February, 2024
By Camila Juarez, Arts & Culture Editor
Mean Girls (2024) is a movie/musical version of the original Mean Girls (2004). It was released in theaters on January 12, 2024, receiving mixed opinions from viewers.
This musical had their screenplay written by Tina Fey, who also wrote the screenplay for the original movie 20 years ago. The plot was the same, with Cady (played by Angourie Rice), being a homeschooled girl from Africa attending her first public high school in America. She’s then adopted by “The Plastics” a group of 3 popular, rich, mean girls. The group includes Karen Shetty (Avantika Vandanapu), Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood), and Regina George (Reneé Rapp). Cady gets befriended by Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) who had the idea of using Cady to eavesdrop on what “The Plastics” say. Cady then takes an interest in senior Aaron Samuels who was Regina’s ex. However, they eventually get back together after Regina found out Cady liked him. This leads to her becoming more plastic to get his attention and ruin Regina’s life.
Since this was a musical, there were, of course, songs from the Broadway show. This was the part of the film that lost viewers attention, since many don’t like/watch musicals. The songs that caught my attention were mostly sung by Regina. Renee Rapp, now 24 years old, made her debut in the Mean Girls Broadway show at 19 and was loved by everyone. Her voice is powerful and charismatic, perfect for Regina. Songs featured in the film include, “Meet the Plastics”, “Apex Predator”, “World Burn”, and “Stupid With Love”.
Mean Girls (2024) gained a 6.3/10 IMDB score and 70% in Rotten Tomatoes. I would say if you like musicals I’d recommend watching. It does have a more modern take with the fashion, school environment, and statements made by the characters. Watching this new version of Mean Girls will allow you to experience not only the plot of the original, but also a musical twist from the popular Broadway show.
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