It’s been 20 years since we last saw the Plastics rule the halls of North Shore High. Based on Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes, Mean Girls (2004) was a phenomenon of its time. Director Mark Waters and writer Tina Fey provided witty commentary on social dynamics with iconic Y2K fashion and hilarious one-liners that people still use today. Garnering a 2018 musical adaptation, it’s an extremely rare feat for a book to go from film adaptation to Broadway and now back to Hollywood in the form of a movie musical. Tina Fey is back again to pen this latest Mean Girls (of the same title, why isn’t it Mean Girls: The Musical?) with the unique opportunity to update jokes from the 2004 film that maybe haven’t aged as gracefully. But Mean Girls (2024) needs to be much more than that to prove its worth.
The marketing for Mean Girls (2024) has been quite a conundrum. Most trailers do not feature any of the musical elements, making a lot of people think that it’s a simple remake rather than an adaptation of the 2018 Broadway hit. In addition to the tagline being “This isn’t your mother’s Mean Girls,” more harm than good has already been inflicted on the movie by the studio (Paramount) even before its release. Similarly, Warner Bros. recently promoted Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet, as anything but the musical that it truly is, raising eyebrows as to why studios are so against marketing musicals. There’s a real irony to this because Mean Girls (2004) is much better than many fans are expecting.
Mean Girls (2024) is mostly everything people love about the original movie and the musical combined. It’s safe to assume this adaptation was made for the new digital age of being mean. The story pretty much remains the same, we follow not-redhead Cady Heron (played by Angourie Rice who’s best known for playing Betty Brant in the MCU) as she goes from homeschooling in Kenya to an American high school. Cady is our innocent newcomer who gets no training on how to be a high schooler. She befriends art students Janis ‘Imi’ike (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey) who give her a rundown of the school’s hierarchy. Carvalho and Spivey are sensational as the dynamic duo and it’s refreshing to see the characters be openly Queer in this update.
Of course, the school would be nothing without the queen bees known as the “The Plastics,” introduced by a condensed version of the musical number “Meet The Plastics.” This scene-stealing moment from Reneé Rapp (reprising the role of Regina George from Broadway), makes it clear that her take on Regina brings something new to the table, separate from Rachel McAdams’ staple performance. Her song delivery of “My Name is Regina George and I am a massive deal” packs all the punch and confidence of the queen Mean Girl. Her fellow Plastics are the loyal Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) and still airhead Karen Shetty (Avantika). They immediately clock Cady as the new girl and ask her to sit with them for lunch, “On Wednesdays, we wear pink” is still a pivotal line.
Directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. utilize plenty of nostalgia with an updated spin. The more dated jokes of the original film are removed and social media plays a larger role in the teenage chaos. Mean Girls (2004) expects its audience to already know the story and characters, so there’s little exposition involved. This helps fans dive into the musical elements, but it obviously won’t work for newcomers. And if you’re going in already as a fan of the Broadway musical, some of the original songs are cut down, spoken instead, or cut out completely. The music wasn’t always the most memorable part of the musical so this creative choice of featuring fewer songs works out for the film’s pacing.
The choreography in Mean Girls (2024) is completely different from the stage version as well. The goal was to create more of a music video vibe for the musical sequences and it surprisingly works. Choreographer Kyle Hanagami does a fantastic job blending the dance sequences with cinematographer Bill Kirstein‘s camera movement. It’s very reminiscent of what Kenny Ortega did for the huge dance numbers of High School Musical 3: Senior Year. The cinematic choreography also helps elevate the story for those who are already familiar with Mean Girls.
Tina Fey’s new script barely scratches the surface of how damaging social media has become for girlhood, the public standards for body image being the biggest example. The use of phones is present in montages and that’s about it sadly. On the brighter side, the film’s easter eggs, references, and welcome cameos are often used quite creatively. Fey reprises her role as Calculus teacher Ms. Norbury as does Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall. Fey’s fourth-wall-breaking works for this adaptation, like when Gretchen delivers her iconic fetch line and Fey tells the audience, “It’s slang from an old movie.”
The rest of the adult cast is stacked yet used very sparingly. Ashley Park makes a quick appearance as the school’s French teacher. Busy Philips as Regina’s “cool mom” Mrs. George is a little forced in her few scenes while Jenna Fischer as Cady’s mom, Ms. Heron, feels underutilized. Jon Hamm gets to play Coach Carr and, thankfully, the awful stereotypes are gone. Like his other co-stars, though, Hamm is wasted and it almost makes you wonder why they got these huge names to begin with. Another major element missing is Cady’s voice-over internal monologue, thus making it harder to root for anything she’s doing as our lead when Regina, Damian, and Janice are acting circles around her.
Another hindrance to Mean Girls (2024) is its lackluster costume design. Cady for the most part spends the movie in frumpy clothes, sweaters, and hiking boots – isn’t she supposed to turn into a Plastic? The Plastics themselves aren’t very cohesive with their outfits either, they look like they shop at Shein when they’re supposed to be rich and flaunt name-designer brands. There are some recreations from the original 2004 movie that work like Cady’s party outfit and Janice’s Spring Fling suit. Everything else just falls flat.
As much as this version doesn’t want to be “your mother’s Mean Girls,” it plays out much closer to that than maybe intended. Mean Girls (2024) provides a tame look at the high school experience with a thick lens of nostalgia. The cast ensemble all try their best to breathe new life into these iconic characters when given the chance. But not everyone gets that lucky opportunity and is instead sidelined. One thing is for certain, Reneé Rapp is a powerhouse. The catchy song performances like “Sexy”, “World Burn”, and “I’d Rather Be Me” carry you until the end The fan-favorite elements, such as the Burn Book, are still just as poignant as when they were 20 years ago. If anything, Regina is meaner in this iteration and her arc still rings true.
Mean Girls (2024) can’t hold its own next to the original film, yet there might be enough for older fans to enjoy. It’s not accessible to newer viewers and fans of the musical are going to have their hot takes, for sure. So, does Mean Girls (2024) prove its own worth as a movie musical? Let’s just say it gets about halfway there. Come for the laughs, stay for Reneé Rapp’s killer take on Regina George.
