Mean Girls review: Plastic don’t shine

Mean Girls, 2024’s musical remake, will certainly find itself a die-hard audience – but it won’t be sitting with the original at lunch.

Mean Girls has remained just as iconic as it was back when it was released 20 years ago. And thus, a musical adaptation written by Tina Fey was also set to become a major hit. The Tony-nominated musical hit Broadway back in 2018, though its 833-show run was sadly cut short as a product of the global restrictions in 2021.

But now fans of the musical can rejoice, as it’s finally here on the big screen, with a few stage actors even reprising their roles. This movie follows Cady Herron, a teenage girl who moves from Kenya to an American high school and has to learn to navigate social rules and social media when she’s picked out by the school’s queen bees, the Plastics.

Despite some odd trailers, hype for the film has been apparent online. But, unfortunately, just like “fetch,” this flick doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen to anyone besides those who are already determined to love it.

It’s hard not to compare Mean Girls

Now, while the 2004 movie is far from perfect (and certain aspects have not dated well) I shall have to preface this review by stating that I am a major fan of the original – and not the musical. The stage show itself already feels dated by its overuse of Gen Z stereotypes and forced social media lingo, with buzzwords desperately attempting to become as iconic as the organic jokes in the original. Certain nuances of the characters and storylines are overpowered by the in-your-face-nature of the musical genre, and thus no one is able to be subtly funny or talk like a real person, a balance that the original movie managed to master.

The songs themselves are far from the industry’s best, with lyrics such as, “Imagine a party with dresses and cake, and singing and dancing and cake.” Then again, I do know many of these poor lyrics off by heart, which speaks to how catchy they are.

Those who enjoy the musical may be kinder to the movie than this review – but in several moments, the stage production is better than the remake. Cady’s new introduction song doesn’t hold a candle to ‘It Roars’, while other verses that establish characters have been cut and shoved into quick dialogue instead. ‘More is Better’ being cut also lessens the impact of its reprisal with ‘I See Stars’ later in the film.

Not every Mean Girl can shine

There doesn’t appear to be any reason why these songs would be cut, except for budget restraints – or, perhaps it’s due to the fact that Angourie Rice unfortunately doesn’t appear to be the best singer. It’s odd, as mostly everyone else shines in their role (Aaron Samuels, played by Christopher Briney, also never sings here for some reason) and yet the lead role is reduced to auto-tuned speak-singing for most of her screen time.

A lot of the moments that would require her to belt it out are either cut or given to other characters, and it’s glaringly obvious. Rice does a good enough job of acting as the awkward new girl; the switch between nice Cady and mean Cady is very quick, but that’s more the writing’s fault than hers. Yet, she still ultimately comes out looking like a Lindsay Lohan knockoff.

This is a running issue throughout the movie: its cheap imitation of the original. Mean Girls was initially set to stream on Paramount+, before pivoting to theatrical release, and well… it shows.

It clearly has a straight-to-streaming budget. The musical numbers are often confined to one room, usually the school corridor, with only a small cast dancing desperately in the hopes that they can recreate the scale of a big blockbuster musical. The pacing of the songs doesn’t help them feel any bigger, often coming out of nowhere and ending abruptly, undercutting their own impact – this is something that the onstage musical thankfully handles a lot better, in which the confinement to one room didn’t pose an issue.

Lines that became iconic in the 2004 original feel either rushed through or overly emphasized, with only a select few – such as the Glenn Coco joke – making it out unscathed. Ultimately, the musical seems aware of how much it relies on the audience loving the original, and yet it also appears ashamed of that very reliance.

There are some “grool” things here

While most of the cast are great singers, and do a good enough job recreating their roles, every character gets at least one major laugh. Damien (Jaquel Spivey) and Karen (Avantika Vandanapu) are the only ones who can hold a candle to their 2004 counterparts, leaning into their respective sassy and dumb stereotypes more – because this works in the heightened musical atmosphere.

And while Rachel McAdams as Regina George is a tough act to follow, Reneé Rapp is clearly a highlight of the picture for her singing performances alone. Leaning into a sexy yet scary persona, Rapp commands the screen every time she appears.

Despite budget limitations, it doesn’t look terrible; shots get more creative over time, using lighting and creative dancing to keep the energy up throughout the numerous songs. A number of the performances are great, and there are genuine laughs over the runtime; often these jokes are independent from the musical, playing on the fourth wall and tropes of its genre.

While the songs can often lack lyrical ingenuity, for the most part they’re all very catchy and fun; it’s very easy to see why someone would enjoy both the musical and the movie. But ultimately, that’s only enough to get me to listen to the soundtrack, and not to want to watch this movie again.

Mean Girls 2024 review score: 2/5

Mean Girls: The Musical has always had its flaws, but seeing it in movie form has allowed me to note how it works… onstage.

There are certainly things to enjoy in this movie, and most of the cast deserve this moment to shine, but next to the original, this flick feels plastic.

Mean Girls will be available in US cinemas on January 12, and UK cinemas on January 17.