“Mean Girls” is so fetch. At least, it was in 2004.

I wanted to love this interpretation. It is a movie version of the 2018 Broadway musical that was itself inspired by the classic 2004 film – Mean Girls: The Musical: The Movie, if you will.

Let’s start with the basics. I had seen lots of reactions to the film online, and I went in wanting to love it but expecting to be disappointed. I walked out solidly somewhere in between: it’s okay? I saw the film described as “an early 2000’s period piece,” and I think that is dead on. There is something so specific about the era that the original film captured that simply cannot be replicated.

For me, “Mean Girls” should be in the same category as classic high school movies like 1985’s “The Breakfast Club” and 1995’s “Clueless.” These are films that should be in time capsules to demonstrate teen culture through the decades artistically. Imagine remaking “The Breakfast Club” in the TikTok era; it would, like this interpretation of “Mean Girls” does at times, feel forced. 

How social media is utilized throughout the film is perhaps my biggest grievance. I appreciate how the characters interact with the camera itself, as that seems to highlight how we are practically all on camera 24/7, especially high schoolers. Damien and Janis open the film by directly speaking to the audience through the song “Cautionary Tale,” and this fourth wall is broken again throughout the film.

However, whenever the characters are shown using social media, particularly TikTok, it comes across as incredibly shallow. The creative team seems to be saying “look at how things go viral!” and nothing more. There is more than one instance of a mass of characters whipping out their phones to record Regina George or the Plastics, which just felt cheap. One could argue the point is to make us realize how ridiculous our obsession with social media is, but it doesn’t work. Even the way phones are used in casual interactions is lackluster. The desire to keep the original 2004 energy of the film fails to accurately recognize the power the almighty iPhone has in modern high schools.

There are hundreds of words I could write just about the acting in this movie, but here are some hot takes:

Auli’i Cravalho’s Janis was by far my favorite.

Angourie Rice and Jenna Fischer as the Herons look stunningly alike.

Chris Briney’s Aaron comes across as much more attractive than he does in the trailer.

Tina Fey’s Mrs. Norbury has not aged a day in 20 years.

Jon Hamm’s gym teacher was completely unnecessary.

Avantika’s Karen felt forced.

Renee Rapp is delicious. Choosing not to say more to keep my dignity.

All and all, this film knows what it is as much as a high schooler does. It isn’t really sure, but it can pull off a pretty convincing story.

Share