The 2024 remake of “Mean Girls” transports viewers back to North Shore High School with a fresh look and an up-to-date makeover blended with music from the 2017 Broadway musical.
The new “Mean Girls” is a movie version of the Broadway musical adaptation of Mark Water’s 2004 film. The movie was released in theaters on Jan. 12 and directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. from Tina Fey’s screenplay.
Upon arriving at high school for the first time, new girl Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is taken under the wing of cunning queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp). She welcomes her to the elite social group, the Plastics, which consists of Regina and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Woods) and Karen (Avantika).
When Cady makes the mistake of developing a crush on Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney) she falls victim to Regina’s terror. Along with her outcast friends Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), Cady uses her status, infiltrating the popular clique to ruin Regina.
“Mean Girls” is a modern-day classic held close to the hearts of every 2000s kid. This modern retelling takes everything that made the original iconic — the references, the costumes and the characters — and ruins it. There was so much potential to incorporate new technology and trends that went to waste.
To make matters worse, the movie revolves around its soundtrack, but the musical performances feel forced, disrupting the story and taking away from the plot.
No one can deny the presence that Rapp brings to the screen as Regina. Her talent goes unmatched, and other actors don’t live up to the standard she sets early on in the film.
So while the movie was entertaining and the music at times hit right, it was an anticlimactic venture that lived vicariously through the original movie and the musical.
Rating: 3/10