If you’re a fan of the 2004 classic film Mean Girls – you’re probably dying to see the screen remake of its 2018 musical stage production. It’s been twenty years! We want to relive our adolescence!
Seeing the trailers for the latest adaptation, you’d be forgiven for not knowing it’s a musical. Nothing about the promos gives away the fact that it’s a musical.
So if you’re not a fan of musicals, you might struggle to embrace the latest version with the same fervour and enthusiasm you gave the original.
Nevertheless, this musical version is packed with the same hilarious lines from the original, and stars the next generation of young, talented actors and singers — including the 23-year old Australian Angourie Rice, who takes on the role of our heroine, Cady Heron, perfectly. Rice is sweet-faced, approachable, docile, yet self-aware.
The plot is essentially the same as the original — with a few minor tweaks that shouldn’t offend any viewers. The friendships and betrayals feel less convincing, only because the mean girls don’t get to be very mean, and the strongest relationships (such as the one between Cady and outcast Janice) aren’t given the space to breathe.
Cady’s mother is played by The Office‘s Jenna Fischer, while the iconic Queen Bee Mean Girl Regina George is played by Renee Rap. Rapp first played the role in June 2019 for the stage production on Broadway. Other cast members who were taken directly from their original casting for the Broadway production include Ashley Park (from Emily in Paris, JoyRide and Beef) who plays the French teacher in this screen adaptation. In the original stage production, Park played Gretchen Wieners.
Because it’s a musical, the entire feel of the film has a different feeling to the original. Some of the numbers (and how it’s shot) made me feel like I was watching an erotic thriller. The songs are tolerably good, though at times felt they were interrupting the flow of the narrative. The high-stakes drama of teen girls lends itself so well to the musical, yet whenever Rapp was singing, I couldn’t help but yearn for Rachel McAdam’s steely cold face.
If anything, this latest version will have you appreciating the genius of the original script. A few characters get some new killer lines — Karen, this time, played by Avantika Vandanapu calls a pimple on Regina’s face “a face breast”. Damien, Janice’s best friend and side-kick, asks Cady if she’s okay when she’s hiding in the girls’ toilets: “We’re concerned you’re either taking drugs or having a toilet baby.”
Is it worth watching? Certainly. You’ll have a good time and laugh a lot. Even if you’re not a fan of musicals.