A review of Mean Girls (2024) with special attention to musical execution, styling and casting.
For a successful remake, creative direction takes a lot into consideration, like well-crafted special effects and various changes to the plots and detailed tweaks to make the remake standout from the original. Though it is always up for debate whether an original is better than a remake, the remake should at least stand out in a different light and be thoughtfully crafted. As many nostalgic fans rushed to give the new Mean Girls (2024) a try, critics and viewers were left wondering if the effort was worth it.
Mean Girls (2004) is inarguably one of the best rom-coms of all time. The star-studded cast paired with comedy, drama, and romance created an instant classic to a wide range of audiences. The original release of Mean Girls captured the hearts of millions of preteen girls and earned a whopping 24.4 million on its opening weekend in 2004. With the major success of the original film, a sequel would be released in 2011; a musical would later debut in 2017. The Mean Girls Musical would become a hit on Broadway, leading Tina Fey to write and produce a movie remake of Mean Girls as a musical.
By mixing the key film elements of the original source material with the 2017 Broadway updates, the 2024 release should have exceeded both iterations. The contrary is true. Many fans of the Mean Girls Musical were disappointed that only Regina sang in the “Meet the Plastics” introduction. The introduction of the Plastics is not only an iconic scene from the original film, but one of the most popular songs from the musical; why leave out Gretchen and Karen’s parts? Transitions between singing to dialogue were also very awkward at times. Knowing how the switch from singing to talking can be difficult to pull off, and more attention should have been paid to those transitions.
And the singing itself!? If the major change of the original Mean Girls to this remake is the musical element, singing should be the focus. Not only was a fan favorite song butchered, but they also casted an actor whose vocal quality did not compliment the character. Angourie Rice, who plays Cady in the remake, sounds awkward and robotic in her delivery of the songs. This can especially be seen when comparing audio from the movie to audio from Broadway. Rice’s voice is flat, unflattering and at times cringey to listen to. Social media users have started to question the choice in casting Rice as Cady, even going as far as to attribute this land of the role to her being a “nepo baby.”
Considering that the musical performance of Mean Girls (2024) fell flat, one would hope another element would elevate the remake. Some of the most renowned characteristics of Mean Girls (2004) include lovable characters and high fashion. The original release of Mean Girls had fully developed characters that were dramatic, yet natural. Characters like Damian or Karen were written and performed phenomenally. Phrases like, “She doesn’t even go here!” or “On Wednesdays we wear pink,” are easily recognized and quoted to this day.
None of the characters in the remake really stood out compared to the original, besides Regina. Renee Rapp’s take on Regina’s character was a lot meaner than Rachel McAdams’ delivery, complimenting the dramatics of a musical. However, Avantika Vandanapu’s take on Karen felt over the top, so much so that it was almost annoying at times. The expression on her face to give off the “dumb,” effect was overplayed and used like a crutch when compared to Amanda Seyfried’s portrayal of Karen in 2004, which was subtle yet effective.
The fashion in Mean Girls (2024) was uninspiring, with fans of the original having called out the remake for their outfits looking like they came right off a Shein ad. Regina’s sense of style is an important attribute to her icon status. In Mean Girls (2004), each outfit complimented Regina perfectly. They didn’t feel like they were chasing trends, but they weren’t boring either. The key to pulling off a look is for you to wear the outfit, not have the outfit wear you. In Mean Girls (2024), the outfits were very much wearing the actors. They looked outdated, and not in a retro way. The remake had the perfect opportunity to pay homage to the original by giving Regina a Y2k revival look since it’s so popular now but didn’t. In the original film, Gretchen had more of a preppy and polished look, while Karen’s palette was softer and less put together. The styling in Mean Girls (2024) looked cheap and lacked personality between the Plastics – all their outfits looked like it was from the same wardrobe.
With the musical component, writing, performance and styling lacking success, the Mean Girl (2024) musical remake was a pretty big disappointment. A major reason so many young fans fell in love with the original Mean Girls was because of how personal it felt. The movie was hilarious yet heartwarming. The writing, the outfits, and the characters were iconic. To anyone curious about going to see the new Mean Girls (2024), I’d recommend renting the original and appreciating simpler times. If it isn’t broken, why fix it?
