Mean Girls is back! Except this time, it’s based on the musical of the same name. The movie was released on Jan. 12 of this year and features a host of promising actors such as Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, and Chris Briney.
The movie Mean Girls focuses on a girl named Cady Heron, who has just transferred to a new high school after living in Africa with her mom. It follows her as she starts her new life at this school, which consists of her meeting The Plastics and falling in love with Regina’s ex, Aaron Samuels.
Since I’m a fan of the original Mean Girls (2004) I knew I just had to see this movie. But after watching it, I had a few mixed feelings when I left the movie theater.
Before watching the movie, I had seen people on TikTok complaining about the songs in the film. Some criticized Rice’s singing and that the instrumentals weren’t as strong as the broadway version. However, I didn’t really notice a difference until after I listened to the broadway version of the songs. I do agree with the majority saying they wish the instrumentals were the same, and that Rice didn’t sound expressive enough when singing her songs, especially “Stupid In Love.” Some also wished the song “Meet The Plastics” included Regina’s minions, Gretchen and Karen, since the film only consisted of Regina singing. I have to agree with this as well as Gretchen’s part in that song is one of my favorites.
I do have some positive thoughts about some of the songs, though. I definitely think that Rapp, Cravalho and Avantika carried their respective solos. I also don’t mind some of the instrumental changes, especially the song “Sexy.” I had that solo on repeat after watching the film.
Another critique I saw about the movie were the outfits. Some TikTokers were comparing their outfits to Shein, and I unfortunately have to agree. The quality of their clothes looked cheap and I wish their outfits were more inspired by the early 2000s. Although, I understand them wanting to make the outfits more modern since it is 2024.
One scene that stuck with me was the Halloween party scene where Rapp sings “Someone Gets Hurt” in an angel costume. I loved her singing in that part and they did a great job of showing how entranced everyone was in that moment. I honestly couldn’t take my eyes off of her for the entirety of that segment.
Another scene that I found amusing is when Damien performed the iCarly theme song in French at the talent show right before The Plastics went on stage. I also found the entire beginning of the scene where Damein, Janis and Cady are in French class funny. Janis telling Cady that she has to come up with a French name, and Damien introducing himself as Beyonce and Celine Dion made me laugh.
Another part of the movie that kind of surprised me was when they zoomed into Cady’s face during the “Revenge Party” song. I didn’t really understand why they decided to do that while she was walking around, but it was hilarious.
Even though there were some parts that I wasn’t particularly a fan of, I still found the film fun and interesting. I liked how they included reactions to scenes in the movie from background characters, such as when they would include TikTok reaction videos. I remember seeing some people claim that the movie was too “TikTokified,” but I honestly found those parts funny and entertaining (plus realistic).
If I were to rate this movie, I would give it a 3 out of 5 because, while I did find some scenes and aspects of the movie memorable, I wouldn’t consider it an amazing movie. However, while some parts of the movie didn’t meet my expectations, I still enjoyed watching it. If you’re looking for a fun movie to watch, or you are a Reneé Rapp fan, then this movie is for you.