On the twentieth anniversary of the iconic 2004 film Mean Girls, the 2024 musical remake hit theaters. Mean Girls is the story of a teenage girl named Cady who just moved from a life of peace and homeschooling in Africa to a public school in America. She is shocked by the cliques and the backhanded actions of girls at her new school. Cady finds herself at a crossroads when she is accepted into a clique called “The Plastics.” made up of the three most popular girls at school. Her other friends, Janis and Damian, hate this group and encourage Cady to sabotage their lives. But Cady gradually becomes more similar to The Plastics—especially the leader of the group, Regina George, whom she looks up to.
This story is an accurate portrayal of high school life and the difficulties of friendships and relationships. Tina Fey wrote and acted in the original version of Mean Girls, a comedy-drama, which quickly became a hit. Starring teenage idols of the early 2000s, such as Rachel McAdams and Lindsey Lohan, the movie immediately became a popular favorite among teenage girls. Being comedic and dramatic, it was made into a hit Broadway musical in 2018. Because of its Broadway success, it was remade, again by Tina Fey, into a movie musical with the same storyline but a modern twist.
One change in Mean Girls (2024) is the actors. Rachel McAdams’ character, Regina George, is played by singer and actress Reneè Rapp. Rapp was on the most recent cast of Mean Girls On Broadway and the viewers tended to gravitate towards her performance because of her astounding voice and accuracy to the character. Since then, she has become a successful pop singer with her album “Snow Angel.” Rapp was hesitant to come back to the Mean Girls set because on the Broadway stage, she often received harsh comments about her weight. She claims that this constant bullying of her body led to her developing an eating disorder. Still, she accepted the role in Mean Girls (2024) to break the stigma of what a character like Regina George is supposed to look like. Amanda Seyfried’s character, Karen Smith, was played by Avantika Vandanapu. Vandanapu is a successful Indian-American actress who broke Hollywood standards by playing a lead role as an Indian during her role as Karen. Jonathan Bennett’s character, Aaron Samuels, was played by Christopher Briney. Briney had become a rising star during his performance in The Summer I Turned Pretty as Conrad Fisher. He has often said publicly that it is an honor to be cast as his iconic character. All of these actors added to the attraction of the movie.
Before Mean Girls (2024) came out, there was a lot of excitement around its release. As stated earlier, it included many popular celebrities and of course, any remake of such an iconic movie would draw an audience. But after it came out, viewers took to social media to point out some of the flaws they saw. Some people loved the new modern twists and funny lines. It included all of the fan-favorite quotes from the original film and added some new lines to make the movie more original. Others felt that the lines were too corny and not accurate to teenage girls in the 2020s. Also, the movie did not initially promote the fact that it was a musical. Many people walked into the theater not knowing that there would be any music or dancing whatsoever. Other longtime fans of the musical were excited to hear the new songs and have a recreation of their favorite songs from the Broadway play. But many were disappointed by the singing voice of Angourie Rice, who plays Cady. One of the main songs, “Stupid With Love”, was changed to fit the vocal range of Rice and many fans said it sounded very robotic and unenthusiastic compared to the original. On the other hand, almost everyone loved Reneè Rapp’s performance as Regina. She stunned everyone with her high notes during “World Burn” and “Someone Gets Hurt.” Her collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion, “Not My Fault,” was an exciting addition to the surplus of lively musical moments during the movie. People were also shocked by the debut performance of Avantika Vandanapu as Karen. At just nineteen years old, she was able to put on a dazzling performance during one of the movie’s biggest musical numbers. Some fans were disappointed with the fact that some of their favorite songs were cut from the musical. The most upsetting one was “Meet The Plastics.” This song was a huge focus of the original musical where each of “The Plastics” were introduced. But, Mean Girls (2024) limited the song to just Regina’s part. Despite many controversies, the movie grew a fan base and was enjoyed by most audiences.
The original Mean Girls movie was made in 2004. Because it highlighted the popularity rank of the early 2000s, the new movie had to change to fit today’s standards. This included different outfit choices. Designers used popular celebrities and common fashion trends to create clothing that popular Gen-Z highs choolers might actually wear. There was some controversy on this topic. Some fans disagreed with the fashion choices and thought that the styles were not accurate. Current trends lean toward fast fashion and the quick influx of goods. Trends flow in and out quicker than ever before, making it hard for the creators of Mean Girls (2024) to pinpoint what is currently stylish. Others thought that the new clothing aspired to be trendsetting. The makeup and hairstyles of the girls changed as well with loose waves and dewy makeup. Other technological changes such as iPhones and social media apps were added to the set. Overall, Mean Girls (2024) was an exciting remake of an already iconic movie. Debates between the original, the musical, and the new are constant on social media but ultimately, all three versions were enjoyed by the public. Tina Fey’s iconic story continues to move from generation to generation and set itself apart from other movies of its time. The recent generation has made this franchise a household name and a common part of pop culture. The Mean Girls story is universally loved and continues to be represented in every age group.
