The Mean Girls Musical on Broadway has been a fan favorite for about seven years now. So it only makes sense to bring it to the theaters.
The new Mean Girls film has mixed reactions from audiences, including me. There were parts of the movie that I enjoyed but the bad outweighed the good.
What made the original movie such a classic was the 2000s feel. It was little things like the outfits, the cars, and the methods they used for what? that made it what it was. There were changes in the plot. For example, instead of Regina throwing around hundreds of copies of the burn book, she simply places it on the hall floor and waits for people to take pictures of it. This is not the biggest deal in the world, but I wanted that 2000s feel the first one gave. Instead, there were modern clothes (which were cute), cars, and techniques that left me feeling bummed out.
For example, when Regina George says “Get in loser, we’re going shopping,” her car is a Jeep instead of the convertible from the original. Their clothes are very trendy in terms of what’s circulating the media, like the crochet vests and cardigans, the leather outfits, and the sparkly Santa Clause outfits during the talent show, which were cute but did not give the vibe from the first one.
Scenes like when Janis and Cady are having their iconic dialogue and Janis says “You’re plastic, cold, shiny, hard plastic,” and Cady yells “It’s not my fault you’re like in love with me or something!” which are so iconic to the original were not included into the musical and they weren’t singing so I didn’t see why they chose not to include the dialogue. Or when Damian, who for the most part was a funny character and an accurate representation of the original, switched up the line “She doesn’t even go here!” However, those small changes were not the end of the world.
What sealed the deal for me was when they completely missed what the entire movie builds up to, Regina getting hit by a bus. They didn’t show the legendary scene where Regina and Cady argue before the accident. It ended up with Janis singing, me blinking, and Regina was gone.
Believe it or not, I did like aspects of the musical. I liked the songs they sang, which some audiences didn’t particularly like. This seemed ironic since the trailer portrays singing and dancing. Reneé Rapp has a phenomenal voice, and she sang all of her songs effortlessly. Some similar lines and scenes that made the movie enjoyable were when Cady borrowed a pink shirt that was too big for her and how the October 3rd line is incorporated.
Was the musical as iconic as the original? No, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t entertaining. Although I have many criticisms, I could see myself watching it again if the original were not available.
