Since the original movie’s release in 2004, watching Mean Girls has been a staple of every sleepover in the 2000s and early 2010s. Although slightly problematic, it remains timeless and relevant in the 2000s chick-flick genre. Recently, I had the opportunity to watch the Mean Girls musical, and here is my honest Mean Girls musical review.
Tina Fey (the screenplay for the movie) decided to take a somewhat risky leap and transform the classic movie into a stage musical on Broadway—which I had only heard good things about. Consequently, I was thrilled to hear that they were making a movie of the musical, but as you can see by the star rating above, that excitement quickly crumbled by the lack of wit the stage musical brings and, of course, the power of most of the songs.
The Positives
Despite not liking the movie, it would be unfair of me to criticize every single aspect of it since there were things the movie did well—starting with Renee Rap as Regina. It’s not surprising that she made the movie somewhat bearable since she starred as Regina in the Broadway version and received masses of praise for the role.Renee’s singing was a mix of pop and musical theatre, which, in my opinion, is perfect for screen Regina as her singing didn’t overpower the rest of the cast. The mix of breathy and strong vocals was –Chefs Kiss– and was a perfect acting choice, particularly in “Meet the Plastics”. Renee shows how effortlessly Regina controls and has power over the school with effortless vocals- she only has to enter and make her presence known by talking (or singing) quietly, and people still scatter away in fear of her.
Another thing that the movie did right, in my opinion, is the level of satire the musical brings. Although Mean Girls has themes relevant to today, such as bullying and the hierarchy of high/secondary schools, it’s not meant to be taken too seriously. It’s full of silly little jokes, references, and exaggerated facial expressions, which I believe was done purposely to fit in with the satirical tone of the movie—and it works.
The Negatives
… and boy, there were a lot.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think on-screen musical remakes of classic movies should be made full stop. The only example I can think of this working is Matilda the Musical- and still, even watching that felt wrong. Aside from the actual stage musicals, classic films are classics for a reason and never be touched, musical or over-wise. Also, you can’t expect a positive reception if you advertise the musical as not being a musical, which this film did. Remakes that are not transformed into musicals bring nothing new to the audience, and the audience knows that before even seeing the movie.
I felt as if they were trying to introduce mean girls to Gen-z which, in theory, sounds like a good idea for a contemporary musical remake so that both the older generation and the new can appreciate the movie. However, this is only good when done right, which this film did not. The older generation’s failed attempt to imitate Gen-Z made me cringe massively, to the point where I felt embarrassed for both the movie’s creators and cast, who, for the most part, were Gen-z too.
Aside from Renee Rapp and Auli’l Cravalho, the singing was mediocre at best, particularly Angourie Rice (who plays Cady). Rice may have worked if they had someone else to sing, as they did with Jenny from The Greatest Showman since I actually didn’t mind Rice’s Cady- I somewhat enjoyed how she made Cady more innocent at the start of the movie than Lohan’s Cady, it made her seem easier to manipulate. But I felt like every time I started to like Rice as Cady, I was met with a disappointing singing ability, which was really important for her character- I understand now why Rapp’s voice had to be held back massively for the film!
Some of the lyrics were…eh. On stage, I can see how lyrics such as “where people die…no one dies” could be met with laughter from a live audience with expectations of a humourous musical, but on-screen…the placement just felt awkward and cringy. Talking of awkward, the transitions between scenes were far from satisfying. I believe this is partly due to the actual scenes and pacing of the movie- which, with the acting, of course, is arguably one of the most important aspects and can make or break a film. The scenes had done what they needed to portray, yet they still felt unfinished and clumsy.
Conclusion
Although I desperately wanted to be proven wrong, this film unfortunately supports my point that musical remakes of classics don’t work. The movie felt like a cheap, temu-style knockoff of the 2004 cult classic, which made me want to watch the original Mean Girls to cleanse myself. In short, unfortunately, it’s not at all fetch.
If you want to read some of my other reviews of musicals, click here: https://chorusbox.blog/category/theatre-reviews/
If you are interested in seeing the west end musical of mean girls (don’t be put of by this this review, I’ve heard that the stage musical is a beauty!), click here: https://london.meangirlsmusical.com/
As always, have a lovely day! x
