While remakes of classic movies are often widely unpopular, the new Mean Girls film has been almost entirely well-received by fans and critics alike.
The remake, directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., is a film adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the original movie. The movie is written by Tina Fey of the 2004 Mean Girls cast, who also makes an appearance as Ms. Norbury.
Mean Girls (2024) follows the previously home-schooled Cady Heron, played by Angourie Rice, as she adapts to her new school, Northshore High. She becomes entangled with “The Plastics,” a clique of the most popular girls in school, led by the infamous Regina George (played by Renee Rapp).
The movie was met with much anticipation when the trailer was released in 2023. Despite this trailer containing dance sequences and showcasing a music note in its logo, many movie-goers were surprised that the remake was a musical. “I didn’t totally expect that,” said Caydence Walton, a freshman at CHS, upon exiting the theater “ [I] definitely still liked it though.”
Many prominent songs in the Broadway rendition contain lyrical changes in the movie or are dismissed altogether. Songs like “Fearless” and “A Cautionary Tale” were altogether taken out of the movie while select lyrics of “Revenge Party ” were altered.
The changes are not limited to the musical aspect of the movie though, some of the iconic Mean Girls (2004) lines were also cut and modified. Regina’s famous line “Get in loser, we’re going shopping” has been shortened to just the former half of the phrase “get in loser.”
Katie Yocum, a CHS sophomore who attended the film’s opening night, says she “wished they had kept some more of the original material” but explains that she also understands “why they had to alter some of the poorly aged jokes considering the younger audience the movie is marketed to.”
Despite some disappointment in regards to changes and the “surprise” musical aspect, the movie was highly praised, receiving a 6.2 on IMDb and overwhelming audience support.
The film is certainly worth watching, but subpar compared to its Broadway counterpart and the original 2004 Mean Girls. It is obvious by the costuming, casting, and humor that the writer hoped to appeal to a younger audience and bring the classic movie into the modern age rather than make a replica of its predecessor.
