Mean Girls

As a massive fan of the Mean Girls musical (and of musicals in general), I went into this film with lofty expectations. Though the marketing for the film left a lot to be desired, I never wavered in my anticipation for this film. I’m happy to report that my anticipation was not in vain. While I do prefer the Broadway musical more, this is still an excellent version of this story that improves upon various issues I had with the original film. 

For one, the film is about 20 minutes longer than the original to add much-needed depth to the story. While this bloats the film somewhat, that is hardly an issue, since the film is thoroughly engaging throughout and I never found myself bored. 

In terms of performances, I prefer almost every major performance over the original film. While Angourie Rice was far and away one of the weakest singers, she brings much to the film despite Cady being a fairly uninteresting protagonist. Auli’i Cravalho was far and away the standout for me in this film. I always found Janis in the original film to be slightly undeveloped and some of the writing involving her character felt somewhat dated with an unearned ending that came completely out of nowhere. This film makes some nice changes to her character that are subtle but improve the film a great deal. Her singing chops are also unsurprisingly phenomenal, and while not every musical number worked for me, it’s hard to deny that Auli’i brought everything to her performance. Jaquel Spivey gives a really great comedic performance here as Damian and is bolstered by excellent chemistry with Auli’i. There are two specific jokes with him that land so much harder than I would’ve thought possible. Renée Rapp has been receiving a lot of praise for this performance, and rightfully so. Rachel McAdams is obviously iconic in the original film but Renee does a truly admirable job and brings something new to this film rather than be a mere impression of the predecessor (which I felt throughout in regards to the performances). 

There are a handful references and callbacks to the original film. While this is essentially the same story, this film does modernize it by improving upon dated elements of the original. While Amy Poehler was decent as Regina’s mum, Busy Phillips gives her far more depth than was necessary and makes Mrs. George an actual character this time. Bebe Woods gives a solid performance as Gretchen and this film gives her far more depth as a character, compared to the original where she felt like she was more of an afterthought.

Meanwhile, in the original film, Karen is probably my favourite character (How could she not be though? It’s Amanda Seyfried). While Avantika Vandanapu doesn’t quite hit the same heights that Seyfried did, she still steals her scenes, earns big laughs throughout, and gives a really good performance here. This is especially showcased in her musical number “Sexy”, which is surprisingly lyrically genius.

The two musical numbers I was most looking forward to in the film were “Apex Predator” and the aforementioned “Sexy”. While I definitely prefer the Broadway versions of these songs, both songs are executed well in this film sonically and visually and are enhanced by energetic choreography. And honestly, this can be said for practically every musical number in this film! The song “Someone Gets Hurt” is far and away the most visually engaging sequence throughout the film. Without spoiling anything, this song and sequence has an enthralling, stylized atmosphere. Though I may not have agreed with every visual choice made, it is undeniable that each song is creatively shot. 

This film has been unfairly criticized by people who are fans of the original. Instead of evaluating it on its merits, many instead insist on comparing it to a film whose perception has been inflated with nostalgia, which is just unfair. This film is vastly superior to the original as far as I’m concerned and fixes many problems I had with the original story. You all can keep your 2004 Mean Girls! I’ll be revisiting the 2024 Mean Girls instead. 

8/10