Mean Girls (2024): Movie review

 Hello,

Mean Girls, the long-anticipated remake of Tina Fey's cult classic of the same name, is finally in theaters and it does not disappoint. This musical twist on the cult classic was directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., and is based upon the Broadway hit which was written by Tina Fey, who also wrote the screenplay for this movie.

The performances by the entire cast, lead by Renee Rapp and Auli'i Cravalho who stole the show, can only be described as iconic. Cravalho's performance as Janis was inventive and raw but also stayed true to the Janis we loved in the original movie. Rapp did such a good job playing Regina that I almost started rooting for her at times. This was the role of her life and she played it perfectly. 

Whenever a movie is remade, especially if the movie that is being remade is as popular as 2004's Mean Girls was and is, there is a lot of risk. Fans will always inevitably compare the remake to the original, and if the remake does not pay the correct homage, it can be negatively received or worse, make film viewers even dislike the original. An example of a movie being remade the right way is Rob Marshall's 2023 The Little Mermaid, a remake of the Disney classic of the same name from 1989. Conversely, an example of a movie being remade the wrong way was Jon Favreau's 2019 The Lion King, a remake of one of the most beloved Disney movies of all time from 1994 of the same name. The difference between these two movies is that, while The Lion King (2019) was frame for frame the exact same movie as The Lion King (1994), The Little Mermaid (2023) separated itself from the original just enough so that it was it's own movie but still held true to the original story. Thankfully, I would characterize the 2024 remake of Mean Girls as a film that did it correctly. This was very much it's own movie while still doing a fantastic job of paying homage to the 2004 classic.

The original Mean Girls from 2004 was fantastic and there was no need for a remake, especially a remake that is a musical. After watching this movie, I realize that a remake of this quality, especially a musical, was indeed necessary. Mean Girls (2024) is the remake I had no idea that I needed. I truly loved this film and I hope you go and see it while it is in theaters. It's totally fetch!

Thanks for reading!