By Audrey Elwood, Staff Writer and Hannah Kremer, Staff Writer
Get in loser, we’re going reviewing.
Originally intended to be a Paramount+ original, Mean Girls (2024) came out earlier this month to a surprise theatrical release, and it had some big high-heeled shoes to fill. From many comparing it to the other big “pink” blockbuster of last summer, to the cultural impact the original had on so many womens’ adolescences, a lot was riding on this remake.
Did it all live up to expectations? Or did it crash like a school bus into Regina? Well, it’s hard to say.
Angourie Rice, who plays the iconic role of Cady Heron, was insufferable. The Cady we knew from the original film had far more dimension than in the 2024 remake. As a character, she was flat and ultimately had a singing voice that did not live up to the talent of her co-stars. All of the charms from Lindsay Lohan’s Cady Heron were wiped, and taking her place was a bland Mary Sue who drives none of the plot and delivers none of the quirky one-liners. Had we been the plastics, she wouldn’t be allowed to sit at our table.
And whose idea was it to cast Christopher Briney as Aaron? Yes, that’s the guy who plays Conrad in The Summer I Turned Pretty. As we watched him act, he seemed like an awkward fit for the kind-hearted jock type. Next to Reneé Rapp, he might as well have been a prepubescent boy who accidentally wandered on set. All of this is to say, it leads to an incredibly boring leading romance. Thank goodness they both had calculus, because they sure didn’t have chemistry together.
The questionable casting was not the only film aspect that felt cheap and plastic.
Product placement was by far the biggest issue. It could not have been more in-your-face. We watched Karen blatantly blast herself with Secret Spray-On Deodorant for at least 5 minutes. Elf Cosmetics also showed up multiple times, even in the middle of musical numbers. All of this is to say, it was a huge distraction. Is it really necessary to mention SeatGeek as a sponsor of the Mathletes event?
However, the film isn’t all a bust. Many of the supporting leads give it their absolute all, including the titular mean girl herself. She’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. Her name is Regina George, and she is a massive deal.
Mean Girls (2024) casting Rapp as Regina George is quite literally the best casting decision they could have made. It’s hard to top Rachel McAdams’ iconic role, but Rapp takes a new spin on it and looks very hot doing so. Regina is less mean, yes, but this fits much closer to the Regina of the Broadway musical, which this adaptation is based on. It also helps that Rapp’s Regina isn’t dropping slurs like she did 20 years ago. Rapp’s Regina has mastered passive aggressiveness, while still adding a humanistic element to it.
Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org
Regina isn’t the only apex predator in the supporting cast, either. Janis (Auli’I Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) are perfectly grool and inject a healthy amount of humor into the movie, without being over-the-top.
Basing this adaptation off the musical was perfect. Since it is a remake, the vast majority of the plot is the same. And with a movie so iconic as Mean Girls (2004), everyone is already going to know the plot and the oh-so-quotable lines, so the songs add a level of freshness that the movie sorely needed.
The songs that were included from the stage production were done very well. Specifically, all of Rapp’s and Cravalho’s numbers stick out. This makes sense. After all, Cravalho is better known for her performance in Disney’s Moana, and Rapp previously played Regina on Broadway. Half of this movie is a Reneé Rapp music video, and we are not complaining about it.
However, finding the balance between adding new songs and referencing classic moments did prove difficult. As an avid fan of the musical, who has been listening since 2018, not enough of the songs made the cut. “Stop” and “Whose House is This?” were severely missed.
A lot of the most iconic lines met the chopping block, too. Where was our weather report, Karen? Why wasn’t your hair big enough to hold secrets, Gretchen? Justice for Karen and her ESPN abilities.
A lot has changed since 2004. It is not your mother’s Mean Girls. Literally. There was a heavy emphasis on how social media played a role in the girls’ self-confidence. So if you’re expecting a nostalgia trip, something to feel like middle school, like baking a cake filled with rainbows and smiles, where everyone would eat and be happy… this isn’t for you. But if you’re looking for something that adds a completely new spin to the original while still being fresh, then this movie is so fetch!