Movie Review: ‘Mean Girls

Avantika, Renee Rapp, Angourie Rice and Bebe Wood on the set of 'Mean Girls' from Paramount Pictures.

Opening in theaters on January 12th, ‘Mean Girls’ is just the latest example of a movie that represents the latest evolution for a story that started as a novel, became a movie, transitioned to the Broadway stage for a musical and is now back on screens as a musical movie.

But as with every movie of this type –– see also the recent ‘The Color Purple’ –– the latest take has to make a convincing argument for it to exist in the first place. Why should audiences shell out more money to see a story they’ve previously experienced (and, in the case of ‘Mean Girls’ loved to endlessly quotable and meme-able levels) with the addition of different actors and a few songs?

The answer, at least in this case, is “mostly”.

Does ‘Mean Girls’ make fetch happen?

(L to R) Bebe Wood plays Gretchen Wieners, Renee Rapp plays Regina George and Avantika plays Karen Shetty in 'Mean Girls' from Paramount Pictures. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures.

‘Mean Girls’ exists in the shadow of the original, and it’s no easy job to follow what has long become known as a classic in the genre. Given the pressure to be a version of both the first film and the musical, you can understand why the new movie sometimes crumbles under that workload.

But fans will be relieved to know that if it doesn’t quite make the grade in every way, it at least serves as a successful comedy musical in its own right.

‘Mean Girls’: Script and Direction

Producers Lorne Michaels and Tina Fey on the set of 'Mean Girls' from Paramount Pictures.

The new movie, on the writing front at least, represents the return of very experienced hands with Tina Fey –– who adapted Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 book ‘Queen Bees and Wannabes’, which documented female social cliques in high schools into 2004’s ‘Mean Girls’. It’s story of a young woman swapping far-flung homeschooling with her scientist parents for the wilds of an Illinois high school and ends up falling in with the most popular/vindictive girls at campus.

Fey’s original script is beloved, a classic high school comedy with more than one line that has entered the pop cultural consciousness. She was also behind the book for the stage musical version, while her husband and regular creative collaborator Jeff Richmond created the lyrics.

They’re both back for the new movie, which means that the tone and dialogue is certainly up to scratch. The one issue might be that the musical numbers, on purely a written front, can be hit and miss. And if you know the movie inside and out, that’s the only thing that will feel new besides one or two moments and ideas (Cady, for example, only has one parent in this version, played by Jenna Fischer).

Directors Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne on the set of 'Mean Girls' from Paramount Pictures.

Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. make their shared directorial debut with the movie, taking over for the original film’s Mark Walters. They do an adequate job of staging the musical numbers and having the songs replace elements such as Cady’s voice-over.

One or two of the songs here –– ‘Revenge Party’, ‘Stupid with Love’ –– work really well, while the others are fine but nothing to get people dancing in the aisles.

‘Mean Girls’: Performances

(L to R) Angourie Rice plays Cady Heron, Bebe Wood plays Gretchen Wieners and Avantika plays Karen Shetty in 'Mean Girls' from Paramount Pictures. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures.

With Lindsay Lohan playing the original Cady, Angourie Rice has famous shoes to fill. And she does so well, giving this new version of a life of her own, while not going too far away from what fans expect from the character.

But that’s nothing compared to Reneé Rapp, who has to embody queen bee Regina George, as brought to life by Rachel McAdams in the original. Rapp is a fantastic Regina, having the benefit of playing the role on stage for several months. Which means she has a fully-formed take on the preening, scheming character. And when Regina suffers her downfall, she’s just as able to land those comedy turns.

Avantika plays Karen Shetty, Angourie Rice plays Cady Heron, Renee Rapp plays Regina George and Bebe Wood plays Gretchen Wieners in 'Mean Girls' from Paramount Pictures.

(L to R) Avantika plays Karen Shetty, Angourie Rice plays Cady Heron, Renee Rapp plays Regina George and Bebe Wood plays Gretchen Wieners in 'Mean Girls' from Paramount Pictures. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures.

Less effective are Bebe Wood, and Avantika Vandanapu as Gretchen and Karen, Regina’s sidekicks, though it’s no fault of the actors –– they’re mostly saddled with characters who feel like barely-tweaked versions of the original, and you have to wonder whether Fey and co. could have done more to make them stand out.

But if there’s one true MVP here, it’s Auliʻi Cravalho as the character of Janis, one of the “weird” kids that Cady initially befriends and who helps her get revenge on the “Plastics” led by Regina. Cravalho, best known previously as the voice of Moana in Disney’s animated movie, is superb here, breathing truly fresh life into the character and proving that she’s more than just a great voice performer.

‘Mean Girls’: Final Thoughts

Tina Fey plays Ms. Norbury in 'Mean Girls' from Paramount Pictures.

‘Mean Girls’ certainly offers a solid level of entertainment, though that’s partly because the original is such a success. Fans of the film will find something new to enjoy, but for the most part, the pleasures come from revisiting what worked before, either on screen or stage.

And while the new movie isn’t a patch on the original, it does at least prove to be worthwhile.

‘Mean Girls receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.

Mean Girls

"Plastic is forever."

PG-131 hr 53 minJan 7th, 2024

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Mean Girls Online

What’s the story of ‘Mean Girls?

Adapting the plot of the 2004 movie into musical form, ‘Mean Girls’ narrative feels familiar.

New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) gets welcomed into the top of the social food chain by an elite group of popular girls called the Plastics, ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina's ex-boyfriend, she soon finds herself caught in their crosshairs.

Who else is in ‘Mean Girls?

The cast also includes Auli'i Cravalho, Christopher Briney, Jenna Fischer, Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Busy Philipps, Bebe Wood, Ashley Park and Avantika Vandanapu.