The 2024 Mean Girls musical adaptation has not only consumed all the space in my brain, but also taken social media by storm. From praise of Reneé Rapp’s talented singing and the performance by break-out star Avantika Vandanapu to criticism of Angourie Rice’s auto tuned vocals, there have been many differing opinions surrounding this movie.
After I first heard about the release of the new movie-musical, and after seeing the original Mean Girls movie a million times, as well as the musical version live on tour, I was intrigued but also worried. I wasn’t sure that this new adaptation would be able to capture both the nostalgic era of the early 2000s that the original Mean Girls movie brings, as well as the insane songs in the musical. My worry continued to grow after seeing the movie’s marketing. The statement “This isn’t your mother’s Mean Girls” highlighted in the trailer left a bad taste in my mouth. I also agreed with the criticism of the movie not being advertised as a musical. It is a sad but true fact that many people don’t like musicals. Musicals require a unique taste, and I knew that non-fans would have nothing nice to say about a musical adaptation of a classic movie.
Nevertheless, my original excitement was still present, especially since I had become a fan of Reneé Rapp after her Broadway debut, and of Auli’i Cravalho after hearing her voice Moana. Both these actresses have amazing voices, and my hope that these songs would be in good care made my confidence for the movie’s quality grow.
Nothing would stop me from going to see this movie on the release date to form opinions for myself without outside influence. After the movie finished, I knew I had a lot of opinions. The good thing is that I have the ability to share them all with you. Below, I have separated my review into the following categories: casting, direction, and campiness. I also want to let it be known that I am currently listening to the Mean Girls (2024) soundtrack as I am writing this, so my brain is in full Mean Girls mode.
Casting:
The most important aspect of a movie-musical is the casting. Without good singing voices, the movie can become a disaster. I loved most of the cast, and thought they absolutely nailed the singing aspect. However, a few stood out to me, some definitely not in the best way. I’ll be reviewing the cast members that stood out to me the most, starting with— you guessed it— Reneé Rapp.
Renée definitely shined in this role in regards to acting, singing, and becoming my new celebrity crush ;). Her past experience playing Regina in the Broadway musical definitely helped to grab the audience’s attention with her portrayal of Regina in this new adaptation. She sang “World Burn” perfectly, and I actually froze in my seat while she sang “Someone Gets Hurt” because I was in such a state of awe. I’m so glad Renée is finally getting recognition for her talent, and I’m so excited to see how she grows as an artist and actress.
Another actress who had a breakout performance was Avantika Vandanapu, who played Karen. I thought she was so funny, and knowing we were both born in the same year actually makes me want to throw up, but moving on. I thought her different approach to “Sexy” made the song more enjoyable to listen to, plus her voice was amazing.
The last amazing performance that stood out to me was Auli’i Cravalho’s. Barret Wilbert, who plays Janis in the original Broadway cast, is very hard to live up to, but Auli’i does just that. “I’d Rather Be Me” is probably my favorite song from the movie, and it is definitely because of her incredible voice. Janis is probably one of the hardest roles to play because of her dark humor and persona, but Auli’i, once again, nailed it. I’m honestly surprised that I haven’t seen Auli’i in many projects since Moana, but I definitely need to see her more, either on Broadway or on screen.
Angourie Rice fell into the category of some performances that were—let’s say— decent. I was honestly shocked that her performance fell flat for me, since she was really good in one of her previous movies, Honor Society. The most obvious problem was her singing. In the Broadway musical, Cady needs to be a powerful singer. Her songs need technique and a powerful voice to belt all the notes as well as keep up with the other singers in the show. It was very disappointing that movie-Cady not only did not sing half as much as in the Broadway version, but she was also completely cut out of many songs. “Apex Predator” did not make sense with Janis and Damien singing the duet as opposed to Janis and Cady. Knowing that this change was made because of Angourie’s vocals was just sad. Maybe casting an actress with more singing experience would have made Cady’s character as iconic as the original 2004’s Mean Girls did.
Direction:
The choices that the director made were honestly very creative. The sets during the performances were very vibrant, and the incorporation of the school set with its own new design made the scenes more captivating. I felt this especially during “Apex Predator” and “I’d Rather Be Me.” I also really liked the change in Regina and Janis’s backstory. It made their relationship a lot more brutal, which is realistic for real high school mean girls.
I did think the social media presence in the movie was distracting. I don’t like when movies incorporate modern things that can date the movie. Having the TikTok-like screen in the movie pulled me out of what was happening. Maybe a little mention of social media would have been fine, especially since it is centered around high school, but I just felt overwhelmed.
Campiness:
Moving onto my favorite category: campiness. One of the only words I can think of to describe this movie is camp. It was fun and creative, but also not supposed to be taken seriously. The added bonus of making Janis a lesbian was my favorite thing ever. As corny as this sounds, this movie perfectly captured the Gen Z dialogue and overall vibes. The ending credits scene having Reneé’s and Megan Thee Stallion’s song was the best decision for the ending. The line “Can a gay girl get an amen?” actually had me on the floor gasping for air. I just loved it so much.
Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. Although I focused more overtly on the criticisms, I would rate it an 8/10. I will rewatch this movie for years to come and keep playing the album on repeat. I wish other critics would see that the movie is light-hearted and not trying to just remake the original Mean Girls. For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, you should definitely go.