You cannot deny the original 2004 film ‘Mean Girls’ was a cultural hit for the 2000s. A film that was crafted to launch Lindsay Lohan’s career to the superstardom was successful before it fell apart.

In the span of two years, Lohan went from the biggest it girl in Hollywood to an asboute mess of a human being derailing any efforts to make a sequel of Mean Girls when they were in their prime.

Since 2004, Paramount Pictures have been desperate to recreate that 2004 magic, the only problem being Lindsay Lohan’s career. Since the film never got a proper sequel, Tina Fey is back 20 years later but this time with a slight twist instead of doing a straightforward comedy this time, she’s doing a musical.

The 2024 Mean Girls film is a musician remake where as far as the story goes, not much has changed since 2004. The film stars a 16 year old home school girl named Katie, this time played by Australian actress Angourie Rice.

A transfer student from Kenya goes to North Shore High school and realizes the high school isn’t much different than the Amazon Katie befriends two outsiders, Janis and Damian who introduced her to various clique.

Just like the original, the one clique that she has to avoid is the plastics Gretchen Weiner (Bebe Wood), Karen Chetty (Avantika Vandanapu), and of course Regina George (Reneé Rapp). Regina invites Katie to be a part of her clique and Janis decides to use this as an opportunity to get revenge on Regina.

Katie thinks that she’s making a new group of friends that is until her new group of friends decide to hone in on her new crush, Aaron.  Katie decides to go all in to her revenge party and her plan to bring down the plastics involves a whole lot of numbers, musical numbers.

When it comes to the 2024 version of Mean Girls. this film really depends on how much you truly enjoyed the original. 2024’s Mean Girls is nothing more than a nostalgia trip for the people who enjoyed the 2004 version.

The only difference is that most of the cast is singing rather than acting a general comedy. The film tries to mix the audiences from the original film and the Broadway production that’s been popular for many years.

However, one of the biggest problems with Hollywood musicals, especially over the last few years is that their song choices lack the staying power to make audiences enjoy it. Many of the musical numbers in the film are serviceable, but that’s roughly about it.

This exposes a bigger problem with the movie, this film is a shot by shot remake of the 2004 film with musicial numbers planted inbetween. The film expects you to take a trip down memory lane and remember every scene bitten punch line from a film 20 years ago.

By failing to stand out, all you’re doing is making the audience want to see a much better movie. The actors here feels like they are cosplaying pre established characters, more of them are a step down from the 2004 actors both looks and talent wise. 

Lacey Chabert is better than Bebe Wood, Lindsay Lohan is better than Angourie Rice, Lizzy Caplan is better than Auliʻi Cravalho and so on.  2024 Mean Girls is not elevating anything except what has already been established.

The actors in this film won’t be as remembered as the actors from the original nor is this movie going to elevate anyone’s career on the grander stage while the film certainly isn’t terrible.

Tina Fey essentially tries to repackage her original hit to Gen Z but ultimately creates a film that I don’t think is going to hit with either millennials or Gen Z for mean girls 2024.

The execution makes it perfectly clear why this film was released in January to begin with.

1.5/5

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