Review of the movie “Mean Girls” – a comedic portrayal of high school cruelty with a fun, fast-paced musical twist.

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The popular high school comedy centered around social hierarchy has now completed its third life cycle, following in the footsteps of Hairspray, The Producers, and The Color Purple: a movie, a stage adaptation, and then a movie adaptation of the stage version. My personal response to the original 2004 film was critical, as I felt it did not measure up to movies like Clueless, Election, and 10 Things I Hate About You. Additionally, I believed it tried to have it both ways when it came to the issue of attractiveness and control.

However, I may have neglected to fully appreciate the standout comedic moments in the show. Writer Tina Fey, who later went on to create the acclaimed TV show 30 Rock, successfully incorporates the timeless Mean Girls themes of balancing achievement with compassion. Additionally, the Broadway adaptation of Mean Girls improves upon the original film by utilizing the exaggerated nature of the musical genre, particularly in its portrayal of the “diva” archetype. This movie version also achieves this effect, but like the following film adaptation, it falters in the extended third act.

Angourie Rice portrays the character originally portrayed by Lindsay Lohan: a kind and inexperienced teenager named Cady, who was previously homeschooled by her scholarly mother in Kenya. Cady now finds herself in a new environment in the United States, trying to assimilate into high school where she is met with skepticism due to her awkward appearance (despite being beautiful). Fey returns as her character Ms. Norbury, a math teacher, while Jon Hamm plays a cringe-worthy coach who also happens to give sexual advice. There is also another memorable appearance by a well-known celebrity.

In a traditional manner, newcomer Cady is taken under the wing of experienced and jaded individuals in high school, expertly portrayed by Jaquel Spivey as Damian and Auli’i Cravalho as Janis. They also serve as the movie’s narrators, immersing us in the events as if we are watching a 112-minute TikTok on a smartphone screen. Damian and Janis, who exist outside of the traditional power structure, are able to show naive Cady the different cliques and sources of influence in the school, with the most intimidating being the “plastics” – the popular girls and Instagram queens who dominate the social scene.

The pouting queen of capricious blonde cruelty, Regina, originally portrayed by Rachel McAdams and now by Renée Rapp, rules over them. Regina enjoys pretending to accept Cady into their group, while Janis (who has a past with Regina) encourages Cady to go along with it and infiltrate the group – but could Cady end up liking being a shallow blonde “plastic”? Among the mean girls, Avantika Vantanapu steals the scene as the extremely dull Karen; she performs the best song in the movie, “Sexy,” during the Halloween party. Busy Phillips is hilarious as Regina’s clingy mother, who desires nothing more than to be a part of her daughter’s clique.

Although there are many humorous moments and enjoyable moments throughout, the plot device of portraying Ms. Norbury as a drug dealer feels forced and unconvincing. The lack of comedic relief makes it unworthy, and it takes a while for the resolution and Cady’s character development to unfold. The musical numbers provide a brief burst of energy, and the traditional gags are successfully executed.

Source: theguardian.com