Get in loser, we’re going to the movies. Tina Fey revives her classic film with a musical twist that blends something new with nostalgia to create a fun and engaging movie theater experience.
New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) gets welcomed into the top social food chain by an elite group of popular girls called the Plastics, ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Renee Rapp). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, she soon finds herself caught in their crosshairs.
Fey kept true to her promises to keep the spirit of the blockbuster alive in this new version and holds much of the attitude of the original. The drama, backbone, and events are all there to relive and don’t feel too mocking. It holds plenty of nostalgia that will please OG fans, helping buffer things up nicely.
This new direction for Mean Girls requires getting the right group of actors to play these iconic roles and not destroy the trust they might have built in the trailers. They did a solid job and the personalities fit almost perfectly, the chemistry may be a bit more energetic, but still holds the ferocity of the moment. They are not the most jaw-dropping roles or performances, but they were still so much fun to watch.
Auli’i Cravalho’s edge was intoxicating, the genuine attitude leaking out and standing up against the popular flow was inspiring, if not a tad bit over the top at times. Renne Rapp as Regina was conniving, acidic, and had these hypersexual tones that would do things the original didn’t, but makes that still fun and menacing villain that holds much to despise and plot against. Angourie Rice didn’t have as much of the hard edge as Lindsay Lohan did, but the transition is still strong, playing more to the innocent side for much of the film. Sure she could have had a little more nice to match the engaging dynamic, but I didn’t hate her substitution.
Blending the two genres of musical and movie can sometimes get too lost in hybridizing, but this film did a decent job at it. When the musical numbers come up, several of them have that theatrical flair of a stage show, with confetti, costumes, and choreography that just lit up a room. It all came together in this hybridizing that worked some of the time and added that engaging piece that makes a movie fun.
Don’t get me wrong, the movie is stupid. We know the quotes and the mannerisms, and we know the sass runs deep in this kind of thing. In this version though, it finds a way to still make fresh, appeasing the traditional, and making me laugh at times especially Damian who seemed the best mixing bowl of the bunch.
Overall, I had a lot of fun watching Mean Girls and felt Tina Fey accomplished a lot in this new iteration to be fun and nostalgic mixed together. The music helps add energy and flair, giving it some fun and making certain numbers that theatrical productions might not be able to produce. A fantastic casting direction and many fit their roles, which further helps bridge the traditional and modern, with good writing to help the experience. Add in good editing, a killer set, and all the energy coming together to have a fun time at the theater. However, the hybrid also kind of hurts it at the same time. Editing cuts for characters like John Hamm make their contribution minimal, while also sort of robbing us of those key moments of dramatic clique chaos. Musical numbers, while good, sometimes come in at odd moments, that High School Musical approach that not only feels forced but trips up the feel and editing of the movie. Some direction changes make the plastics miss their dynamic calls, and perhaps not taking the chance to integrate some fresher lines took away from the film.
Mean Girls is now playing in theaters.
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