By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter
Movie ReviewMean GirlsDirected by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez, Jr.MTRCB Rating: PG
MANY movies these days are adaptations, sequels, homages, and everything in between, more so than the past decades. Nostalgia is in, callbacks to previous works of fiction are in, and while it is something everyone says they’re sick of, it still manages to pull at the right strings.
However, this piece is not an ode to originality, but instead a quick look at how rehashes of often very good ideas can be told in new ways.
The 2024 film Mean Girls is unfairly weighed down by the inevitably high expectations that most moviegoers have coming from the iconic 2004 original. Famous comedic writer Tina Fey sprinkles her own hyper-present sense of humor, and while it may seem basic to admit, her take on Mean Girls succeeds in bringing the franchise to a new generation.
Here is where a major clarification must come in: this new film is based on a 2018 Broadway musical adapting the original film. Which means comparisons shouldn’t be drawn to the pioneering work, but to the musical rendition that came in between.
(While this writer admits she is unfamiliar with the musical, a few deep dives online have revealed that it’s not a perfect movie adaptation either. It leaves out a few amazing songs, many fans claim.)
However, the story remains untouched and is known to most — Cady Heron (played by Angourie Rice) is a new student who finds herself eating lunch with “The Plastics,” an elite group of popular girls who are at the top of the social food chain. While Ms. Rice has a certain charm to her, she doesn’t completely pull off the character, providing serviceable sweet and alternatively mean moments but lacking the star power to hold audience’s attention.
Conniving queen bee Regina George (played by Renee Rapp) is another story. Ms. Rapp is electrifying to behold, giving the beloved mean character a sultry, evil pop star spin. She is, hands down, the best part of the entire movie.
Her minions Gretchen and Karen take on a life of their own in musical form as well, most notably Avantika as Karen Shetty. She is a revelation — though still very much Regina’s stupid underling, she exudes a sort of adorable spunk in every scene she’s in.
Cady’s best friends get a glow up too, with Auli’i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey as Damian and Janis appropriately given much more to work with than in the original movie. Here, their role as truth-saying narrators is beefed up, equipped with their own zingers both spoken and sung.
While the 2024 Mean Girls is often funny, cute, and more attuned to the times, its biggest downfall is having all the iconic phrases and oddly familiar scenes from the original. It only highlights to everyone the fact that this is a film straddling the line between nostalgia-driven cash cow and unique, contemporary Gen Z-era musical. The truth of the matter is that those that loved the original movie will definitely choose to just watch the original movie no matter how this new one pans out.
It’s one thing, then suddenly it’s another, and perhaps the well-choreographed dance numbers and excellently shot music video-like scenes deserve more than this back-and-forth identity crisis.