Friday, January 12, the new “Mean Girls” musical movie released in theaters, taking its auditory inspiration from the 2018 Broadway modification. Although the original female-centric comedy aired almost two decades ago, creator Tina Fey’s musical spin added a new facet to the adored film.
The initial version of “Mean Girls” follows new student Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, as she navigates the different cliques of her high school. Befriending outcasts Janis Ian and Damien Leigh—portrayed by Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese—Heron attempts to dismantle the school’s social hierarchy. Queen bee Regina George and her friends Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith—staged by Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried—rule the school by dressing fashionably and black-mailing their classmates. Throughout the movie, Cady finds herself at the center of Regina’s friend group and posing as one of “The Plastics” while sabotaging Regina’s reputation. However, Cady meets her downfall as she begins to fall for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels, played by Johnathan Bennett.
The hilarious dramatization of high school kept audiences captivated, and trends from the film continue today; the date October 3, Burn Books or wearing pink on Wednesday remain reference staples in teenage pop culture, and audiences still see Regina as the ultimate mean girl. Differing from other cinema pieces of its time, “Mean Girls” mainly centers around female characters and includes genuine adult presence to further the plot, which contributes to the film’s continuous influence.
“[The 2004 movie] influenced the people watching that you shouldn’t change the way you act to fit in, like how Cady did when she was trying to sit with “The Plastics.” She changed her whole personality to fit in and ended up losing her friends at the end of it. You should be yourself no matter how other people feel [and] not let people peer pressure you into doing anything you don’t really want to do,” sophomore Olivia McCowey said.
Though the recently released musical adaptation follows the same storyline and characters as the original, Fey decided to add various modern aspects, such as TikTok, to maintain the movie’s relevance. The new release also features ethnically diverse actors—such as Auli’i Cravalho as Ian and Jaquel Spivey as the renamed character Damian Hubbard—to increase the movie’s inclusivity. However, these changes seem minor in light of others.
Numerous musical numbers formulate the main premise of the new “Mean Girls” that starkly contrasts it from the original since the Broadway adaptation inspired the film. Yet, the producer did not intend to recreate either of the preexisting features, so the movie aims to add a new interpretation to the adored storyline. Numbers from the Broadway piece such as “Meet the Plastics” and “Revenge Party” remain in the film’s tracklist, with added songs “What Ifs,” “It Roars” and “Not My Fault”—a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion and Regina’s new actor Reneé Rapp.
Though countless musical-loving fans admired the new “Mean Girls,” the film received backlash from unexpecting audiences. Since the trailer—released November 8—used Olivia Rodrigo’s “Get Him Back!” as the background for the cinematography, potential watchers believed the movie would simply revamp the well-known characters. Fans and critics did not receive these surprise musical aspects positively but noted that they felt awkward as they viewed the scenes.
The initial “Mean Girls” remains adored by audiences of all ages, but the new film does not seem to live up to its expectations. Receiving only a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes audience score, watchers can see the disappointment from the awaited movie. Though certain excited fans approved of it, various critics’ opinions outweigh the admiration. Overall, the new Plastics simply hold a candle to McAdams and Lohan, the original mean girls.
“I feel like when I was watching ‘Mean Girls,’ it was interesting. Parts of it were good, but I feel like some other parts differ mainly because of the musical aspect of it.
The musical numbers made the movie less entertaining. It seems like they were trying to make it more similar to ‘High School Musical,’” sophomore Serenity Norris said.
