to be a bit smaller than we are used to. The girl has some pipes on her, we all know that, but still, every time she opens her mouth, she proves why she is such a talent and we are so lucky to have her in this world.
Rapp isn’t the only standout however, Jaquel Spivey (who played Damian) and Auliʻi Cravalho (who plays Janis) absolutely crush it. They by far steal the show right from the opening number. Every time the are on screen, it is impossible not to have a smile on your face. Not only will they make viewers laugh uncontrollably with their mannerisms and sharp wit, they are also the ones that will have viewers wiping away tears. Mean Girls simply would not work as well as it does without these two in it.
When it comes to Angourie Rice, who plays Cady, she does a great job as well. Her transition from new girl to Regina replacement is done in a slow but calculated way. You can almost see her evolving and changing with each moment that passes.
The biggest issue with Mean Girls is an understandable one, but that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. As mentioned before, we are now twenty years after the original movie, which means times have changed. There are some things that were said in the first movie that might not seem very politically correct, and we can see why the writers and studio would want to move away from them.
However, the whole point of the movie Mean Girls is that Regina and co. are just that — mean. Because of the lines and events that were removed from the film, they don’t seem so bad. At least not to the point where Regina deserves what it happening to her. This ends up taking away from the validity of Cady, Janis, and Damian, while also having the audience question what exactly Regina did to be treated this way. Still, Rapp does her best to portray and selfish person and it comes across as best as she could allow it to with the dialogue that was written.
While the musical numbers are impressive to say the least, a lot of them from the musical have been removed. This is, of course, to keep the movie a manageable length. The ones that we do get are all choreographed incredibly and viewers will feel as if they are watching the stage show. There is only one with a slight issue, which is the one where the students are all acting as animals. It makes sense, but it goes on a bit too long and just becomes awkward. This is, once again, just a nitpick as it doesn’t take away from the film as a whole.
Mean Girls (2024) delivers on the humor as well. There are several great bits and cameos that will have audiences both laughing and cheering. This movie does a wonderful job of combining the two mediums this story exists in, hoping to please old fans and bring in new ones as well. We think it will do just that.
Get in loser, because Mean Girls is in theaters January 12th.
Rating: 4 out of 5
NEXT: New Mean Girls Poster for Dolby Cinema Released
About Mean Girls
From the comedic mind of Tina Fey comes a new twist on the modern classic, MEAN GIRLS. New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called “The Plastics,” ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika).
However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina’s crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group’s apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school.
Mean Girls hits theaters on January 12th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.