‘Mean Girls’ Musical: A Fresh and Fabulous Take on Tina Fey’s Iconic Teen Tale
'Mean Girls' the movie musical effortlessly captures the essence of Tina Fey's timeless teen story, infusing it with a contemporary perspective and irresistible, toe-tapping tunes This delightful confection is a must-watch, offering a fresh take on the beloved comedy
Bebe Wood plays Gretchen, Renee Rapp plays Regina and Avantika plays Karen in Mean Girls. Jojo Whilden/Paramount
The new Mean Girls movie might seem fetch, but let's not go there. Instead, think of it as a delightful expansion on the original comedy, complete with a modern perspective and catchy music from the Tony-nominated 2018 Broadway musical. Plus, it features special guest Jon Hamm as the health teacher/coach.
Hop in, loser, and let's enjoy the journey. But first, let's give a big thank you to screenwriter Tina Fey. Two decades ago, she adapted the nonfiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes into one of the greatest high school girl films of all time. This was a remarkable achievement then and remains a small miracle today, especially when most teen comedies at the turn of the Millennium focused on romance. (No offense to She’s All That and others.) The young heroine in this story isn't preoccupied with love; she just wants to fit in and, ideally, not have to eat lunch in a bathroom stall. That is, if she can remain true to herself.
Years later, the message still resonates to comically painful extents. Fey didn't tamper with the timeless story in her 2.0 version. Cady Heron (Angourie Rice from the recent Spider-Man trilogy) - pronounced "Kaydee," not "Caddy" - is an introverted math whiz who has just relocated with her mom (Jenna Fischer) from the savannah of Kenya to suburban Chicago. Despite her time in the wild, she is poorly equipped for the wild behavior of her classmates. Welcome to the jungle!
First, Cady forms a bond with the sharp-witted outsiders Janis (Auli’i Cravalho from Moana) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey, Tony-nominated actor). Then, unexpectedly, she receives an invitation to join the popular girls known as "The Plastics." As Janis describes them, they are all tough, artificial, and glossy. Regina George (Renee Rapp from Sex Lives of College Girls) is the queen bee; insecure Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and air-headed Karen (Avantika Vandanapu) are her devoted princesses.
Paramount
Janis and Damian persuade Cady to join their group in order to bring about change from the inside.
Complications arise when Cady develops feelings for attractive Aaron Samuels, who also happens to be Regina's ex. This new development, combined with Cady's increasing popularity, leads to a conflict with Regina. The unexpected appearance of a revealing "Burn Book" only adds fuel to the fire.
The dialogue and plot in the above are brought to life through original songs composed by Jeff Richmond, Fey’s husband, with lyrics by Nell Benjamin. The songs are upbeat and entertaining, reminiscent of the colorful performances in Barbie, and also contribute to the smooth flow of the narrative without slowing it down. Regina’s rendition of “Meet the Plastics” is a dramatic standout, and the numbers allow the main characters to express themselves, such as in “Revenge Party” and the personal favorite, “Apex Predator.” While it may take some getting used to the relative newcomers in iconic roles, they deliver with Rice in the Cady role and Rapp reprising his Broadway portrayal of Regina. Fey and Tim Meadows also return to their original roles, with Meadows delivering his character's dry one-liners with sublimity.
The Mean Girls franchise truly captures the complex web of teenage emotions, but with wittier lines and more attractive characters. Only the technology has evolved since 2004. In reality, the original film was released when Mark Zuckerberg was still developing his software at Harvard. Nowadays, all the OMG moments garner intense Instagram and TikTok views, amplifying the angst and cringe. Smart.
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It’s mid-January and the important movie awards season is in full swing. Maybe Mean Girls should have been released on October 3 — the date when Aaron asks Cady in class what day it is, of course — but at least we have a ray of sunshine amidst the bleak winter. If that’s not cool, it’s definitely fabulous.
Mean Girls opens in theaters on Friday, January 12.
