Review of Mean Girls: The Musical, directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.

I’ve known about the Mean Girls musical ever since it hit Broadway originally, and despite having lived in New York City at the time, I had no idea the ways to go and get cheap Broadway tickets. So, unfortunately, I never had the chance to see the show when it was on the big stage.

That said, when I was seeing a movie with my sister at AMC Theaters, I was very pleasantly surprised to get the trailer for the movie version of the musical. I hadn’t been keeping up with the movie news at that point, so when I saw this trailer, it was the first time I realized this was actually being made. And Renee Rapp was in it—that’s always a positive!

My sister and I booked the tickets to see the movie during its second week run in theaters. She had no idea what she was expecting from this, but it seemed like a lot of the audience around us was our age group. Some people were even dressed up in pink, inspired by the motifs of the film.

Some people did walk out I saw throughout the course of the movie. Not many compared to the overall number of people in the theater, but still enough for me to notice how this was happening.

Let’s get into the review!

When Cady Heron moves back to the United States and attends a high school there, she discovers how it’s like the wild she had left behind.

For those of us who know the movie Mean Girls and its original version, you definitely don’t need a recap of the movie. But for those who haven’t had the chance to be seeped in the lore of the franchise, then here’s the scoop: Cady Heron lived in Kenya with her mother, but when it’s time to move back to the US, she’s enrolled in a typical American high school.

Cady is kind of awkward and doesn’t know how to integrate into American high school society, but with the help of some new friends and enemies alike, she’s going to learn quickly.

There, she becomes friends with Janis and Damian, two outcasts within the school’s cliques, and discovers who the Plastics are. Led by Regina George, the Plastics rule this school, but when Cady catches the eye of Regina, she ends up getting invited to join their ranks. Janis tells her to go undercover and learn their secrets, but Cady gets deeper into the world of the Plastics instead.

At the same time, Cady gains a crush on Aaron Samuels, a boy in her calculus class. However, it turns out Aaron used to date Regina, and when Regina finds out about this, she doesn’t like how Cady is going in on what she considers to be her territory.

So begins the crash course that dominates the movie—there’s a lot of teen drama coming up in this one, and it’s coming up to be something that will lead to some pretty big consequences for all of those involved, especially as Cady gives a part of herself up in order to fit in.

Something to remember about the allure of Mean Girls is how rooted it is in the classic depictions of American high schools, which might not resonate with modern audiences as much, especially Generation Z. A lot of these archetypes no longer exist in American high schools.

I think that might explain some of the backlash this movie received. It’s updating 2000s ideals with modern audiences, but these no longer are the truth and tropes we see today. So it simply doesn’t work in the way outside of 2000s nostalgia.

Overall Thoughts

Now, this version does its best to update for modern standards and taste, which might be to the chagrin of some of those watching this movie. I personally did not care for the changes either way, but it certainly ended up making this a modern watch versus the 2000s version, which feels very much like a 2000s movie.

My one qualm with this being a musical is how some of the actors clearly do not sing in general at all. Renee Rapp is a forced and that shows in the movie—she’s quite the standout in this cast. I was not a fan of the actress playing Cady, which is probably why I didn’t care for this movie.

Her singing wasn’t very powerful nor commanding, which makes sense considering her character, but it was a letdown compared to the Broadway.

While this wasn’t for me at the end of the day, that doesn’t mean others wouldn’t like it. Give it a chance if you’re interested.

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