Pink lips. The Burn Book. The Plastics. Cady Heron. Regina George. “Mean Girls”. Heard of it? You should have.
It can be considered a classic. The original “Mean Girls”, written by Tina Fey and based on Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 book “Queen Bees and Wannabes”, was released in 2004. There is also a musical titled “Mean Girls”, with the book by Tina Fey, lyrics by Nell Benjamin and music by Jeff Richmond. The musical opened in 2017 on Oct. 31.
New this year is a musical adaptation of “Mean Girls”, also written by Tina Fey, Nell Benjamin, and Rosalind Wiseman. The new adaptation opened in theaters on Jan. 12.
I convinced two of my friends to go with me to see the movie during the late-night showing at the Indianola Theater on Jan. 13. Lucky for us, we had the movie theater to ourselves, which I believe helped enhance our experience when watching the movie.
To set the scene for this movie theater experience, my two friends and I were bundled up in the blankets that we had brought, sitting reasonably close to the screen, and had the expectation that we were about to watch the new “Mean Girls”, which would include songs from the musical.
Why point this out? Some people didn’t go into the theater with their tickets to “Mean Girls” in hand, expecting it to be the musical adaptation of “Mean Girls”. So, I’m sure they were quite shocked when Cady started singing while in Africa. Why would they be shocked? Because the movie wasn’t marketed as the musical adaptation of “Mean Girls”. There were two indications that it was: the music note in the title and Renee Rapp reprising her role as Regina George after playing the character in the Broadway musical.
Could they have benefited from marketing it as it was, a musical adaptation of the Broadway musical? Possibly, yes, but only to save themselves from people not knowing and complaining that there were, in fact, full-on dance numbers in the movie.
Speaking of full-on dance numbers, I loved the majority of the dance number scenes. I especially liked the Halloween number. The choreography, the lighting, and the set were intriguing to me. I also liked Regina’s pieces as well. In a lot of them, it appeared to me that the cast was having fun and enjoying their work.
Mentioning the cast, let’s talk about Angourie Rice, who played Cady Heron. I did not like her in this role. Granted, I’ve not seen her in anything else, but I don’t think she was the best actress to play Cady. I’m not sure who would have played her better, but I know I did not like Rice as Cady. She’s not a bad singer, but I think her talents took away from Cady’s character.
Two words. Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels. Okay, that was five words, but you get the point.
Here’s one word, for real. Yes. I love Briney because I know him as Conrad in “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, which I highly recommend both the show and the books. I think Briney was an excellent choice for Aaron’s character, and watching Briney as Aaron made me like the character even more because of how Briney portrayed him.
Other characters I loved were Karen, Janis and Damian. I think the modernization of the movie helped these characters shine even more, especially in the musical numbers. While watching the movie, my friends and I were constantly laughing, cheering or dancing in our seats, and these characters, including Aaron, were a big part of that reason for me.
So, is the new “Mean Girls” fetch? Yes, I believe it is. Would I watch it again? Yes, 100%. Do I recommend it? Yes, yes, I do.
However, here is one quick thought before I end this review. I think you have to go into this movie knowing it’s not a replica of the 2004 movie or even the musical; it’s an adaptation. So, yes, there are changes in the adaptation, so it’s not 100% the 2004 movie, nor is it 100% the musical. It’s a modernized version of “Mean Girls” with the music from the musical version and the story and characters from the 2004 movie. The modernization sets it apart and makes for an enjoyable movie-watching experience with your friends, especially late at night in a theater by yourselves.
