Mean Girls Spoiler Review: How To Ruin The Original

Mean Girls (2024) is a remake that falls short of its cult predecessor, with musical numbers that often miss the mark. Despite the commendable performances of Reneé Rapp, the film struggles to offer anything new.

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Director: Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.

Screenplay: Tina Fey

Based on Mean Girls Musical by Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, and Nell Benjamin

Cinematography: Bill Kirstein

Music: Jeff Richmond

Main Cast:

Angourie Rice as Cady Heron

Reneé Rapp as Regina George

Auliʻi Cravalho as Janis 'Imi'ike

Jaquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard

Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels

Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury (Reprising)

Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall (Reprising)

Jon Hamm as Coach Carr

Release Date: January 12, 2024 (United States) In Theaters

Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Mean Girls (2024) Synopsis

"Mean Girls (2024)" is a musical adaptation of the iconic 2004 film. It features a talented young cast and a fresh take on the classic story. The film conveys the story of Cady Heron, a teenage girl who moves back to the United States from Kenya. She must navigate the treacherous waters of high school social cliques and befriend outsiders Janis and Damian. They introduce her to various groups, including the Plastics, a trio of famous girls led by the ruthless Regina George.

Mean Girls Spoilers (Full Plot)

Sixteen-year-old Cady Heron, who was homeschooled in Kenya, returned to the United States and enrolled at North Shore High School. She quickly befriends two fellow outcasts, Janis "Imi'ike" and Damian Hubbard, who help her navigate the complex social hierarchy of the school. They caution her against associating with "The Plastics," a group of popular girls known for their cruelty, consisting of Gretchen Wieners, Karen Shetty, and the manipulative Regina George.

Regina unexpectedly invites Cady to join The Plastics, and Janis sees an opportunity to use Cady to infiltrate the group. Cady agrees, and as she spends more time with The Plastics, she develops feelings for Aaron Samuels, a senior in her calculus class and Regina's ex-boyfriend. When Cady confides Gretchen and Karen about her crush, they warn her that pursuing Aaron is forbidden, as he is still considered Regina's property.

Cady is torn between her loyalty to her new friends and her growing feelings for Aaron. The situation intensifies when she visits Regina's house with The Plastics, and they stumble upon Regina's old "Burn Book," a scrapbook filled with hurtful content about students and staff at the school. The discovery of the Burn Book sets off a chain of events that will test Cady's friendships and force her to confront the consequences of her actions.

Cady confides in Janis and Damian about the Burn Book, and they reveal that they were once friends with Regina. Still, their friendship ended when Regina publicly outed Janis as a lesbian. Determined to get closer to Aaron, Cady intentionally performs poorly in math class, and her efforts pay off when Aaron invites her to his Halloween party. However, Regina, consumed by jealousy, kisses Aaron in front of Cady, making her realize that Janis was right about Regina's manipulative nature.

Cady joins forces with Janis and Damian to sabotage Regina's reputation. She tricks Regina into eating weight-gain Kälteen Bars to make her gain weight and replaces her face cream with lard. Meanwhile, the trio targets Gretchen's insecurities by sending a Candy Cane-Gram to Cady, making Gretchen believe that Cady is her new best friend.

Gretchen reveals to Cady that Regina has been cheating on Aaron with a football player named Shane Oman. As the Winter Talent Show approaches, the group plans to sabotage Regina's performance, resulting in viral embarrassment that further damages her social status. With Regina's reputation in shambles, Cady becomes the new "queen bee" at North Shore High School.

Janis invites Cady to her art show, but Cady claims she can't attend due to a business trip with her mom. However, Cady convinces her mom to let her stay home and secretly throws a house party. During the party, she drunkenly admits to Aaron that she has been deliberately failing math to get closer to him. Aaron rebukes her for becoming as manipulative as Regina and storms out. Cady follows him and is confronted by Janis, who accuses her of being as catty as Regina. Cady accuses Janis of being in love with her, and in response, Janis renounces their friendship, claiming Cady has become a full-fledged Plastic.

Regina discovers she wasn't invited to the party and learns about the Kälteen Bars. She adds herself to the Burn Book and drops it in the school hallway, causing a riot among the junior girls. Principal Duvall and math teacher Ms. Norbury gather the girls in the gymnasium to address the situation. Ms. Norbury leads a cathartic intervention, encouraging the girls to apologize to each other for their actions. Janis reveals the entire plan to take revenge on Regina, who storms out in anger. During a confrontation with Cady, Regina is hit by a bus.

Cady takes full credibility for the Burn Book and is suspended for three weeks after realizing the harm she caused. Ms. Norbury offers her a chance to earn extra credit by joining the Mathletes at the state championships. Cady redeems herself by helping the team win. At the Spring Fling, Cady reconciles with Regina and is elected Spring Fling Queen, but she breaks the plastic crown and distributes pieces to the girls, emphasizing that they are all special in their way. Cady apologizes to Janis and Damian, who accept her back as a friend, and she also makes amends with the Plastics. Finally, Cady reconciles with Aaron as they share a kiss.

Mean Girls Review (Our Verdict)

I wonder what the makers were thinking when they decided to create a remake of a cult movie and convert it into a musical, which is already a Broadway musical (2018-2020). It's a remake nobody asks for. The musical numbers are also not extraordinary and fall flat most of the time. Including today's generation's atmosphere into a movie and story, created in 2002 (The original book), could have been a great recipe for success, but it has nothing new to offer.

It was good to see Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall and Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury reprising their roles. The cast performance was average, but Reneé Rapp as Regina George was phenomenal in the movie. She previously portrayed the same role in the musical, which helped in adding an extra layer to her portrayal in the movie. Angourie Rice's portrayal of the protagonist lacks charisma, resulting in a humorless and personality-deficient version of Cady Heron.