Mean Girls: The Musical (2024)
Mean Girls has been a classic for years, and believe me, I know every quote, line, and move to that Christmas dance. As a massive musical theatre nerd, when I heard they were making Mean Girls into a stage musical, I was very concerned. I thought they should have left the film as it was. Nope! The stage musical was just as amazing, and the songs were perfect for the characters/situations they embodied in the film.
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Well… Now we’re onto the film version of the musical, and we’ve seen this done well many times, with shows like Mamma Mia and Les Misérables. When I saw the trailer, I thought, well, at least they have Renée Rapp (since she is from the stage musical) because she has an AMAZING voice, and I liked how she would play the character.
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However, in Mean Girls, there were some song performances that just lacked drive. If you put Cady’s singing from the film next to the musical, you will see a really clear difference. This is also the same with the chorus/background singers. I don’t know whether they diluted it to be more “movie-like, but it really just lacked the commitment. The choreography, though, was stunning, and as a dancer, that scene where Regina is trying to get Aaron back is beautiful. I really loved what they did with both the dancing and the cinematography.
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The film is overall really fun, and I could see a lot of similarities between the actors and the original film. Janice’s character, in particular, was really strong in my eyes. Even though it didn’t feel to me that she had as big of a part as in the two originals, since you don’t see as much downtime between her and Cady, I did think that when she and Damien did show up, they nailed the characteristics of their characters. Karen was hilarious and played ditzy so, so, so well. Regina, every now and then, I questioned the acting, but her scenes at the prom saved all of that for me because that was so fetch. I have to say that I was nearly in tears at the
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“You know what they would call me if I were a boy?” “Strong?” “No… Reginald”
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It also had some really nice ideas to bring the element of theatre to the film by making the scenes look seamless. It just brings that element of a stage moving sets in real-time to life.
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Overall, I really enjoyed watching this film because I have a space in my heart for these 2000s films and musicals, so this was really up my alley. There were some iconic quotes that I would have loved to see back, though, but I understand they may be a little risqué to be in a film now. BUT COME ON! YOU COULD HAVE STILL USED THE ‘Danny DeVito, I Love Your Work!’ Or even when everyone has their own cameos where they say why Regina is at the top of the school.
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What’s your favourite Mean Girls quote? What are your thoughts on musicals?
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