Back in 2004, a little film called Mean Girls, which starred a headline stealer and some incredibly talented up-and-coming actresses, took the cinema world by storm. Its popularity has exponentially increased with time. It was a no-brainer for creator Tina Fey to add a musical score to it and send it to Broadway as a song and dance show that had the power to bring down the house. It premiered in Washington, D.C. in 2017 for previews and then triumphantly made its way to the Great White Way at the iconic August Wilson Theatre a year later.
Fey, yes, the shrewd businesswoman, saw something about successful musical theater. Despite enormous profits, the more people who witness Mean Girls The Musical, the more money there is to pump into her brainchild. Bring it to the big screen and one can explosively enhance its reach. First, a fan base will flock. But, if it is good (and lands in the cinematic wastelands of January), Paramount and Fey could have a hit on their hands.
The original featured a searing performance by Rachel McAdams as the titular Regina George—leader of the so-called uber-popular The Plastics, Lindsay Lohan as the teen fresh off the plane from Africa, Cady Heron, Amanda Seyfried as Karen Smith and Lacey Chabert as Gretchen Wieners. It’s not that the (20th anniversary) story brought as a musical possesses a better cast. The thing is, as in any Hollywood situation, when the second of anything comes along, the stakes must be raised. Sure, Mean Girls The Musical, is not a sequel. It’s not a remake. The film, from dual directors Samantha Jayneand and Arturo Perez Jr, commences in much the same way as the original. Yet there is one piercing difference—this is modern, timely, and musically savvy. The flick is a classic of Hollywood genres, the pure musical.
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9xgPEplWACQ" title="Mean Girls | "Revenge Party" Final Trailer (2024 Movie)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>Plus, since the score is so glaringly pointed in the best of ways, then one would surmise that the cast tasked with becoming a modern-day high school would have to be a multifaceted artist—one who can act, sing, and dance… often at the same time. That is exactly what filmmakers have with their Fab Four.
The newbie from Africa, Cady is embodied by Angourie Rice, and the friendly rival that gives Maleficent a run for her money, Regina George is musically brought to life by Reneé Rapp. The blonde actress comes through the silver screen in a manner that would make a Disney villain blush. Her sinister take on the stabbing barnburner World Burn is a musical highlight. The power she exhibits blazes a fire through the film that reverberates through with a dramatic punch. She is a true young woman that one does not want to be entangled with, much less actively trying to ruin her life. Once she belts World Burn, Mean Girls The Musical becomes a story about two powerhouses on a collision course that finds the social life of the high school hanging in the balance.
Cady is fantastic and has an incredible voice and vulnerability to the character that she brings that is pitch perfect. Her take is leagues different than what we got in the role by Lindsay Lohan two decades prior… and it should be. There’s a message that comes through the film like a volcanic eruption that is exactly what our young women need to hear amplified to the skies. Through Rice’s character, the audience gets a heroine who is utterly relatable charismatically. Yet she quickly finds that these new friends are not only horrible comrades, but they are also dangerous. They threaten to take feminism back years, all white they infect the minds of younger teenage girls—sometimes something that may take a lifetime to turn.
When Cady first arrives at the high school she is “adopted” by outcasts Janis ‘Imi’ike (Auli’i Cravalho) and her BFF, Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey). When Regina takes an interest in Cady, Janis and Damian hatch an idea, the newbie should infiltrate The Plastics and report on what on earth this world is and why it holds such power over the school.
Yes, the plot is similar to the 2004 film. The difference is that through the power of song, its message rocks much harder and louder.
Grade: B+