Mean Girls
Starring: Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Bebe Wood, Avantika, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Christopher Briney, Tina Fey, Jenna Fischer, Tim Meadows, Jon Hamm, Busy Philipps
Director: Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.
Based on the Stage Musical "Mean Girls" written by Tina Fey based on the 2004 film "Mean Girls" written by Tina Fey. Both inspired by the book "Queen Bees and Wannabes" by Rosalind Wiseman.
After spending her life in Kenya, Cady (Rice) and her mom (Fischer) move to Illinois so her mom can teach at Northwestern. New to the high school scene and interacting with kids her own age, Cady has trouble fitting in. After meeting Janice (Cravalho) and Damian (Spivey), she is introduced to the various cliques at the school including The Plastics (Bebe Wood, Avantika) who are led by the ruthless and cruel popular girl Regina George (Rapp). Janice convinces Cady to pretend to be their friend so that she can bring about the destruction of The Plastics from within, bringing about unexpected chaos and pushing friendships to the brink.
I want to get this out of the way first, this movie is a musical and I don't understand why Paramount is hiding that fact. If you look closely at the promotional material, they have a musical note hidden in the A of Mean but outside of that, there has been little indication anywhere else in the marketing. This was a very successful Broadway show and there is a huge risk alienating multiple audience groups by just not acknowledging what this movie is. If there had been more time between the release of this and Wonka would this have changed their approach? It's possible, although the recent flops of West Side Story. The Color Purple and In The Heights would suggest otherwise. Maybe audiences are clamoring for more original musicals than familiar ones? It's hard to say either way but either way I don't understand the decision to not lean into the musical aspect.
Whew. Now that that is out of the way, I am happy to say that this not only translates into a fun musical but it doesn't change a lot from what made the Broadway show a hit. And it still keeps some of the things that made it and the 2004 movie fun. The music is very catchy, and despite cutting some good songs from the stage show they wouldn't have really worked in how this adaptation was set up. They even make some improvements to a few of the songs, with "What's Wrong With Me?" and "Someone Gets Hurt" getting strong re-imaginings.
Reneé Rapp, who also starred in the Broadway show as Regina, is a standout here. Any time she sings, she brings the house down. Matching her singing prowess is Auli'i Cravalho, who many will know as the voice of Moana. Cravahlo almost becomes the lead character and takes the spotlight from Rice any chance she gets. Her chemistry with Jaquel Spivey is fantastic and they bring a lot of heart and humor to the story. Spivey gets maybe one of the more unexpected jokes (which I won't ruin here) that had my fiancée in stitches. Angourie Rice is fine, but singing clearly isn't her strong suit. She's a talented actress and a fine singer but she's not as strong as the others considering she is meant to be the lead character. The biggest casting issue is Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels. In the musical, he has a couple songs but all of that is taken away from Briney. What we are left with is a lifeless, unenthusiastic performance that begs the question what Cady or Regina even see in him. It's such a disappointment that his character is stripped of any personality or reason to really be involved in the story at all.
This was a lot of fun and a good update of the movie and Broadway show. The music is catchy and there are some strong musical performances that should help this appeal to fans of the original movie and the musical.
Grade: B
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