MORE OF A “WANNABEE”
THAN A “QUEEN BEE”
Released back in 2004, Mean Girls took an interesting and cinematic examination into the “secret world” of modern-day teenager cliques and devious ways of those of their hierarchy hold wickedness towards their peers. Directed by Mark Waters, the film, which starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey, follows a naïve teenager who transfers to American High school (after years of being homeschooled) and quickly guest educated by two social outcasts, with the trio planning to take down Regina George, the leader of an envied clique known as “the plastics”. Based on the parenting self-help book by Rosalind Wiseman titled “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” which describes female high school social cliques, school bullying, and the damaging effect they can have on teenagers, Mean Girls was released on April 30th that year and received mostly positive reviews from both critics and moviegoers alike, with many praising Water’s direction, Fey’s screenplay, the feature humor, and the performances, especially from Lohan and McAdams. In addition, the movie was deemed a commercial success, with the film grossing over $130 million box office worldwide against its $18 million production budget, while also becoming quite a cult following in the years that followed. The legacy of Mean Girls continued with a made-for-television sequel titled Mean Girls 2 being released in 2011 (and was meant with negative reviews) as well as a stage musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2018. Now, “the plastics” are back and are ready to bring a new layer to this memorable teen comedy as Paramount Pictures and directors Samatha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. present a musical presentation film release appropriately titled Mean Girls. Does this movie bring something new to 2004 story or is it a shallow attempt that isn’t “fetch” at all?
THE STORY
Sixteen-year-old Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) has been homeschooled by her mother, Mrs. Heron (Jenna Fischer), with the pair returning to America after time spent in Kenya. Once there, Cady is excited to start her American lifestyle, eagerly awaiting to attend the local education institution North Shore High School, yet is presented as an outsider with limited understanding of today’s current adolescent life. She’s immediately befriended by social outcasts Janis Ian (Auli’I Cravalho) and Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey), who give Cady an unofficial roadmap of the peers and cliques that populate the school, with particular attention towards “the plastics”, a trio of popular girls, with Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) and Karen Shetty (Avantika) remaining as subservient underlings to their leader, Regina Georges (Renee Rapp). Showing a curious interest in the new face at school, Regina offers Cady a spot at her lunch table, which quickly turns into an invitation to join the group. Coached by Janis and Damian to play along with Regina’s interest in their new friend, Cady soon undergoes an unexpected transformation trading her intelligence for popularity, also trying to catch the attention of Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), Regina’s ex-boyfriend. Yet, Cady swiftly learns to never cross Regina and begins to feel the wrath of the popular “plastic” ringleader.
THE GOOD / THE BAD
I do remember going to the movies and seeing Mean Girls when it came out back in late spring of 2004. Of course, I could definitely relate to this movie as I had just graduated high school in 2003 and, while I didn’t have same level of Cady Heron had in dealing with her teenage peers of backstabbing and bullying, there were a few moments in the movie that I felt a little bit of similarities with the movie’s narrative….mostly a bit in my freshmen year. As a whole, the movie was fun. It definitely was a teen comedy film of the mid 2000s era, with plenty of crass and crude remarks in a cinematic landscape after the effects of 1999’s American Pie, which saw the rise of more teen comedy movies (i.e. Bring it On, Road Trip, Summer Catch, Van Wilder, Euro Trip, and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen) just to name a few, with more insight of the “current youth” and plenty of absurd vulgarity scenes and scenarios; blended together in Hollywood film beaker. As for Mean Girls, I say (again) that it was entertaining and enjoy. I wasn’t a super big fan of Lindsay Lohan, but (as a whole) I felt that she did a good job in playing Cady Heron the correct way….naive in the beginning and slowly evolving into something else (a person she might not even be). To me, the real star of the movie came in the form of Rachel McAdams, who deliciously played the role of Regina George wonderfully. All of her remarks, snotty behavior, and snarky bravado took center stage, with McAdams relishing the opportunity to play such a character. Plus, I did like Tina Fey as an actress and to see her in the movie was delightful, with most (if not all) of her scenes showcasing her talent in both comedy and drama aspects. Furthermore, as mentioned above, I think the movie did display Wiseman’s themes and self-help knowledge about educating (as well as dealing) with teen social cliques and peer bullying of today’s world (circa mid-2000s), despite the movie getting a little bit “goofy” at times, especially towards the latter half. In the end, Mean Girls, while not the quintessential teen drama / comedy endeavor, still manages to find its way as fun and engaging comedy feature; offering insight into the lives of teen cliques and peer pressuring bullying into a feature film that has gained quite a cult following over the years. Like what the character Gretchen Wieners tries to make work in the movie, 2004’s Mean Girls is so “fetch”.
As a fun sidenote, I did start working at retail bookstore around 2006 and continued to work their for several years. During that time there, I do remember coming across Wiseman’s book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” several times and eventually come to realization that this was the self-help of which Means Girls was based on. Additionally, I do remember seeing the previews for Mean Girls 2, but never had the chance to watch it. However, given how much of a negative thoughts and opinions on the project were (I read some reviews of it)….it doesn’t seem like I was missing much.
Naturally, this brings me back around to talking about Mean Girls, a 2024 teen musical comedy that was based off of the stage musical of the same name of which was based off of the 2004 original film. To be quite honest, I really didn’t hear much about this particular movie when it was first announced. Of course, I do remember hearing about the stage musical on Broadway a few years back, but didn’t pay much attention to it. So, I first noticed this movie “on my radar” when the film’s movie trailers began to appear both online and in the theaters during the “coming attractions” previews. I remember that the most of previews shown were almost like TV spot-esque shots, briefly showcasing the movie in a reduce manner. It was short and sweet, but not whole lot shown and really didn’t appeal much to me. As I stated, I did like the original Mean Girls movie, but felt like they didn’t need to expand upon it as it was sort of a “one and done” endeavor. So, I thought that this new movie, which was also to be called Mean Girls and not have a pseudo subtitle name attached to it (i.e. Mean Girls: New Beginnings or Mean Girls: Fetch is Back), so I thought that this was going to be some type of reimagining of the original feature. Maybe they were going to “update” the material with new context or new teen angst to reflect the youths of today. Details were pretty vague and the cast I didn’t recognize, with the exception of Auli’I Cravalho and Tina Fey being attached to the film. Given the fact that this movie was coming out during January 2024, I didn’t get a chance to see this movie in theaters, especially since I was still playing catch up with all the movies being released during December 2023. So, I had to wait for Mean Girls to come out on VOD digital release and decided to rent it to see what this movie was all about. And what did I think of it? Well, I have to say that I was disappointed with it. Despite the film trying its best to given a colorful presentation and giving the stage musical numbers a go on the silver screen, Mean Girls ends up being a shallow and wasteful reimagining of the 2004 feature that sticks to close to the source material and doesn’t really bring anything new to the cinematic table. Being a musical was quite surprise for me (there wasn’t really any type of indication that it was going to be), but lyrical songs can’t save this trivial and incredibly one-dimensional reimagining.
Mean Girls is directed by Samatha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., with their previous directorial works include the short films Less Than One, Vanity, and Dan Miller. Given the background and past projects under their belt, both Jayne and Perez Jr. make the most of this particular film as one of their most ambitious endeavors to date. Thus, the jump from making several short films to a feature length movie (as well as translating a popular teen comedy picture / stage musical) can be quite daunting indeed. However, the duo directors approach the source material with sense of trying to keep the original feature film intact, with this 2024 remake keeping the cult classic feature mostly intact and continues keep the spirit of Mean Girls alive. From the infamous dialogue lines to its iconic “bold” characters that everyone liked, loved, and hated in the original film, Jayne and Perez Jr. make sure that their version of Mean Girls keeps everything very much a “status quo”, which can be seeing as both a good and bad thing….depending on how one looks at it. For the positives, it does certainly hold up to its original production, which includes the main plot, drama, comedy, and several of those witty one-liners that do make a return in the film. Of course, the original Mean Girls movie wasn’t an Oscar-worthy movie, with plenty of stupid and goofy moments that help height the feature’s narrative several times, but it did indeed work within Fey’s concept of the story as well as Wiseman’s self-help education of teen angst and backstabbing drama. Jayne and Perez Jr. continues that tradition with a trip down memory lane and gives off that nostalgia wave that will appease longtime fans of the original as well as newcomers to the feature.
Naturally, the movie’s “bread and butter” would definitely have to the be the musical numbers that take place throughout the feature’s narrative. Being based on a stage musical, this was going to be biggest highlight 2024 reimaging and indeed it was, with plenty of musically charged moments that help bring the story to life in a visual fun way. While I might not particular care for this remake in general, I do have to admit that the musical sequences were probably the best and were the best moments where the feature tried to differentiate itself from its original 2004 release. It does bring some exciting (visually speaking) imagery to the proceedings, with Jayne and Perez Jr. having the most fun during these musically charged parts of their movie. Plus, I do have to admit that all of the dancers and choreography work during these scenes were solid across the board and did bring these sequences to life with plenty of enthusiasm and theatrically boldness; something that is befitting to a Broadway musical. As for the songs, they are a bit of a “hit or miss” with me (more on that below), but there were a few of them that I did like such as “Apex Predator”, “Someone Gets Hurt”, and “Revenge Party” just to name a few.
In the presentation category, Mean Girls is exactly what a person would expect from a teen comedy endeavor, which boast plenty of Hollywood-style, camera-filled lens of atypical high school setting of commonplace usage of hallways, corridors, classrooms, cafeteria, and several exterior shots to help make the feature have one foot in reality and one in a more fantastic / heightened way. What definitely helps “boost” that notion is that the fact is presented as musical, with Jayne and Perez Jr. blending two genres together (teen comedy and musical) in fun and visual entertaining way. So, with the many locations fitting into the “stereotypical” high school settings, the picture amps up such flavoring and flair for a more theatrical bold presentation of a stage production, offering up more livelier sequences of color and dancing in a creative way. Such a hybridization of the two genres comes together quite and well and is perhaps best usage that the film has in its arsenal. Thus, the movie’s “behind the scenes” team, including Kelly McGhee (production design), Grant M. Guilliams (art direction), Jessica Petruccelli (set decorations), and Tom Broecker (costume design) should be praise for their efforts on this musical project. Additionally, the film’s cinematography work by Bill Kirstein is pretty good during the musical number portions of the picture, with plenty of diverse movements of camera angles and usage of shadowing and light framing for a more stage-like production. Lastly, while the film’s musical songs fill most of the feature’s soundtrack moments, the movie’s score, which was composed by Jeff Richmond, gets the job done and is good (albeit industry standard) film music composition for a theatrical production. It’s bad, it’s wonderful….it’s just simply there and (again) gets the job done, which is fine.
Unfortunately, Mean Girls is far from a “fetch” movie, with humorous problems that weigh the feature down from reaching some assemblage of adequacy. How so? Well, for starters, the big problem that I had with the film was that it was simply too thin all the way around and lacks the substance (old or new) to justify the feature’s existence. What do I mean by that? Suffice to say that the movie itself (whether intentional or not) is basically a carbon copy retelling without many alterations from the original narrative. Of course, that was the whole point, especially sense with was to be a cinematic representation of the Broadway musical. Yet, the movie (as a whole) definitely misses out adding any type of new material to the story of Cade Heron and her dealings with “the plastics”. Everything plays out the same way as did the original 2004 movie, and it becomes quite tiresome and boring. The story is still there, but it’s only giving a visual “facelift” and nothing more with that. This is where I think that the movie as a whole (direction and writing) dropped the ball immensely, with little to no reason for the picture exist beyond bringing the Broadway songs to the silver screen platform. There should’ve been a stronger reasoning behind the idea of reopening up Mean Girls for a retelling presentation. A better understanding of motivations and desires, new characters added into the mix, or reworking what the original story lacked are such prime examples of this particular practices. So, when the movie displays no such addition nuances or substance into the narrative, it dilutes the final result and even begs the question as to what this remake is trying to convey. The songs? I’ll just go see the Broadway show.
What’s even worse is that the movie is semi self-aware of its own cheekiness and makes the characters rather goofy and “large than life” characters rather than a bit more realistic and relatable. Yes, I know that the characterization of the original Mean Girls wasn’t exactly deep or complex, but there was a grounded approach in a few areas, while this version is broader and sillier. As for the characterization themselves, they are quite hollow and (again) just way too broad, with very little material to work with beyond their initial setup and / or monikers that they original story set them to be. Moreover, this is where the movie falters greatly because such added material would’ve been more beneficial and further justifying the overall existence of this remake project. However, with very minor added substance and such parody / satire characters populating the narrative, 2024’s Mean Girls comes off as utterly shallow.
Coinciding with that problem, the movie’s dialogue are literally verbatim throughout most of the scenes. Granted, as I mentioned above, I haven’t seeing the stage musical, but I can clearly remember the 2004 film and can recall a lot of dialogue lines throughout the entire feature. That being said, this does make for almost a “copy and paste” in the script handling and writing department, with almost every line of dialogue being ripped direct from the original film…..in an almost “word for word” presentation. Yes, hearing all those familiar lines can have the fun and nostalgia usage, but it does mostly come off as being lazily and basically waters down the effectiveness for 2024’s Mean Girls to stand on its own or even for his own merits. Even the comedy aspects, which recycles a lot of familiar jokes and quips, seems very diluted and doesn’t hit the target the correct way as did the original movie. Again, it’s even more disappointing that Fey is behind the writing for this new reimagining and does come off as weak and uninspiring and just simply shallow.
Whose one of the main culprits behind the movie itself can be pointed towards Tina Fey herself, with whom the Mean Girls series was created from. Fey is quite talented (both in front of the camera and behind it as a writer) and it’s clearly she wanted to tell so informative messages and understanding with the original film (expressing her own personal experiences and coupling that with Wiseman’s self-help book). So, when “reopening” up the narrative of Cady, Regina, Janice, and several others, one would think such additional material would be of paramount importance, especially since Fey has been the brainchild for the Mean Girls brand itself. Yet, there is very little new context or insight into this presentation (beyond the songs) and such a missed opportunity for Fey to go back and rework or even flesh out certain aspects of the plot / characters into this new cinematic medium. It almost goes back to the Gossip Girl reboot attempt, 2024’s Mean Girls isn’t “mean enough”. What do I mean by that? Well, it does the same thing (jokes, insults, and remarks) as the original movie, but it doesn’t have the same type of impact and / or offensiveness as it did back in mid-2000s era. Like everything, time changes and so do the antics of teens (good or bad), with the movie keeping everything the status quo and doesn’t really speak much to today’s generation of teen bullying and cruelty. It would’ve been interesting if Fey (and the directors) approached the movie (even as a musical) to showcase this particular aspect, but (sadly) they don’t, which is disappointing. Thus, the writing for the feature languishes outright from start to finish and feels too much of rehashing everything from the 2004 iteration, but to a much lesser degree.
This also then plays a part in the film’s overall direction, with both Jayne and Perez Jr. just simply “go through the motions” of what made the original plot path, which does seem very lackadaisical and shallow. I think that the only part that worked (as mentioned above) was the performances of the songs (presentation-wise), which is where Jayne and Perez Jr. shines the best, but almost every other aspect, just seems mundane and average, with a lot of the recycled elements from the original movie come into play and weighing everything down. A good solid base is always a good start for a foundation, but 2024’s Mean Girls, doesn’t even get off the ground as its directors seem more interested in keeping everything status quo for a copycat poser to a superior original feature film.
Lastly, the songs themselves can be problematic in the narrative. While the project is given a slightly different layer because of this, the do (at the same time) can be a bit forced and clunky in a few areas. Yes, the lyrics and visual representation can be fun throughout most, especially since the movie is being branded as a musical, but the interjections of the songs seem wonky at times; a problem that probably goes back to the stage production. As for the song themselves, there okay. I did mention that I did like a few, but most are semi-forgettable.
Furthermore, the marketing campaign for the movie was quite misleading, with many of the promos and previews showcasing an updated movie or (at the very least) a spiritual successor; something that you would see in a lot of those DTV sequels to popular teen comedy films (i.e. American Pie, A Cinderella Story, Bring It On, etc.). So, when it was revealed to be musical reimagining…it sort of felt misleading, especially since it’s the same story….almost beat for beat. Additionally, with the film having a runtime 112 minutes (one hour and fifty-two minutes) and the musical numbers clocking in at around 43 minutes in total, that only leaves 69 minutes (a little more than an hour) of actual story / characters, which (again) is misleading and sucks up most of the feature’s length.
The cast in Mean Girls is relatively okay-ish, but it’s a combination of a mixed bag of results, especially considering that most (if not all) don’t come close the original 2004 acting talents that played these characters as well as complications of the feature’s script producing such one-dimensional and parody-like characters themselves. The end result is that the new cast can’t outshine their predecessors and that the characterization of these individuals are shallow and lack any type of depth; presented in a way that’s almost pantomime….but not in a good way. At the head pack is actress Angourie Rice, who plays the story’s main protagonist character Cady Heron. Known for her roles in The Beguiled, The Nice Guys, and Spider-Man: Far From Home, Rice has certainly do many projects throughout her career, but is, more or less, delegated to playing side / supporting roles on both the big and small screen. So, Rice is given the chance to play a lead character role in the movies by portraying Mean Girl’s protagonist Cady Heron. How does she do? Does she do better than actress Lindsay Lohan did in the original? Well, yes and no. Suffice to say that I probably liked Rice (as an acting talent) better, but Lohan did it first and gave a better well-rounded character performance, which certainly gave a better understanding of Cady. Rice is okay in the role, but she doesn’t outshine Lohan’s portrayal of the character. As mentioned, the writing for the character Cady in this movie is the bare minimum and seem more like pantomime version of the individual, which is disappointing. Thus, despite as she might, Rice is just adequate in the movie, but isn’t strong enough to make a lasting / memorable impression.
Similarly, singer / actress Renee Rapp (The Sex Lives of College Girl) plays the role of the film’s antagonist in the character of Regina George, the leader of “the plastics” and acts as Cady’s mentor and eventual rival. Of all the singing in the movie, I found Rapp to be the best and handles those particular musical moments quite well, with a more sultry and seductive sounding voice in tone and style. One can obviously tell that Rapp is enjoying her time playing such an iconic (and wicked) character, relishing the opportunity to put her own spin of what McAdams did back in 2004. However, it all seems to backfire to a certain degree. While Rapp’s talent is perfect fine for the role, she (like the movie’s tone and missed chance) doesn’t go “mean” enough to make the character her own. She hits all the right notes and lines in the right way, but never goes full on “mean girl” and acts more like a diva drama queen. Thus, despite Rapp’s attempts (definitely looks the part) never comes close to what McAdams was able to achieve in the role of Regina George.
As a sidenote to Regina George, the characters of Karen Shetty and Gretchen Wieners, her two underlings, are simple there and don’t really have much personality beyond their characters initial setups / personas. Even the acting talent of Avantika (Senior Year and Mira, Royal Detective) and Bebe Wood (The Real O’Neals and Love, Victor) are just merely okay in the movie. I have nothing against either one and of their acting talent performances, but both Avantika and Wood can’t bring anything new to the table nor outshine what Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried were able to accomplish in making Karen and Gretchen humorous and memorable. In addition, the same can be said for the character of Aaron Samuels, Regina’s ex-boyfriend and Cady’s love interest, who is played actor Christopher Briney (Daliland and The Summer I Turned Pretty). Briney is okay-ish in the role, but seems more like caricature of what was previously done by Jonathan Bennett. Again, nothing new was brought to the character of Aaron Samuels and presented in a way that’s unmemorable.
Of the younger cast, acting talent Auli’I Cravalho (Moana and Hailey’s on It!) is actually probably the best representation in the movie and does bring a little bit of a different approach to the role of Janice Ian , an alternative / goth artist teen and social outcast who befriends Cady on her first day of school. While actress Lizzy Caplan did a great job in brining a sarcastic and almost bitterness fun to Janice in the original film, but Cravalho gives a more softer and a tad vulnerable portrayal of her, which certain does make for her fun new iteration of the character. Sadly, the same can not be said for Jaquel Spivey (who makes his theatrical debut with the movie) as Damian Hubbard, Janice’s openly gay friend and who also befriends Cady on her first day of school. While Spivey brings charisma and energy to the proceedings, it comes off as a bit too strong and a bit over-the-top, acting like a stereotypical gay individual that Hollywood use to type cast a lot. Plus, I felt that Daniel Franzese (original actor for Damian) did a better job in making the character fun and likeable at the same time. Spivey’s iteration of Damian just comes off as too sassy and too generic as a homosexual character of how movies used to portray them. I know it’s meant to play for laughs in the movie, but it comes off as mediocre at best.
The only two original members of the cast that make a return to the movie are actress Tina Fey (Saturday Night Live and Sisters) and actor Tim Meadows (The Ladies Man and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) as Ms. Norbury, the math teacher at North Shore High School, and Mr. Duvall, the principal of North Shore High School. Both Fey and Meadows are perfectly fine in their respective roles (they were pretty hilarious in the original film) and seeing them again in their 2004 roles once again was definitely a treat, with neither one loosing their step in their respective characters. That being said, they too (like the rest of the characters in this movie) fall prey and victim to the shallowness and lack of substance for their roles….even if they were side / supporting characters. Again, it’s quite frustrating that the script didn’t try to add some type of new material, which leaves Ms. Norbury and Mr. Duvall, despite the stellar talent behind them, cookie cutter caricatures.
Sadly, the rest of the adult cast is woefully underutilized and wasted on this particular project. This includes actor Jon Hamm (Mad Men and Top Gun: Maverick) as the school’s physical education teacher Coach Carr, actress Ashley Park (Joy Ride and Emily in Paris) as the school’s French teacher Madame Park, actor Connor Ratliff (The George Lucas Talk Show and Dead Eyes) as the school’s literature teacher Mr. Rapp, actress Jenna Fischer (The Office and Splitting Up Together) as Cady’s mother Ms. Heron, and actress Busy Phillips (Cougar Town and White Chicks) as Regina’s mother Mrs. George. While all of these acting talents are recognizable in some of their past project endeavors, their involvement in this movie is quite pitiful, especially because the film (more so the script) doesn’t utilize them the right way and are merely there for “window dressing” nuances and nothing more. Again, it’s quite a shame that the film (even as a musical) didn’t try to make larger moments / scenes for these acting talents in their side supporting roles in the final cut of the feature.