Mean Girls(2024) Review: An Absolutely Fetch Musical Remake That Has More Hits than Misses

This modern take elevates the source material with catchy songs but falters by treading the same ground

Shut up. SHUT UP. The original Mean Girls movie came out during the tail end of my junior year of high school, nearly 20 years ago. At that time Mean Girls was only beginning to become the classic that it is today. The limit does not exist on the many quotes and moments that have now become synonymous to the Mean Girls movie, nearly making Fetch happen, and skyrocketing Lindsay Lohan to superstardom for better or worse. Much like Heathers in the 80’s and Jawbreakers in the 90’s, Mean Girls captured the spirit of social groups and structures prevalent in most high school experiences and what it meant to be part of the most popular girls in school during the 2000’s. So it was only inevitable that a musical Broadway show would be created and then remade for the big screen, aimed directly at the Tik-Tok generation. 

For the musical remake, Mean Girls 2024 is destined to fit into that same genre of film, albeit now for a new generation of kids in high school. I felt this movie actually succeeds in elevating its source material with the inclusion of musical numbers that help highlight the many different characters in the film, refreshes what we know, and adds more depth and emotion to the story as most musicals do. It’s not perfect; some scenes are lifted from the original almost verbatim and without the inner dialogue of Lindsay Lohan certain key moments don’t have the same impact as the original. Some jokes fall flat and have become stale with time, while other new jokes allow the musical to come into its own. 

Co-Directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. marking their feature film debut here, Mean Girls follows the same basic storyline of the original: Cady Heron is a new student at Northshore High, after living most of her life in Africa, and is thrust into the center of high school popularity after a chance encounter with The Plastics, led by the now infamous Regina George. There are only minor changes to the plot, such as the background story of why Janis, formerly Ian and now 'Imi'ike, hates Regina George or the exclusion of Cady Heron's dad in the film. Most of these changes are small and sometimes feel necessary to modernize the story. The film runs at a brisk pace clocking in at just under 2 hours, with enough time to add new internal monologues in the form of song to the many different performers. 

Cady Heron is now played by Angourie Rice who you may recognize from Spiderman No Way Home. She has big shoes to fill and for me she doesn’t quite get all the way there in making Cady her own. She does a serviceable job, and I actually enjoyed seeing her fall from nice girl to mean girl in a more natural way than Lindsay Lohan’s version. Karen Shetty, now played by relative newcomer Avantika, is played slightly more dim then Amanda Seyfried and gives us some of the film's more hilarious moments. Gretchen Weiners is now played by Bebe Wood, who unfortunately also lacks the same charisma as original Lacey Chabert and becomes the unwitting punching bag that only serves to elevate Regina George’s cruelty. She does get a small musical number that adds a level of sweetness that her rendition desperately needs. 

However, there is no denying the absolute star power of Reneé Rapp as Regina George. The moment she walks onto the screen she commands the viewers attention. For me she takes what original actress Rachel McAdams did and turns it up a notch, making us want to like her but also hate her at the same time, exactly what the filmmakers intended. She looks absolutely comfortable in this role, having played it in the Broadway version. Her voice is powerful and her songs stand out above the rest in terms of impact and power. Meet the Plastics is one of the best character introductions I have seen in quite some time.

The music for me is what separates this movie from the original.. Returning to rework their songs from the Broadway show are Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, creating some fun and catchy tunes with many genres including rock, pop, and hip hop. My favorite song is from Karen Shetty, who turns on her cell phone to record a TikTok-esque performance to describe Halloween in the song Sexy. I knew almost immediately that this would be a highlight of the movie. Avantika is hilarious in her delivery, and I was laughing even with some amazing vocals and choreography. I would like to note I appreciated the attention to detail in this scene, with a few easter eggs as well as a quality shift in vocals when the camera switched from the front facing phone camera to the higher quality back camera. I am fully expecting a Tik-Tok trend of people recreating the choreography. 

Other scenes such as Regina George’s seduction of Aaron Samuels are filmed like a music video, with the party suddenly freezing in time and bodies vibrating to the beats. Director Arturo Perez Jr. is credited as directing Justin Timberlake's Say Something music video and you can see that influence in this scene as well as some of the other scenes such as the colorful Revenge Party. The cinematography in the movie is well crafted, with great use of camera angles, shadows, colors, and framing that help to capture the emotions of each character.

Some changes didn’t quite land the mark for me. I wasn’t as enthralled in the original Christmas number Rockin Around the Pole, which made the Plastics charming and relatable in the original with Rocking Around the Christmas Tree. In this one it only served to embarrass Regina George in her failings and elevate Cady Heron. There were times when a joke's inclusion from the original felt forced, having become so iconic that repeating it just didn’t have that same impact. For example the rules of feminism that Gretchen Weiners is so adamant to follow just doesn’t feel as ludicrous here, and Damien being too gay to function just feels dated at this point.

I found it refreshing that the movie updated the language used to make it less homophobic and racist. The intended audience for this film is Gen-Z and the Tik Tok generation, many of which grew up accepting individuality, sexuality, and of gender nonconformity. The film and its characters lose a bit of its original bite by sanitizing the language, sex, and racial terms from the original. Coach Carr disappears halfway through the film and his affair with a student is no longer present for obvious reasons. Having rewatched the original a few days prior, I was absolutely mortified that an asian character saying the n-word in her native language is played for laughs. I applaud all these necessary changes as the newer generation is a much more accepting one and many of the old racial and sexist jokes were left in the past. 

The film is charming and hilarious, and the soundtrack is fantastic. The actors and directors are all fresh talents and do their best to update the classic Mean Girls story for a newer generation, which I feel they have succeeded here. It’s not perfect, there are no new story elements, some jokes do feel stale, and I doubt it will reinvent the genre. Still, I had a great time revisiting the Plastics, Cady Heron’s story and the villainous Regina George. I enjoyed this fresh take, its music, and its performances, and I recommend you check it out in theaters.

And just in case you were wondering: No. You can’t sit with us.