On January 12, Tina Fey’s beloved production of Mean Girls was released as a remake film with a modern twist. A common trend in film recently has been taking well-loved classics and remaking or adding sequels. This idea is very controversial to most because toying with something already deemed as iconic isn’t always the best idea. If the outcome isn’t as perfect as the original, actors and filmmakers can face serious backlash from fans. When Mean Girls (2024) was announced, many claimed it was bound to crash and burn. With the original movie (2004) and Broadway musical (2018), fans found it unnecessary to add another version to the list. I agree that a movie and stage production is plenty enough to fulfill fans’ cravings. Remaking this fan-favorite might not have created as favorable an outcome as directors, Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez, might have hoped.
If you aren’t familiar with the infamous plot of Mean Girls, Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), a previously homeschooled teenager, moves from the wilderness of Africa to the chaos that is public high school. She quickly befriends two of the school’s ‘misfits’ who teach her the ways of surviving their reality. They all devise a plan to take down the most popular girl group in school known as “The Plastics” and led by queen Regina George (Reneé Rapp). Cady mistakenly falls for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels (Chris Briney), and starts to slip into the trap of popularity and fitting in. The story follows Cady on her journey of discovering the meaning of friendship and the consequences of dishonesty. This movie seems like a surface level comedy but actually has a deeper message which is why it has been so successful in the past.
One aspect that left viewers with mixed emotions after watching, was the fact that most people didn’t know the movie was adapted from the broadway musical and not the original film. Many say they were surprised when the actors sang at first due to the lack of accurate advertising. Since the release, there has been some speculation that this faulty advertising was done with intention. Paramount admitted to downplaying the fact that the remake was a musical in an interview with Variety. Marc Weinstock told Variety, “We didn’t want to run out and say it’s a musical because people tend to treat musicals differently.” Weinstock continues, “To start off saying musical, musical, musical, you have the potential to turn off audiences,” he said. “I want everybody to be equally excited.” This might not have been the smartest move by Paramount because those who weren’t expecting a musical left theaters with a bitter taste in their mouths.
The few theater experts who were aware of the musical aspects of the film expected singing that would be up to par with those starring on broadway. These people were met with disappointment when finally hearing these songs in theaters. These beloved melodies are rumored to be butchered by bad acting and lack of emotion. Some say the music awkwardly lasted too long and were not portrayed as successfully as the broadway version. Ultimately everyone was unimpressed with the musical components of the film because of such high expectations.
Wardrobe and makeup was a huge part of the original and yet another let down in the reboot. Many people were upset with the costuming saying it looked cheap and didn’t reflect the chic style of the original mean girls. Fans say that Regina George wouldn’t have conformed to trends like cargo pants and fast fashion tops because she is the trend and doesn’t follow it. This is a continuous complaint when Elf Makeup was shown throughout the film. Reports that the movie was just a walking Elf ad had fans upset because it does not match the couture personalities of “The Plastics.” Also complaints about Regina’s iconic bunny halloween costume being replaced with an angel costume were also present in reviews. Mostly people were disappointed with the modern fashion spin on the film saying it could’ve been executed way better.
Overall I think the movie did have some fun aspects and casting was pretty well done. I do think that this extra addition to the already multiple versions of Mean Girls was unnecessary and not executed at full potential. If you are still interested in seeing the film, it’s best to go into it with an open mind and avoid comparing it to the originals to have a good experience.
