How ‘Mean Girls’ Measures Up

by Yasmine Tavares and Jenna Schmidt

The new “Mean Girls” movie pays homage to the original movie version and the Broadway musical. The mix of the two in the new movie version worked well in some places and fell short in others. We – as in MainSheet reporters Yasmine Tavares and Jenna Schmidt – emailed back and forth to discuss our opinions.

Best part?

Jenna: They made the movie feel more modern without forgoing details from the original movie. Yasmine: The best part for me was the Halloween party. I loved the song Regina sings. Renee Rapp’s voice reminded me of a siren’s voice, so beautiful, and I think the costuming for everyone in those scenes is fitting for all. The switch in lyrics for Karen's song going "I expect to run the world" to "Watch me as I run the world" was super cool. The way the party was set up seems so natural and realistic to a party you'd attend now.

Worst part?

Yasmine: The one scene where Cady is singing about how she hates that Regina is back with Aaron and the camera angle is at her chin almost. It throws it off and is shot so oddly.

Jenna: I agree that some of the angles and camera shots were distracting and didn’t add to the story at all, so it increased how cringy the movie felt overall. Angourie Rice didn’t sing well, which messed with the musical aspect of the movie, but other than that played a great Cady.

Most like the original movie?

Jenna: The overall story stuck very close to the original movie in terms of plot, so it was very nostalgic.

Yasmine: When Cady goes up to the Plastics’ lunch table and they have that very well-known conversation about Cady moving here, with Gretchen first introducing the word fetch.

Noticeable differences?

Yasmine: The way they tried to be very trendy with social media and try to include what looked like TikTok for every situation having to do with rumors being spread.

Jenna: Cady didn’t have a dad in the new movie version, and she was accepted and fit into the Plastics much quicker than the original.

Overall opinion on the movie?

We agreed that Renee Rapp, who played Regina George in the new movie and on Broadway, carried the musical aspect.

Yasmine: A solid 8 out of 10. I enjoyed all the songs so much even though Rice isn't the greatest singer. I thought costuming was kind of questionable and camera angles were slightly odd, but the cast seemed to have a good chemistry with one another, and I loved the end clips they included in the credits. Rapp and Avantika Vandanapu played their parts the best, I feel. Jenna: It wasn’t some great cinematic masterpiece, but it was a fun watch. I would see it again for fun but wouldn’t expect it to be as good as the original.

The Plastics: from left, Avantika as Karen, Renee Rapp as Regina, Bebe Wood as Gretchen and Angourie Rice as Cady. (Jojo Whilden/Paramount Pictures)

Categories: Featured, Student Life