Though it wasn’t on October 3rd, this past weekend an ever-iconic 2004 blockbuster film returned to theaters nationwide with a musical twist and more pink than ever before! That’s right, “Mean Girls” was released in theaters nationwide once again, and let’s just say, it was so fetch!
The original film and latest musical adaptation share the same plot. Both are about a teenage girl named Cady Heron who must readapt to life in America after spending most of her childhood in Africa. In America, Cady ends up attending public school for the first time where she quickly befriends Damian and Janis, two quirky teenagers attending North Shore High. One day a group of popular girls called, ‘The Plastics’ approach Cady and befriend her. Although reluctant at first, Cady decides to befriend them to help Janis get revenge on the group’s main leader for something she did to her in the past. ‘The Plastics’ consists of Karen Smith, the ‘dumb blonde’ of the group, Gretchen Weiners, a rich and spoiled teenager who loves to gossip, and Regina George, the queen bee and most popular girl at North Shore High. Although initially a member of ‘The Plastics’ to help Janis get revenge on Regina, Cady ends up becoming a little too much like ‘The Plastics’ and in turn ends up damaging several of her friendships. Ultimately, Cady recognizes her mistakes and makes amends to all the people she hurt in the process.
The first thing I noticed when watching the new film adaptation was that it is much more diverse than the original. For example, in the original movie, all members of ‘The Plastics’ were of European descent however in this film only the leader of the group, Regina George, who is played by Renee Rapp, is of European descent. Karen Smith, who is played by Avantika Vandanapu, is Indian and Gretchen Weiners, who is played by Bebe Wood, is Cuban. I thought this was a fairly tasteful change to the film given the fact that the original film lacked diversity. It’s also nice as a fellow Hispanic to see other people of your ethnicity on the big screen, so I was very satisfied with this change made to the film. In addition, in the original film, the character Janis is only implied to be part of the community, whereas in this film adaptation, she is confirmed to be part of the LQBTQIA+ community which I think is a very nice addition given the little representation the media has given that community for years.
As for this film being a musical unlike the original, I do have to admit that I was a bit hesitant at first because although I do love musicals, I feel as though even the slightest changes to a cult classic film like “Mean Girls” can make or break the whole thing. I was pleasantly surprised though with the music in the film. I already knew of Rapp because I am a big fan of her music but I hadn’t fully comprehended just how great of a singer she is until I heard her astonishing vocals as Regina George in “Mean Girls.” Not only was her singing immaculate, but her portrayal of Regina George was on point! As for Angourie Rice who plays Cady Heron in the 2024 remake of “Mean Girls” I never heard her before watching this film so I was impressed when I heard her singing voice and discovered that she is actually very talented. If I had to choose two of my favorite songs from the film, I would probably choose “World Burn” and “Not My Fault.”
One big jaw-dropping moment for me when watching the film was when Lindsay Lohan, the actress who portrayed Cady Heron in the original film, made a cameo in the new “Mean Girls” movie to run the 2024 Cady Heron’s math competition! This was completely unexpected as I was coming into this film with no spoilers and no knowledge of the cast. I was very happy that Lohan decided to make a cameo in this new adaptation of ‘Mean Girls’ because I felt like it was a full circle moment and in a sense was symbolic of her ‘passing the torch’ to Rice.
As much as I loved this film, I was disappointed that a few of the iconic lines from the original “Mean Girls” film were absent in this new adaptation. One line that I really wish was in the film was June George’s line where she tells Regina’s friends, “I’m not like a regular mom, I’m a cool mom.” Instead of saying this in the new film as well, June George says, “I’m @coolmom with six O’s.” Though I get this change was presumably made due to the new technological developments made in the last 20 years since the original film was released, I found this line more cringe than humorous.
As for the clothing in this film, though I do understand trying to update certain elements of the film to make them more modern and relatable, the outfits in this film were not it. I feel like the Y2K fashion style of the original film spoke more volumes about the characteristics of the characters within the film rather than the Gen Z fashion utilized in the new film. What someone wears says a lot about them and therefore I think that changing how a character dresses misrepresents who they are and how they come off.
I watched the film with my older sister, Priscilla Maldonado, who happens to love musicals. When asked if Rapp lived up to Rachel McAdams’ role as Regina George, she thought it was best to not pit the two against each other.
“I think to compare Renee Rapp and Rachel McAdams in their roles in “Mean Girls” would be fruitless. A musical adaptation is entirely different than a typical film. Both actresses perfectly encapsulated their roles as Regina in the ways they needed to,” Maldonado said. “I typically do not like remakes of film, but I loved this one. I like how it was adapted to fit the current times we are in. The fashion featured in the movie was a bit disappointing. The focus on microtrends was evident and left much to be desired.”
Madinah Safi, a junior at JFK, is doubtful that she’ll watch this film based on what she’s heard about it from other people and the previews she’s seen of it.
“I am not a big fan of remake films if the cast is different. Having the same cast but just older sounds so much more fun than having them replaced,” Safi said. “Musicals are not as popular anymore with teenage girls, so having so much singing in the film took away from the message. I do not like this remake and honestly, I’m not planning to even watch it.”
