Stop trying to make 'Mean Girls' happen: Hollywood's newest remake fails to hit right notes
"Mean Girls," directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., is a movie musical adapted from the 2018 Broadway musical of the same name. The Broadway production, in turn, is based on the classic 2004 teen comedy written by Tina Fey, which itself draws inspiration from the book "Queen Bees and Wannabees."
The plot surrounds new girl Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), who arrives at North Shore High School, naive and oblivious after being homeschooled her entire life. She befriends school outcasts Janis (Auli'i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) but soon gets invited to join the "Plastics," the most popular girls in school.
The group consists of Karen Shetty (Avantika), Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) and queen-bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp), who inspire chaos and comedic moments.
This film hits all the same story beats that audiences were looking forward to — most audience members could probably predict most of the dialogue — a majority of the screenplay is verbatim.
The musical numbers add a unique element for fans looking for something different, despite the questionable quality of most of them. "Sexy," "Revenge Party" and "World Burn" are some of the only numbers that were able to keep the high-energy sound found in the original Broadway soundtrack.
In "Sexy," the character of Karen gets to shine as actress Avantika exudes charisma and amazing dancing skills. Avantika, like most of the cast, does the best with what she is given and makes the most out of the screen time she has.
"Revenge Party" is a fun song, embodying everything a solid musical number should be — entertaining if not a little silly. Cravalho's strong vocals should also be noted as a highlight here. The song does its job as the climactic number to begin the trail of revenge, lies and secrets that, as audiences know, will soon be scandalously revealed.
"World Burn," showcases the wonderful talents of Rapp, who makes this film her own despite its issues. To many people, she is the standout of "Mean Girls," and it's not hard to see why: Rapp was the Broadway replacement for Regina and is essentially reprising her role here.
There are some positives to the movie, the nostalgic moments and cameos from celebrities such as Megan Thee Stallion are fun, but other than that, the film falls flat.
There's an emptiness about its supposed "highlights," a majority of the musical numbers present themselves as isolated music videos rather than effortlessly integrated scenes.
The lackluster songs uncover a deeper problem within the film itself: It's ashamed to be a musical! The confusing marketing, made up of teasers and promotional videos that purposefully hid the movie's musical elements, led to audiences stepping into theaters expecting a standard remake.
The film makes some changes to the plot that don't make much of an impact. Its issue is not the story arc, but rather its script, which leaves much to be desired.
Its attempt at revamping the film to cater to Generation Z casts an awkward shadow over an initially iconic work of the early 2000s. It relies heavily on social media such as TikTok and awkward hashtag jokes, which aren't always bad, but they feel inauthentic here.
The original "Mean Girls" is only 20 years old — a reboot isn't needed at this point. In the film's first trailer, the tagline states "this isn't your mother's Mean Girls," which doesn't make sense. Generation Z grew up on this movie as much as millennials did, and they still resonate with it. Plus, a majority of millennials don't have children old enough to watch or be interested in the subject.
Ultimately, "Mean Girls" gets in over its head.
It's trying to do a lot within its short runtime, including appealing to way too many crowds that might not appreciate it for what it is — a musical. Its Broadway predecessor, which had its share of criticism when it premiered, was at least confident in its presentation. Ironically, this latest rendition of the story seems to lack that same self-assurance.
