While this wonderful job that I have affords me the opportunity to see a lot of movies in any given year, even now I don’t see everything. And back before this was my job, I saw even fewer movies on a regular basis. As such, there are lots of movies, including many great and popular ones, that I have never seen, and that includes Mean Girls.
Actually, that’s only half true. I have not seen Mean Girls, the 2004 comedy starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams. I have seen Mean Girls, the 2024 musical starring Angourie Rice and Reneé Rapp. I’ve always meant to see the original movie, but I just never got around to it. But now that I have seen the musical version, I’m not sure I’ll ever go back and watch the original, because I can’t imagine I would like it more than the musical.
I’d Never Seen Mean Girls, But At Some Point, I Stopped Needing To
I don’t remember what was going on in my life in the spring of 2004. I was about as far away from this job as I would ever (though I was making a lot more money). Perhaps it was because of work that I just didn’t see Mean Girls. I must not have known it was written by Tina Fey, because that alone would have had me interested. I remember it being compared to Heathers a lot, but as somebody who has seen Heathers dozens of times, maybe I just felt like I’d seen it before.
I don’t remember when I realized Mean Girls was a phenomenon, but like many movies before it, once it became part of the zeitgeist, you reached a point where you felt like you’d seen it, even if you hadn’t. I became aware of who Regina George was. I knew we needed to stop trying to make "fetch" happen. I understood that the limit does not exist. Before these were memes and gifs these were just things fans quoted and eventually, I understood the references and even made some of the jokes myself, because I didn’t want people to know I hadn’t seen the movie.
So I went into my screening of the new Mean Girls musical with a fairly solid understanding of what I was in for. I understood the basic plot going in. I was sure there would be references I wouldn’t recognize, but I also knew there would be several I would. What I was not prepared for was how much I was going to love Mean Girls.
The Mean Girls Musical Is A Lot Of Fun
Full disclosure, I like musicals. That’s not to say that I think all of then are great, but I love the musical as a format. Some people are predisposed to not like musicals, and that's fine, to each their own. It's probably why the studio seemed to try to hide the fact the new Mean Girls was a musical in the first place. If you’re somebody who loved Mean Girls the first time around, but doesn’t love musicals, I’m not sure the Mean Girls-ness of it all will be enough to sway you. But as somebody who likes musicals, but had no inherent love for the story, I really enjoyed it. Based on our own Mean Girls review, I'm not the only one.
The new Mean Girls cast is incredible. Yes, Reneé Rapp, who made her name starring as Regina George on Broadway and has reprised her role in the film, is amazing. However, I think Auliʻi Cravalho as Janis is the one who ultimately steals the movie. Her slightly unhinged take on “Revenge Party” was probably my favorite part of the movie, though hearing the word “calculust” in the mathematics-themed “Stupid With Love,” as crooned by Angourie Rice, is also up there.
The music isn’t all that’s great, because I understand why so many people love Mean Girls now. The story of Cady and her evolution from outsider to top of the social pecking order, and the mess that comes with it, works. Watching the destruction of Regina George (especially as somebody who was never cool in high school) is hilarious and satisfying. I admit, there’s a part of me now that wants to go watch the original to see how all these different elements were handled the first time around. But at the same time, I’m also much less interested in watching the original.
Now I’m Not Sure I Want To Watch The Original Mean Girls After All
I now have this suspicion that if I were to sit down and watch Lindsay Lohan and the rest of the original Mean Girls cast, I would feel like something was missing because of its lack of musical elements. I’m sure Rachel McAdams' introduction as Regina George is good in the original, but it doesn’t have Reneé Rapp’s brooding vocals, now does it? I’m sure Janis’ confession is hilarious the first time around, but if you’re going to give the whole school the middle finger, there's something cathartic that comes with doing it in song.
There’s an energy that musicals have that no other live-action movies can get away with. On Broadway, that energy is a requirement if you need to belt a song into the back row, but it usually comes along for the ride when those shows get adapted for the screen. There’s a suspension of disbelief you get to enjoy in a musical that most comedies can’t get away with. The original Mean Girls just isn’t going to have that. It’s a comedy, of course, and I know it does get quite silly at times, but it just can’t compete with the unreality of a musical.
I’ve gone this long without seeing the original Mean Girls, so I might as well wait a bit longer. Perhaps down the road, I’ll feel differently. I’m still interested in it, and seeing the movie that inspired the musical I enjoyed is certainly a worthwhile endeavor. I’m sure the original has something to offer that the musical doesn’t have, but the reverse is also true, and right now Mean Girls without music just feels incomplete.
