**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**
“Don’t look her in the eye…”
Mean Girls (2024) released in theaters on January 12th 2024. The musical teen comedy (inspired by the 2004 film of the same name) stars Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auliʻi Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Tim Meadows, and Tina Fey. It runs for approximately an hour and fifty-eight minutes.
New student, Cady Heron gets invited to join The Plastics at school, but when she falls for Regina George’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron, she winds up stuck in a cruel rivalry where friendships are put to the test.
Here is the trailer:
Mean Girls is a celebration of the 2004 film, creating something different for the new generation with a musical spin while still presenting fans of the original film with enough nostalgia. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…
The Pros:
All hail, Reneé Rapp!
She ate up every second of screen time and absolutely delivered as Regina George. This role is not easy to fill and Rachel McAdams is so iconic in it. That being said, I thought that Rapp took everything that was great about the original Regina and put a wicked spin on her portrayal, making her performance the best part of this film. I loved her in The Sex Lives of College Girls, but she broke out as an absolute star in this film. Perfection!
Satisfying nostalgia for fans of the original film.
Mean Girls is one of my favorite movies of all-time so I had high expectations for this one. While it didn’t come close to the original film, I appreciate that it didn’t try to be a lifeless remake. The musical spin made it feel like more of a celebration of the film, recognizing where it came from and giving fans a lot of memorable moments to appreciate.
There were familiar faces in this one as well, which helped me connect to the film a lot more.
The Cons:
Some characters couldn’t measure up…
While I thoroughly enjoyed Rapp’s performance, not everyone translated as well on screen. Cravalho was terrific as Janis and Jaquel Spivey was hilarious as Damian. However, I couldn’t connect with Cady, Gretchen, or Karen (despite her various attempts). They just didn’t measure up.
This was slightly problematic for me since Cady is the main character. I thought they were all talented actresses, but they didn’t stand out to me and certain moments felt very watered down because of this.
Too many songs…
I get that this is a musical, but it felt like the characters were bursting out into song every other minute, which grew tiresome at times and took away from paying homage to some other epic moments from the original film. I did enjoy some of the songs, but I think this could have been toned down slightly.
So am I in or out?
I’m in!!!
Mean Girls may not be as fetch as the original film, but Reneé Rapp dominates the screen in the best way possible, making this an entertaining watch overall.
As long as you manage your expectations, there’s still plenty to enjoy here although I’m sure there will be plenty of mixed opinions on this one.
I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Mean Girls (2024) in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!
Best,
Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl
DON’T TAKE THE JOB…
It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!
Girl Number Thirteen is available here!
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