In 2004, Tina Fey’s teen comedy film Mean Girls debuted at the box office, solidifying itself as one of the most successful movies of the 2000s as well as one of the most infamous “chick flicks” of all time. Fast forward 20 years later, the iconic “Plastics” return to the big screen with a modernized musical reboot of the Mean Girls premiering on January 12th.
The major distinction in this film reimagining is that it is a movie musical based on the 2018 Broadway musical of the same name produced by SNL’s Lorne Michaels. The original musical was extremely successful, grossing $124 million during its time on Broadway according to the production, and achieving 12 nominations for Tony Awards. However, the show was permanently closed in New York City due to the pandemic, since it was too costly to keep the production intact during Broadway’s closure caused by quarantine.
While the original Mean Girls cast is impossible to replace, Fey and the film’s casting directors still assembled a solid list of current rising stars. Reprising Lindsay Lohan’s leading role of Cady Heron is actress Angourie Rice. The “Plastics” trio is to be portrayed by Avantika as Karen Shetty, Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners, and popstar Reneé Rapp as Regina George. Fittingly, Rapp also played Regina in the Broadway musical from 2019-2020. Among other big names, The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Christopher Briney plays Aaron Samuels and Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho plays Janis Sarkisian. Additionally, stars of the original film, Tim Meadows and Tina Fey, reprise their roles as Principal Duvall and Ms. Norbury.
In an interview on CBS Mornings, Fey reveals some insight about her new film, sharing, “We were bringing it to 2024, so, some things are updated, some things are left behind.” Fey adds, “It was a real gift to go back to something that you wrote and reopen it.”
The new film’s goal to reach current audiences with its modifications has its benefits and drawbacks. On the plus side, the modernization of the film has more “woke” elements, making the film more inclusive and relatable for modern audiences. For example, the new film’s cast is more diverse than the original’s, creating a more inclusive feel for viewers. Additionally, the new film is to include the use of cell phones and social media, making the film feel more familiar for younger audiences. However, with “woke” modifications, it can be questioned if the new film will neglect what made people fall in love with the original. What made the original film so popular was its racy humor and risky jokes, but, given the way humor and sensitivity has changed, it can be wondered how the jokes and dialogue will compare to the original.
Jennifer Fallas ‘26 and Saniya Sharma ‘26 both saw the new movie, and Saniya shares, “The movie was pretty good and used a lot of parts from the original.” Jennifer adds, “If you’re a fan of the original, you will enjoy the movie.”
The new film has caught the attention of many, with the film’s trailer racking up almost 10 million views on YouTube. The film is still new and has only recently started playing in theaters, so it is hard to say what the audience’s consensus is about the new movie. Nonetheless, whether one is a fan of the original, a fan of the musical, or new to the Mean Girls cinematic universe, the new film will likely provide all viewers with “fetch” moments, songs, and jokes throughout the movie.
