Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024) Is Wasted Potential

By Mallory Byl

Editor’s note: This is a review of Mean Girls, a movie. It is is no way a review of the upcoming Mean Girls Musical

Mean Girls (2024) is a remake of the Broadway musical Mean Girls, which was based on the original 2004 Mean Girls movie that many love. The movie is a comedy/musical, rated PG-13, and currently in theaters. 

The screenplay was written by Tina Fey, who wrote the Broadway musical, and starred as Ms. Norbury in the original 2004 film.

It stars Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Christopher Briney, Auliʻi Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, and more. Reneé Rapp reprised her role as Regina George, as she previously portrayed her in the Broadway musical from 2019-2020.

The 2024 film follows essentially the same plot as the 2004 film, wherein Cady Heron, arrives at a new school after moving from Africa, and attempts to navigate the tumultuous social scene of her new high school. 

Released on January 12, 2024, it has received mixed reviews from critics. Mean Girls (2024) has a 6.3/10 on IMDB.

One criticism I have of the movie is that Janis’ character lacks the edge of the original. In the original 2004 movie, Janis is seen as the opposite stylistically of Regina, while still maintaining her position as a “Mean Girl.” Janis in the original movie is supposed to be the more conventional bully; whereas in the 2024 adaption, Janis doesn’t come off as a mean girl at all. 

On the other hand, I enjoyed the dynamic between Damien, Janis, and Cady as it seemed to be very similar to the original. Also, I liked Gretchen’s character; and she seemed to stick to the original character pretty well.

I also felt like there were too many musical numbers in the movie. Just once I was starting to become invested in the dialogue, a musical number would break out. I also disliked the inclusion of social media in the movie.

 There were several points at which the movie attempted to use social media to show the social scene of the high school; however it just comes off as if they lacked the effort to actually show the audience, and opted to just create a TikTok montage. 

As for the appearances of the characters, the costume design lacks the originality of the 2004 movie. It seems like the costume designer did not put much effort into the costumes, and they seem cheap.

One bright point of the movie is Reneé Rapp. In the songs, ‘World Burn,’ and ‘Somebody Gets Hurt,’ performed by Rapp, her vocal skill is hard to deny. As for the musical portion of the movie, Rapp is clearly the star. 

The movie even has Megan Thee Stallion featured on ‘Not My Fault’ with Reneé Rapp.

Overall, Mean Girls (2024) doesn’t add much to the original film or musical. If the musical portion of the movie was better utilized, this movie could’ve been much better. However, if you’re planning on seeing Mean Girls, you’re probably better suited to watch the 2004 film.

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