Get in, loser. “Mean Girls” is back. The timeless classic that is the “Mean Girls” franchise has made a return to theaters and audiences all around the country.
The original “Mean Girls” movie was released in 2004, earning a gross income of $24.4 million dollars worldwide in its opening weekend. The teen comedy, with its witty characters and relatable plot, captured the hearts and attention of people all over the world, so it should come as no surprise that its popularity only grew from there.
Following the release of the movie came the Broadway musical version of “Mean Girls,” which premiered in 2017. The musical gained so much traction from its audience that it ultimately led to the “Mean Girls” musical film being released Jan. 12 of this year.
The new movie has come with its fair share of mixed reviews, primarily due to the fact that it is not actually a remake of the original movie but rather a film adaptation of the Broadway musical version. It is still the same “Mean Girls” plot, characters and storyline, only now it has multiple musical numbers and a modernized twist.
Some of the remake’s bad reviews stem from people who insist the new movie has changed and adapted to modern culture too much, to the point where they believe it has lost its charm. Others have said that while certain aspects of the movie have been modernized to fit their current audiences, the movie still retained its important messages and themes that have made it such a pop culture touchstone.
Molly Goff is a freshman mass communication major, and she thinks that despite the changes made to the original, the remake still did “Mean Girls” justice and lived up to its name.
“The new movie still tied in important themes from the 2004 original and made us all aware of certain problematic themes and ideas that were set in the 2004 version,” Goff said.
Despite the original movie having been released two decades ago, its themes of female empowerment, self-identity and high school hierarchies are topics that are still important in today’s day and age.
The new movie stays true to the original, following protagonist Cady Heron as she navigates the jungle hellscape that is an American public high school after moving from Africa.
At her new school, she is met with the complex divide of student popularity and catches the eye of an elite group of girls dubbed “The Plastics,” who run the school. It is not long until Heron realizes how shallow and cruel they truly are.
Aside from the obvious differences between the new and original movie, being that it is a musical, the new movie has its own modifications to fit its generational new audiences. The use of social media is one of the more prominent changes made to the new movie.
“They splash on bright colors and break the fourth wall, filling the frame with smartphone images in which characters look directly at the camera,” said Manohla Dargis, a film critic at The New York Times. “These screens-within-screens fragment the visual plane and underscore the ubiquity of social media.”
When the new “Mean Girls” movie’s cast and trailer were first announced, the film was met with partial excitement and partial concern.
There were questions raised about whether or not the new all-star cast, primarily Reneé Rapp, who plays Regina George, could truly embody the character and execute a flawless cinematic performance.
“Rapp gives the character oomph and swagger (the dominatrix-lite get-up helps), and when Regina howls ‘I don’t care who you are,’ you readily believe her,” Dargis said.
A big part of why “Mean Girls” has remained a hit for two decades is its ability to relate to the female audience through its popular and prominent themes of self-identity and social acceptance. Along with those themes, there are also a wide variety of sensitive and difficult topics addressed in the movie, such as bullying and social conformity.
Tina Fey, who wrote the original “Mean Girls” movie, was also a screenwriter on this new Broadway adaptation.
Angela Criscoe is the executive director of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at GC and has a background in film and television studies.
“I think her goal was to modernize it and bring forward the idea that bullying still happens, and it happens across different platforms, which is something we all need to be aware of,” Criscoe said.
In the new movie, there was more incorporation of cell phone usage and thus the underlying idea of cyberbullying and its repercussions in today’s day and age. It chose to explore modern-day societal influences, such as Snapstreaks and Instagram influencers, in order to uncover the high school pressures of conformity.
“I think one of the goals of the movie was to keep bullying in mind, to get people thinking that it does still happen,” Criscoe said.
“Mean Girls” musical film showed the world that time may pass, but that does not mean societal issues, such as social conformity and high school hierarchies, pass with it.
