Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024)

Synopsis: After being raised in Kenya and homeschooled by her mother, high school junior Cady Heron is given the opportunity to attend classes at an American public school. As she tries to adjust, she is invited to join the Plastics, a girl clique headed up by the beautiful but vicious Regina George. Despite her friends, Janis and Damian, warning her about Regina and her fellow clique members, Karen and Gretchen, Cady tries to see the good in Regina. That changes when she falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and sees just how cruel Regina can be. Her acts of revenge, however, result in Cady assuming many of Regina's less-than-desirable traits and ultimately becoming a pariah.

All while breaking out into song and dance because this is a musical.

Who's in it? The movie stars Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Bebe Wood, Tim Meadows and Tina Fey.

Review: I've seen the original Mean Girls multiple times, first when it originally came out then again with each of my daughters when they reached the appropriate age. I think it is one of the best coming-of-age movies ever made and had some serious doubts when I heard they were making a newer version of it. Even learning it was going to be a musical didn't help with those doubts.

We finally watched it last night and I have to say it was a lot better than I was expecting.

Did I like the movie as much as I liked the original film? No. However, this film did have some things going for it that made it enjoyable to watch.

One of the things I appreciated about this film is, while the plot was basically the same as the 2004 version, there were a few added twists that gave it a somewhat unique feel. It was definitely better than some other remakes I've watched, the ones that were almost verbatim copies with nothing that made them stand out.

I think this movie also took things up a notch as far as some of the foul language and inappropriate conversations were concerned. It was one of those things that made me a bit uncomfortable as a parent, since these were supposed to be girls who are around my youngest daughter's age. However, I did think it gave the movie a little bit of a realistic feel to it as well. 

As far as the acting went, for a movie that didn't have a lot of well-known and established stars, I thought it was pretty solid. And of course, you had Tim Meadows and Tina Fey mixing in their parts, along with a Lindsay Lohan cameo, adding a bit of nostalgia.

Ironically, I think my only real complaint about this movie might have been the fact it was a musical. I don't normally mind musical films, but this one seemed to be a bit drawn out by the song/dance scenes and I don't think they really added a whole lot to the overall story. And yes, I know it's based off the Broadway musical, which is based off the original movie. I just think they work better in a stage performance.

Final Opinion: As a result of the songs, the movie did seem a bit longer than it actually was. However, while I'm still a fan of the original, I do think this one is worth taking the time to watch and is definitely one of the better remakes I've seen recently.

My Grade: A