the mistakes in the new Mean Girls movie | my review of Mean Girls (2024) musical film
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
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OHMYGOD HEY!
I finally got the chance to go see the new Mean Girls movie, a screen adaptation of the musical version of the original 2004 film.
The new film stars Reneé Rapp, Angourie Rice, Auliʻi Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, Bebe Wood, and Christopher Briney as the iconic characters.
Based on the popular Broadway musical, the film features the songs 'Revenge Party', 'Someone Gets Hurt', 'World Burn', 'I'd Rather Be Me', 'Apex Predator' and more.
Check out today's new video essay to find out what I thought of the film and why exactly that was...
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00:00 | introduction
02:21 | what I enjoyed
05:13 | the songs
11:34 | Angourie as Cady
17:34 | character depictions
21:47 | comparison to the original
24:32 | the un-musical marketing
27:35 | what's the message?
31:06 | final thoughts...
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#musical #meangirls #moviereview - Zábava
Unpopular opinion: I don't think Regina is mean enough in either the musical or the movie musical. Saying someone is a massive deal is not the same as showing it. Your protagonist can only be as good as your antagonist is evil.
Yeah, and I was waiting for Regina’s line at the party about Cady keeping his Kleenex and making a little doll to try and sabotage Cady but there was nothing like it, so she didn’t come off as mean as she did in the 2004 movie
This Regina seemed less manipulative but I thought she was scarier
How is that unpopular? Practically every critic points this out to be the biggest character flaw of the musical 😅
I really wish film directors would stop tip toeing around musicals. If you’re going to do a musical- do a musical! You can’t just skirt your way around the songs and go like “okay, now back to the story!”
Also- I absolutely love the lighting in this video
absolutely, that was my overriding thought watching it - why is no-one GOING for it?! WHERE is the musical?!
You’d think after La La Land’s success people would be remaking Singing In The Rain ffs 😂😂😂😂
Sooo true! I think In the heights' director did a very good diving in the universe and transporting us. If you are ashamed of making a musical version of a movie, don't do it, but if you think it's worth making, it, make it right! And sell it for it is!
@@ce67790 A lady asked her friend beside me exactly the same thing in the movie theater. She was disappointed and looked at her phone (rude) after finding out. She was kinda right for the deception, however, she should have tried to make the best of the situation. But I digress...
I agree.
I just hate how many just bash musicals and don’t respect it as a genre.
With broadway becoming more popular, the producers and directors, etc. understand money can be made here, but why do audience members (not all) just watch one trailer and go bleck.. musical. Like why are the haters the ones that ruin these movies because they don’t sit in the seats.
I feel there is still a stigma around musicals and sometimes lack of access to them which prevents more fans watching them in theaters.
can we talk about the split screen tiktok dance number in Sexy?? gave me war flashbacks to lockdown and ratatouille the musical
The small gourmet who found his waaaaaaay 🐀
No way there’s a ratatouille musical????
STUPID WITH LOVE!!!
the number hurt.
The original song si so quirky, so relatable! You see a teenage going about her first crush. Here it was lifeless💔
I 100% feel that it was essentially vocally neutered is bc Angourie has a significantly smaller vocal range; same reason for Apex Predator now being Damian and Janis, and then the finale’s vocal lead being switched over to ‘girl that doesn’t go here.’
I agree. The whole TikTok-y new version was bland. The original song was sweet and the metaphor was highlighted by the the classroom and board behind her as she sang. Here she is the front of the school making a dance that could be cute, but I just didn't like that much
I never paid it too much attention (I just remembered the line "he ran from me... litterally ran from me", for some reason). So I thought "hey the movie version is cute, why are people complaining". So I listened to the original version (cause you know, I want to know why people complain lol). And my, I know why now. The vibe is just totally different! It's just not the same song anymore.
The thing that crushes me about all these recent movie adaptations of musicals is, even if you don't love the Hairspray movie musical, it PROVED that you could preserve the energy and verve of a stage number on the screen through great choreography, sharp editing, and smart camerawork. I think about the way they shot Run And Tell That constantly; it's so genius. Toning down the orchestration and choreography in a movie musical like they did here just makes the musical numbers even more intolerable. Congrats, you've pissed off the people who hate musicals AND the people who love them.
I think it was a huge mistake choosing a Cady who doesn't sing well while Regina, Janis and Damian not only sing well but incredible. Make you feel indifferent about Cady as the audience
That’s unfortunate 😢 Cady in the stage musical is a very strong character with powerful vocals. Can’t understand why they chose someone who can’t sing well for the movie. I haven’t watched the movie though, it’s not playing in the theaters in my country. I just have to wait til it gets to streaming services.
like imagine sabrina carpenter as cady....
@@nathancatapang because she can sing? Visually she is the complete opposite of what Cady is. The girl next door that blends in, isn’t Sabrina Carpenter and it’s weird how hard fans will push someone who makes no sense at all. 🤭
@@kirstybrown1185 you say as if Lindsay Lohan wasn't a gorgeous girl cast as Cady in the original? Beautiful women can live next door and not know what's going on, too. At least in the Broadway cast, Cady's vocals were exciting and full of emotion. Cady got the worst treatment in this movie. There's no better example than Stupid With Love. In the musical it's silly and a little cringe, but that fits Cady's character. They made it an emotionless, monotonous, and frankly boring song. I do not believe she is filled with Calculust, and it doesn't feel like she's trying to convince me.
Biiiiig this, I like Angourie but they set her up to fail when she's up against such powerhouses.
I feel like in someone gets hurt
there is so much going on that we don’t get to see Regina’s manipulation.
Specially on the line “and god you are hot why do you even wear a shirt” I feel like we totally lost the lyrics and manipulation.
that's the cringiest lyric in the song, why would you want any attention to it lmao
@@Greywaren96 it shows her manipulating aaron tho
@@Greywaren96shes a highschooler lmao
I would say that, even though I like the original Someone Gets Hurt, the way they darkened the song for the movie musical was a GREAT variation. Like you can't get more manipulative than what Reneé did there.
That was actually my favorite part. I loved how they *showed* the manipulation through the way they staged it: Everybody around them is frozen and manipulated by Regina like a doll. It is her show and she's controlling the "pawns" in it. She's even shown physically creating Cady's response.
As somebody who played Mr. Heron/Ensemble in a production of the musical, I am shocked and appalled that my role and its six lines in two scenes were cut from the movie. How dare they!
I don't know the musical so I wasn't sure if he was in it but either way I thought "how dare they" ! The mum and dad are a funny double act in the original ("are they not allowed out when they're grounded?")
@@HelenRosemarySmithI agree, while I appreciate the single mom aspect, the dynamic between the mom and dad in the original was a great extra side plot with the good cop/bad cop. The mom in 2024 was neither one or the other, she was kinda boring imo
@@ThatRomyKate exactly, I don't know what it added removing the dad!
This is definitely a movie that reeks of it being meant for streaming initially but Paramount decided to release it to theatres to either capitalize off the popularity of the original or they saw Renée Rapp was having a lil viral moment (or both). Them cutting larger group numbers because they didn’t have enough extras to do it, etc. I think that for the most part, the end product is pretty damn good, if not flawed. I don’t know the stage musical super well so I’m probably not the best judge of adaptation. I WILL say that I agree that Angourie Rice was set up to fail since she was cast alongside Renée and Auli’i, who are extremely strong vocalists
10000% agree on Rice being miscast. I noticed during a lot of the press for the film, they really pushed the "she fits Cady's initial innocence" line. Given that the three main females in the film are Regina, Janis and Cady, they should have found someone who could perform to the same level as Renee and Aului, not only would it make for better sounding songs, but it would fix the issue of Apex.
@@cammysangiven that Sabrina Carpenter played Cady on Broadway and she and Renée acted opposite each other in the show before the pandemic, it’s a shame she was either too busy or not considered. Maybe she’s not as strong a singer as Renée or Auli’i, but she’s definitely a stronger singer than Rice. Look at how Avantika is being singled out as another standout, especially for her performance of “Sexy”. I definitely think Sabrina could’ve brought that energy to Cady
Nah, they opted to release it in theatres because it ended up having insanely good test scores from audiences.
On the upside, Spotify has seen an over 200% increase in listens for the original cast recording!
Ok in apex predator I wish it was still at the mall so we explored different sets.
Also the last 15 seconds of of apex predator are iconic and I’m so shocked they got rid of that final moment!
I don't know the musical well and I was confused why Dameon was comparing Janis to Regina like that - it sounded so odd and would've made much more sense coming from Cady.
I think it’s because malls aren’t really a thing anymore. They exist, but the ones I’ve been in require teens to be supervised by adults when they go. They’re not really a place to go hang out anymore. It’s a do your shopping and leave place.
And even still, a lot are closing.
It felt like a parody. And as someone from the UK who hasn't had a chance to see the Broadway show yet... I will forever regret this was my first encounter with Mean Girls The Musical. Looking forward to seeing the show in London later this year.
The Broadway musical is so much better. It all depends and the chemistry of the girls, plus their standby's. Listen to the Broadway Cast recording.
@@amycarcaterra8177I remember the bootlegs where Erika Henningsen and Kyle Selig have excellent chemistry which is not surprising as they eventually got married in May of last year.
Same! I follow Lindsay Pierce and hearing her perform Janice’s songs got me so excited for the stage show, but the movie fell so flat I’m sad that’s how I first experienced the musical version!
Heathers and Legally Blonde are the only movie - musical adaptations i would like to see. For legally blonde especially the musical added more depth to the characters than the movie, especially Emmett
I would exchange the 2024 Mean Girls movie for a Heathers the Musical: the Movie in a heartbeat. The campiness of the numbers juxtaposed with the extremely grim and morbid satirical plot would be EXTRAORDINARY, not to mention the fashion would be absolutely iconic
I would be so scared they would mess up legally blonde with acting/directing lacking depth...
@willowwilloughby1194 Heather's musical sucks so bad.
@@purpleclaws202 everyone I know has loved it. Including my kids dad, who took our daughter and her friend and doesn’t like stage shows. You didn’t like it. It’s critically loved. It actually says more about your taste and the low level of it, or it’s showing you don’t understand the concept of taste and are being delusional, which kind of seems like it’s that one. 🤷♀️
Heathers has a proshot
heathers deserved the musical movie adaptation imo and wishing it got this opportunity is all i could think about when i first heard the changes/lyric removals in the mean girls movie soundtrack. ESPECIALLY since the musical (heathers) actually helped me to fully grasp the OG movie’s point and i’ve seen many others, who may not be huge musical fans say the same after watching the pro shot .
I think because we got the pro shot we won’t have a film. And mean girls is a lot more popular than the heathers film was
I don't think heathers will ever get another on screen adaption after the insane let down from the paramount adaption
@@All-ze9cl what do you mean insane let down? I really enjoyed the proshot
@@natcatpalmtree not the proshot, that was good. I’m talking about the paramount show they made. I’ll make that more clear in my original comment
I kept saying the should’ve just did heathers into a movie musical!!!!!!!
You're not wrong about the transfer mishaps. It feels as though Tina and Jeff forgot why they wrote certain lines and songs. Like you say, losing those character moments only hurt the film especially in the long run, and relying too much on the nostalgia of the first film (again, as you said) keeps first timers out of the loop, out of the joke, and out of caring about this version.
Little Shop of Horrors. Movie then musical, then movie musical.
Only Tick Tick Boom has nailed a movie musical in recent years
Loved In The Heights tbh
I wish they had have kept the line about Regina and Shane hooking up in the north shore lion costume. Its funnier than seeing Aaron go open the closet door and then looking at Cady with so much hurt and pain, like, "bro, you could have spared me this heart break"
YES I missed this
yeah it honestly just made me feel sad, and i've always felt bad for Aaron there, but having the lion costume joke would kind of cut through how shitty that was of Cady. it's good that Aaron was informed that he was being cheated on, but the fact that Cady only told him to date him and then for him to see it just straight up happening took away from how it could have been funny and sad.
Regina having sex in a lions costume or even if it was with the person in the lions costume also humanizes her. They are a mascot and they are always considered nerds and clearly this is a hidden kink for her.
when tina fey sounded like she was about to sing but she was actually just clearing her throat i literally died!!!!
I miss the instruments in “someone gets hurt” like it made the song sooo epic.
I agree. The whole motif they used in a lot of the songs increased tension and it wasn’t in the film at all
I rewatched the original after seeing the remake. I'd forgotten how interesting Cady was. Lohan's performance had faded from memory as she doesn't have the quotable lines of the supporting cast. Janice feels like a dual protagonist here. The Velma to Cady's Roxie. The one thing I'm missing is the moment outside the party where 2004 Janice acknowledged her own meanness. 2024 Janice is treated like she's infallible.
I always love your reviews! It's really hard to find a good reviewer for musicals, when they tend to always be about how 'the characters are singing, that's so WEIRD' instead of actually reviewing the material for what it is. As someone who works in theatre production, I really enjoy your reviews of live performances, but I'm always glad to see a movie review too, since you tackle the issues in a respectful way, with knowledge of how musicals work, and how the original production works too
The breakdown over the "'o's" in Mrs. George's handle made me CACKLE, so thank you.😂
“Cool mooooooooooooooooom”
"Megan Thee Stallion, which I assume is Shakespearean" 💀💀
Love the good healing vibes toward Ashley Park; as I understand it, her illness was sudden and debilitating. Her Gretchen was a masterpiece, and her French teacher ate.
10:43 Let’s not forget that Cady in the musical has the voice of a Disney Princess which I consider that it was inspired by the fact that Lindsay Lohan has done various Disney movies when she was a teen.
Erika Henningsen (the original Cady on Broadway) is literally in Hazbin Hotel playing Charlie, the princess of Hell, and she definitely has Disney Princess vibes.
Honestly, that’s an insult to Disney Princesses. Lea Salonga sang as Mulan and Jasmine.
What she has is “best singer in the First Baptist youth choir” voice.
@@PelafinaLievre In the Mean Girls musical, it was a little thing called parody. Just like Nabalungi in The Book of Mormon is a Disney Princess parody.
My only issue w Janice being a lesbian is that that was a great joke in the film. The whole movie you assume Regina thinks Janice is gay either a) bc she actually is & Regina somehow found out, b) Bc Regina thinks everyone is in love with her or C) Because Janice is different and artsy & Regina is being superficial. Then in the last scene you see her dancing with the dude which seems out of place UNTIL he mentions her ethnicity and she corrects him with “I’m Lebanese”… at which point you realize the entire thing was because Regina was too dumb to know what Lebanese was, and heard it as lesbian. So she literally thought Janice had to come out of the closet to her when she didn’t at all lol.
But the character was obviously written for that to purposely be a misdirect, so she was easily changed to gay in the musical for that reason- she already had stereotypes.
But that even annoys me, because I always looked at it as the final, “don’t judge a book by its cover” in the movie… as if to point one last finger at the audience like… What just because Janice was artsy, kind to and friends w a gay kid, and had a weird haircut and more dark make up she’s a lesbian? I always thought it was supposed to be like the one last “hey maybe you’re not so different from Regina George- think before you label and judge people” wink from the film.
Otherwise, I agree with you completely pretty much about everything you said… Just to add one funny thing… I had never seen the musical, and had barely heard any of the music from it, and when I heard stupid with love from the movie, I didn’t even pick up on most of the jokes. Like the “and I’ve seen a snake eat a cow.” doesn’t come off as comparative language, and I literally thought she was just like adding that in as a fun fact. 😂. And I listen to lyrics lol it was just the inflection… It doesn’t sound like she’s going “hey, I can’t even do that and I’ve done THIS”. And I just thought that was funny because when you listen to the Broadway soundtrack, it’s so clear. Like you said, with the other jokes in the song… it’s so obvious that it’s meant to be her getting overexcited and ridiculous.
Great video❤
I realllllllly didn’t like the casting of Gretchen and Karen.
Gretchen wasn’t iconic enough in her performance. And throwing in the two second line showing that she’s Latin…but then no other references to that…made me roll my eyes, even as a Latino man.
And sorry. But the actress playing Karen was trying way too hard to play the “stupid” character. It looked more like a parody or a bad high school performance, whereas Amanda Seyfried’s performance was way more subtle, and it was beyond effective in making me believe she was really like that in real life.
Let’s cut to the chase: this is Reneé Rapp’s film. End of story😌
Thank you!! Both critiques were what I thought of those two characters as well
Mickey Jo obsessing over that Instagram handle was comedy gold. Needs to be a CZcams short
When the show was on Broadway my biggest complaint was about the narration. When the show starts it seems like Janis and Damion are going to be our narrators instead of Cady (our narrator in the 2004 film); but, there are musical moments in the musical Janis and Damion wouldn't have been privy to, so their narration doesn't really make sense. I feel like so many of the issues with this movie (and the musical version that was on Broadway in 2019) could be resolved by going back to the 2004 story structure and having Cady be the narrator of her own story.
but I do think that social media helped make that less strange. It made more sense for Janis and Damien to speak into a camera instead of just random narration.
I think the reason I'm not too fond of modern movies set in high school is because of the stereotypes of Gen Z. Now, I know Mean Girls is literally a movie based on the stereotypes of cliques in general, but I see this in every single new movie that has come out. I'm not even in High School anymore, I graduated in 2022. I'm turning 20 this year. Regardless of that fact, I HATE how directors make it seem like our entire life revolves around social media. I'm sure it does for some people, but not in the ways they make it seem to be in new movies. We don't make posts about certain popular people in our school or anyone in general to just shit on them. We may post a fight, but that's about it. Most of the time, we literally don't give a shit. We gossip like normal people... between friends. It just makes me cringe. They portray us as brain-dead or something.
Yes good point, I'm further removed from high school (27) but social media was a thing then too and we certainly weren't stalking and making posts about our "popular" kids. If anything, we wondering why everyone else was so obsessed with them and try not to give them anymore undeserved attention. It always seemed so unrealistic to me how not only are the popular kids popular but like online famous local celebrities with legit fans.
i graduated 2023 and same. social media was barely relevant at my high school. online rumors and stuff were practically nonexistent except for the generic drama page that never got submissions.
They should’ve gotten Rachel Bloom and the other crazy ex-girlfriend creatives involved in this film. What they did on that show is exactly the kind of tone and vibe that would’ve made this musical-movie shine
As someone who hadn't seen the orginal film and only knew a few of the songs, I quite enjoyed this movie but I have to say that my main takeaway was the fact that I cared about Cady the least of any of the main characters. (I'm not counting Aaron as a main character, he didn't exactly have much character)
Legally Blonde the Musical > Mean Girls Musical
So true
@@MickeyJoTheatrehey Mickey. My problem is that why do the director refuse to added Augourie Rice along Renee Rapp, Avantika Vanadanpu and Aulil Carvalho in the Christmas play.
@@lindamagagula7476 tina fey wanted the famous xmas scene to be special and performed only by Amanda, Rachel, Lacey and Lindsay. Especially this prior walmart xmas season. All four enjoyed that scene together.
I just wanted to commend you on your thoroughness here. When you mentioned orchestrations I shouted 'SOMEONE GETS HURT' at my phone and then you so beautifully detailed the crux of the issue. 🎉
Ok so visually I didn’t love what they did with sexy. The social media was too distracting. And I felt I barely got to see the costumes.
But musically I think it was great and like the new changes.
I personally only like the rap part in it I love that change, and when she says I did it and goes "dance break" I thought that was cute but that's all I pretty much liked about it
I don't understand why they cut "Where Do You Belong?" and "Stop", those 2 numbers would have been a great addition to the story. I would have loved to see more of Jaquel Spivey.
Because they’re very traditionally “theater” sounding, and this was made for people whose musical theater enjoyment ends at Hamilton.
Karen should have restarted her phone entirely when she started over. It would have been much funnier. In the musical she walks off stage in silence and comes back and it’s a very hilariously awkward silent moment.
Yes to all of this! You didn't mention the Elf product placement though 🤣
bc the product placement wasn’t even bad
As I enjoyed the film I like to point out that no one seem to realise that in the 2024 mean girls film the line that Damian says “Danny devito I love your work” wasn’t even in the 2024 film where in both original film and and stage production it’s in there which I find odd not to include it in the new one as it’s one of its classic lines Damian says.
omg thank you!! this brings up so many problems that i haven't seen many people talk about
the changes from bway to this movie really felt like no one in the team knew how musicals functioned so they bent the material around what they thought would make it appealing for a mainstream audience. they don't even seem to understand that music (and dancing) holds the most emotional power in a *musical*. like its so insane that they cut or changed songs that are fundamental to the story just because the person they cast couldn't do it. its just sad how much it takes away from the audience's connection to the characters.
like, i see stars is supposed to start with cady's confession and apology then build to the entire ensemble dancing and singing to each other about how beautiful and unique everyone is. even without lyrics, the ensemble simply singing and dancing together signifies the whole "girl world being at peace" thing because thats the language of musicals. the movie not only doesn't build to the ensemble, but it makes a joke of the 2nd half of the song and ruins the emotional impact of the FINAL SONG because the person performing is the CAKE MADE OUT OF RAINBOWS AND SMILES GIRL. it would've been so awesome to have the whole gym dancing and singing (think the prom movie) but they were just so afraid of being a musical.
i feel like every time a movie shies away from being a musical its just 10x worse because they avoid hiring people who are familiar with them. there's no one there to tell them *why* the changes they're making are bad. im convinced its part of the reason people say they hate musicals because most people do enjoy musicals like 90s disney or super popular stage shows like hamilton or wicked, but they enjoy them because they're good musicals that don't try to avoid being musicals!! they're created by people who are familiar with musicals and know what they're doing. i think a lot of people watch bad movie musicals and decide thats all there is lmao
I’ve got a couple thoughts.
As a disclaimer, despite my love for the original movie (or maybe because of it) I’ve never been a big fan of the musical version, so for the most part I either didn’t notice the changes from stage to screen or didn’t care.
I actually think the fantasy sequence approach to the staging works pretty well even if Cady isn’t in every scene. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a show that takes the same approach to its musical sequences, and the audience understands that every musical number is ~somebody’s~ fantasy, even if it’s not the main character’s.
I have to agree that, without Cady’s narration or her solos, she’s weakened a lot as a character which is a huge shame. If the problem was that the actor didn’t have the range, I would rather her just sing the solos imperfectly. Her defining trait is her insecurity, so if she falters a bit in her vocal performance it could actually help the story.
I unfortunately have always loathed “Fearless.” In fact I think it’s the exact moment where I checked out listening to the original soundtrack. I don’t vibe with the generically inspirational pop musical tone, and feel that it undermines the purpose of the scene from the original film. Regina’s downfall is more of a dark victory for Cady than a celebration. Maybe there was a way to stage it that juxtaposed the irony of the girls celebrating the end of Regina’s reign, when in essence they’ve just appointed a new dictator, but I don’t think fans of the musical would be any more pleased with that outcome than what we got. I see your point about how the film fails to humanize the ensemble, but I think that could have been accomplished through bits of dialogue like the original film.
“Sexy” has always bothered me in the stage musical because it’s trying to change a straightforward joke, originally a crass jab about young girls participating in their own sexualization, to a commentary on modern feminism. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad concept, and the adjustments for the new film make it work better in my opinion. Gretchen’s line accusing Cady of slutshaming is a pretty clever illustration of how feminism becomes watered down, abstracted to the point of absurdity, and weaponized against women and girls. And the subtle change from “I expect to run the world in shoes I cannot walk in” to “watch me as I run the world” takes a condescending line that blamed the failures of feminism on girls and makes it a more lighthearted jab. Also, the new arrangement feels more like something Karen would listen and perform to, and the detail of her using a snapchat filter to become a mouse at the end after wearing mouse ears for the entire number is so perfectly Karen.
While I like that Janis is undeniably queer in this version (although I never doubted she was meant to be bisexual in the original film), it’s a shame that the girl she goes to prom with is basically an extra. They could have easily gender-flipped the character of Kevin so that Janis could, at the very least, end up with someone we recognize. Or better yet, have her go to Regina’s house to mend fences and end up going to the prom with her. After all, Regina’s social status has completely plummeted, meaning she has nothing to lose, and Renee Rapp has always said she played her as a closeted lesbian.
“I’d Rather Be Me” has always felt unearned coming from a character whose entire arc had revolved around her ambition to destroy Regina for starting a rumor about her. Like Taylor Swift singing “Shake It Off,” there’s something bitterly ironic about someone who clearly cares about her reputation and holds years-long grudges claiming to be unbothered by other people’s opinions. I think the new movie portrays Janis as less of a “mean girl” and more of a principled hater by making Regina’s betrayal of her a bit crueler.
I couldn’t agree more about the ending. Closing on a scene of Cady and Aaron kissing is such an egregious way to miss the point of the movie that I audibly gasped.
Finally, I disagree about Renee’s song being against the message of the film. Yes, it’s about self-love rather than kindness, but the lyrics play off the phrasing from the original quote and don’t stick to the same meaning. Rapp is just delivering the same message as “I’d Rather Be Me” but with a much better hook and a Megan Thee Stallion feature.
Overall, I don’t think the new movie is perfect, but neither was the broadway show, and frankly, neither was the original movie. They’re all a bit messy and sloppy in places, and occasionally brilliant. As frustrating as that is, in a way, it feels right.
I actually really enjoyed it. I appreciate that when people take some of the audio in isolation it doesn’t sound good - and I do agree, if I wanted to listen to the songs I would go for the Broadway soundtrack rather than the film one - but when actually placed in the context of the film I thought most of it worked. I get that the voice of the actress playing Cady isn’t the greatest, and there are other people I would’ve personally liked to see cast in the role, but ultimately I still really enjoyed the whole thing (to the extent I’ve already been a second time).
It felt a more modern spin, rather than just a musical version of the original which I really appreciated. To me the lead into the songs felt natural and not just a “this is a musical so I’m going to sing now”, and I liked that it didn’t take itself too seriously and the numbers felt fun.
Also Auli’i Cravalho, Renee Rapp and Jaquel Spivey were absolutely fantastic ⭐️
I will add though, I didn’t know the Broadway show particularly well before seeing the film (other than a handful of numbers), so didn’t have too much of a preconceived idea of what it was going to be like.
I am looking forward to seeing the production at the Savoy in the summer!
honestly, I've been listening to someone gets hurt from the new movie more than the original. It just sounded really good to me
I agree! I, too, don't know much of the Broadway musical and had maybe listened to the soundtrack a few times - but not recently at all. Sure, I agree with Mickey's points about the characters and how certain parts could have had more depth, but overall I really enjoyed it - a lot more than anticipated - and thought it was a fun movie!
Thank youuuu!! Ever since I heard Apex Predator’s re-working I was all “doesn’t this diminish the point of this song?”
I really liked the changes in what’s wrong with me. They elevated the original in my opinion.
I loved what's wrong with me! The way the music box was where the son was coming from was so clever, and the little easter eggs like the pride pin still being in the box inside of Reginas closet was so good.
Always love your reviews and I think this one for Mean Girls is a perfect example of why - all the points are fairly put across, both positive and negative, and throughout the mess of social media coverage this has had from viewers, fans and news outlets alike, I think you've pinpointed the specific areas that have led to it's mixed reception.
Thank you for mentioning the Apex Predator lyric situation (giving Cady's verse to Damian, although great because I love hearing Jaquel sing and moments to sing especially since Damian's songs were cut, didn't make sense character wise for Damian to say especially right next to Janis.). I literally had a whole ramble to friend when I was listening to the soundtrack at home and noticed it aha.
I feel really bad for the incredible actors in the film as the flaws I can identify in the film never came from them, it all comes down to the direction the Production and Marketing team chose to go ahead with - the changes to the song instrumentals/backing score, cutting lines, switching lines, the indecision around how to present the song numbers within the film and where they fall within dream/real life sequences, ghe heavy autotuning in the songs when the vocalists are incredible and didn't need it at all, the rapid progression of Cady becomming her own Regina and the lack of the key lesson/moral in the story. Etc etc.
Reneé Rapp, Auli'i Cravalho, Avantika Vandanapu & Jaquel Spivey were fantastic in their performances, songs and spoken line scenes alike. I hope they get more recognition amidst the criticism surrounding the film. Their castings were perfection and I'm just feel so bad that it feels like the direction higher ups decided to take with the film has taken away from what should be all the praise and recognition for the talents they showcased in the film.
Much love to the whole cast, I loved the film even with the weird production choices. It could have been better but I loved Reneé, Avantika, Auli'i & Jaquel's positive impact on the film, truly carrying it all. They deserve all the love and praise for it. 😊
I agree with all your thoughts 💖💖 I also thought Regina not telling Aaron about cady doing voodoo on him at the Halloween party to make him like her made her a much nicer character almost too nice!!! 💖💖
The change in Apex Predator makes me so sad
Yes! I thought that exactly about them taking Cady's lines away from her in Apex predator. It really feels like she looses agency and self awareness. Like stuff is just happening to her rather than her actively participating and making choices.
For me, I would’ve much rather waited until it came to the west end and they filmed a proshot 👀
Especially with the rumoured cast 😏
@@MickeyJoTheatrewho’s in the rumored cast??
it would have been the original broadway cast they would have filmed.
Honestly would have preferred a Heathers movie musical instead of Mean Girls.
Absolutely
This was such an excellent review, thank you! (Also you shifting so seamlessly into that quote from Legally Blonde was *incredible*, amazing comedic timing there 😂)
I agree with so many things you said! But overall, in my opinion, it was a fun, campy teen movie, and I will definitely be seeing it again (with my friends this time because I went with my mom last week in the Netherlands -- for context, the movie isn't out in Belgium yet, so I normally wouldn't have seen it yet, but luckily I live close to the border with Holland haha).
Now, I've seen a lot of people online (mostly on TikTok) talking about how it would be better to make a Heathers: The Musical Movie... I don't know what to think of this, and I would honestly love to hear you talk about this!
Anyways, I am very excited to hear you break down the songs from this Mean Girls movie!!!
i heard someone said they couldn't decide between doing a remake of the original film and doing a movie version of the broadway musical and i can't stop thinking about that... Like I was excited for the musical to be made into a movie.
Everyone thinking Janis was supposed to be gay ticks me off because when I was in HS, I was a grungey art kid who was made fun of for being a lesbian... but I'm NOT- and never have been- a lesbian. They would say I checked girls out in the locker room- I never did any such thing. So to me, turning Janis into a lesbian is just basically telling all my bullies they were right to make such assumptions about me just because I never had a bf in school. Ugh. And I'm currenty a 31-year-old married pregnant woman... and this STILL annoys me to this day.
I think the worst part of its marketing, other than not promoting the fact that it’s a musical, was that they announced the release date and switched it from a Paramount Plus release to a theatrical release at the last minute last fall. That’s barely enough time to promote the film. It’s almost felt like how Universal treated DreamWorks’ Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken
The way I’ve been checking your channel constantly waiting for you to make a video on this 🎉
Hey Mickey, just so you know Angourie Rice’s name is pronounced an-gow-ree, she’s named after a small town here in New South Wales, Australia 🫶🏼
Aw man, that's my bad! I swear every time I try and get her name right I land on a different incorrect pronunciation! Thanks for letting me know!
The biggest issue was it clear that this movie wanted to focus on Renee Rapp but at the expense of Cady. Also by replacing Cady as narrator with Janice and Damion it sidelines her character so much with all the music they cut from her.
Also Angourie was very *dull.*
I wonder if that's also a little bit of a cultural thing though with the way we view the original movie? Because we know that Cady is the main character, but let's be real, we all really care more about Regina, to the point if you bring up Mean Girls in any capacity, Regina is the one that people will name first. She's for all intents are purposes culturally usurped the main character role, which isn't a bad thing but does mean we have a different perception of it than it actually is
@@kl-1447I completely agree! Cady, although the main character, is much blander and more of a plot catalyst than a character. So people naturally look to the more interesting side characters that the story is truly about. Cadys just a self insert of normal people to show us what happens to someone thrust into that kind of environment
As someone who loves musicals but had never seen the original movie or the stage version I really loved this movie! Damien was my favourite character :D
The way the musical numbers were handled reminded me of The Producers or Matilda :)
Thank you for articulating what was wrong with Cady's portrayal - I was really missing the voiceovers from the original because I just didn't feel like I had much sense of what she was thinking and how she changed during the film. I don’t know the musical well so can't judge too much about adaptation in that sense, but I thought it was a solid 3 stars. Lots to like, but missing quite a lot that the original had and by staying so close to it, it invites comparison rather than transforming the source material into a new version. And I've got "I'd Rather Be Me" stuck in my head now!
mean girls musical broadway cast recording > mean girls movie musical
the opening oh my god that was 😨
Very thoughtful and thorough review. ❤
THANK YOU FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THE CREDIT SONG! I felt like a crazy person hating it
as someone who is the target demographic for this film, it fell extremely flat. the modernisation of it felt so forced and not rlly needed tbh. i watched the original mean girls for the first time in 6th grade, at a time where i had moved schools and was having a hard time not channeling my jealousy of other girls into anger towards them. the original mean girls genuinely helped me realise sm about myself and my actions and i think it still is such a timeless, solid film to this day. i honestly would have preferred if they didn’t make so many desperate attempts to modernise this movie, i thought it would have worked a lot better.
I think what seems to be off putting to most people is in the marketing the plastics and Regina are the main characters instead of cady them cutting her musical lines reinforced it so I could see how people could look at this and be like why didn’t they just write something new instead. It being marked like a remake didn’t help
I find it funny how this is a self help book turned into a movie turned into a musical then turned back into a movie.
I’m about to watch it right now! Excited to watch this after and compare and contrast our thoughts.
The video I've been waiting for❤
I’ve been waiting for your opinion on thissss
you've nailed it... again! I completely agree with your comments. Only to add that I was really sad they cut both of Damien's songs, because they were two of my faves from the show! :(
I haven’t seen the broadway musical, so I didn’t know Cady has a part in Apex Predator but that makes SO much more sense. When Damien was signing that I was like damn how Damien gonna do his best friend like that 😂… it actually took me out of the scene cause it just didn’t make sense.
I’ve been watching a lot of the casts interviews & Tina Fey mentioned she asked her daughter & daughter’s friends if they thought Christopher Britney was cute & they all agreed, so that’s why she casted him. He also said when he saw there was a singing requirement for the audition, he wasn’t gonna do it cause he said he doesn’t sing, but then they came back that there’s no musical requirement…. Also how you said Cady falls flat in some of the songs… it now makes sense to me that Paramount was scared this movie wasn’t gonna do well, so they relied on the cast being people who are popular with younger crowds currently, even if they didn’t have the talent to live up to the songs. Probably why they cut Caddy’s songs.
I really wish this movie didn’t rely so much on the quotes from the OG, it coulda really stood out as its own things if they did that.
Additionally, given that "apex predator" is a science reference, it makes more sense to include Cady since she makes the connection that Regina is one. It feels random that Janis and Damian would have just broken out into a song that was allegorical to a term neither if them would've been likely to use.
On the point of the kids at the school all being jerks, I think one of the reasons they didn't seem so bad in the original was because there were times where you could see that they were the lesser of two evils, the other evil being Regina.
Even though they were mean to Cady, we sympathized with them in scenes like the one where Regina makes fun of the girls skirt, because we feel bad that the girl is being bullied. In this movie, I don't think there's any explicit times where Regina really judges or attacks her fellow classmates, (besides the burn book ofc) but in the original film that helped the theme of women being pitted against each other.
In the new film, it seems like Regina's only nasty and mean to the people inside of her friend group and Janis. Janis is the only person outside of the plastics that is specifically targeted by Regina in any way. So i think we'd be able to feel bad for the other junior girls if they were actually bullied by Regina more clearly.
someone w the same passion about the cooooolmom handle!!! i also wondered where the Os go
Dude this is my fave movie so far this year. It’s amaaaazing!
i'm in a weird space where i agree pretty much 100% with what you said but i still really enjoyed the movie, despite being quite a fan of the original movie, a massive fan of the stage production, and i studied film so i'm usually a much harsher critic on the things i watch. but i think reneé rapp actually summarised my thoughts pretty well in an interview at some point when she said something like, they're not curing cancer, they're just making a fun movie. because i had _such_ a fun time watching it. so yeah, weird space. awesome video though!
Another little thing I liked was that Duvall and Norbury were officially a couple with the whole “fine but you’re walking the dog later” line, I thought it was so cute!
I really liked this film, but I totally respect your opinions and enjoyed hearing your thoughts! I always enjoy your reviews because you have the rare ability in the theatre fandom to give a holistic and constructive review of something and actually giving reasons for why your thoughts on something whole still being kind.
agree with literally absolutely every criticism you pointed out here
Great video! I’d love to see a video on The Color Purple adaptation, another member of the movie->musical->movie musical pipeline 💖
Excellent video. I had a lot of the same thoughts.
Can you do a similar review of The Color Purple? It’s my favorite book and musical but this movie musical missed the mark for me. It feels like they fumbled the bag on a nearly perfect IP and wanted to avoid being too queer. Would love to hear your thoughts!!
I believe I'm still under a press embargo but will share thoughts as soon as I can!
the choreography in someone gets hurt was wild lol i was so confused
I was so happy they replaced who house is this with a bad bunny song 🙌🙌🙌🙌
the scene where regina is asking about the calories is an almost direct copy of one from the original movie, fyi! including the line, "whatever. i'm getting cheese fries" which is definitely not played as comically the second time around
"where do the O's go?"
The very question my English teacher self was asking too.
I love it I wish they not cut “Stop”
i thought mickey was on drugs then i realized i was WATCHING ON 75% SPEED omg i’m so stupid
😂😂😂
But how did Cady win queen in this version?
I actually really liked it … 🙈 Like is it going to be the stage version, no, but it never was going to be. It reminded me of rock of ages the film and rock of ages on stage - both are good on their own merit and serve different functions. In terms of the peformannces specific, I think Renee Rapp is worth going to see it alone, and the other members of the cast give good musical performances. A fantastic young and diverse cast who clearly have oodles of talent.
Mean Girls is coming to my local musical theater this season (touring production) so I’m gonna wait and see the stage version, then I might watch the movie but tbh I don’t see the appeal of any of this when the movie is so iconic. Also I don’t understand why they keep changing the stage versions sooo much when they make movie adaptations. Cutting out entire songs, making up new songs, it’s so weird. I agree with you that a lot of these adaptations seem embarrassed (except Les mis and cats who are so famous everyone knows). Little Shop of Horrors to me is the most famous “movie becomes musical becomes movie musical”.
Also I laughed soooo hard about your breakdown about the cool mom gag.
Here is my take away. Theatre kids defended this movie before it came out because we wanted a movie adaptation of the stage show. But somehow this movie tried to be a shot for shot remake with wisps of the musical thrown in. So it really didn't please anyone.
The whole thing felt so rushed in its direction. Part frantic camera work, part them just not letting so me things land a breathe. The cast themselves I didnt really have an issue with tbh in terms of performance.
Two things. First, whichever eye cream you are using, it's working great, please share tips 🤣. Second, love the passion re the instagram handle, genuinely intrigued by your fascination of it.
Balance me Wonder Eye Cream! The skin under my eyes could take a bullet 😂
Another movie adapted to stage musical adapted to movie musical that is contemporaneous with the current Mean Girls movie musical is The Color Purple. Its title remained constant throughout all adaptations.
I really think Cady was miscasted, and as you said that this the reason why they didn't let her sing her parts. I think she could pass if the other singers were also average, but next to the others, she can't sing as good. I am mad at the producers for it, they had to know that she will not sound good next to them. It reminds me of Emma Watson in Beauty and the Beast : with so much fantastic partners, it just enlights the fact that the lead can't do what they do with her voice.
I haven't seen either so I can't comment on the movie but I did find it interesting that I watched Brandon's review and he had a study where it looks like movie musicals do much better if they don't market as musicals!
Great review, would love to hear your thoughts on the new Color Purple movie musical
I think that they wanted to make regina the main character in this movie.
I can see this 100% which would also explain “Not My Fault.” If they wanted to do this, they should’ve just leaned into it fully.
Haha the cool mom rant was glorious