Is it 2004 or 2024 I had to wonder while watching this new adaptation of Mean Girls. Based on the musical that was based on the classic film, the story follows new student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) as she is invited to hang out with the Plastics: Regina George (Renée Rapp), Karen Shetty (Avantika) and Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood). But when Cody falls for Aaron Samuels, (Christopher Briney) who just so happens to be Regina’s ex boyfriend, she finds herself in Regina’s crosshairs.
The 2004 version of Mean Girls is one of my all time favorite films. It is untouchable to me. I have seen it more times than I can count and I can recite the lines word for word. Did we really need an upgrade on something that was already perfect? I wasn’t sure, but I was willing to give it a chance.
I’m surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did. Firstly, everyone could carry a tune which was much appreciated. This allowed for the musical numbers to be even more fun. They were big and colorful and one was completely different from the other.
Of course there were going to be some updates to the material, since the original came out twenty years ago. While some of these didn’t quite work for me and a few of the newer jokes failed to land, I still found myself laughing out loud. The Halloween scene in particular and Karen’s song Sexy were such a vibe.
The casting was also pretty good. I was not familiar with Rice prior to her taking on the role of Cady, but I felt like she did it justice. Her portrayal was reminiscent of Lindsay Lohan’s for sure. Rapp, Shetty and Wood were fabulous as the Plastics and Briney worked well as our lovable heartthrob. I did think that Auli’i Cravalho’s Janis and Jaquel Spivey’s Damien were the scene stealers though – I loved that they narrated us through the story.
While I didn’t initially think we needed an updated version of Mean Girls, I am glad that we got one. It’s a slightly new take on a beloved classic that will be able to reach a new generation of fans. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that!
Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5
Credits Rolling 