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In this film adaptation of the Mean Girls musical adaptation of the original 2004 Mean Girls movie which itself was loosely based on the book Queen Bees and Wannabees (whew...), Cady Herron (played by Angourie Rice who was Betty Brant in the latest Spider-Man trilogy), who has lived in Africa and been home schooled all her life, gets to experience American school life for the first time. Here, she captures the attention of the glamorous but mean queen bee of the school Regina George (The Sex Lives of College Girls' Renee Rapp who also originated the role on Broadway) and soon finds herself in Regina's toxic clutches.
Screenwriter Tina Fey had the unenviable position of adapting a musical to film while also having to remake her own film. I heard the original musical followed the original's pretty closely but Fey couldn't just have them repeat all the dialogue. She did a surprisingly good job of still following all the general beats while coming up with an original script. Yeah, the original movie was funnier but this is a pretty entertaining follow-up where the script and dialogue don't falter. Admittedly, what with this having songs in it, some story parts felt a little rushed or slimmed (I definitely would've liked more time with Regina's followers Gretchen Weiners (Bebe Wood) and Karen Shetty (Avantika)) when compared to the original but the whole affair still runs pretty smoothly).
The best part of this is that Fey's had twenty years to think about what parts about popularity and girl cruelty could've been better said or handled. I thought this movie honestly did a better job of actually showcasing and analyzing mean girls. The movie has Regina be more three-dimensional and imply without directly saying why she is the way she is. Cadie being sucked into the "mean girl" world felt more prominent and the battle with her selfish side feels a lot stronger here.
If you're a fan of the original musical, I've got to warn you: Approximately seven songs are cut or replaced (I'm not counting the reprises). I haven't seen so many songs cut since the film adaptation of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas back in the eighties and that wasn't even that many. A lot of songs also feel like their rhythm has been altered; not that this has never happened before with adaptations (like the Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer song in Cats or the wolf song in Into the Woods), but I've never seen it so prevalent. In fairness, you have to give the creators credit for making sure the script worked and wasn't bogged down by requisite musical numbers. They remember that this is a movie and not a show and have this piece last an acceptable, non-indulgent 1 hour and 52 minutes. As for the songs in this movie themselves, yeah, most of them are pretty good with Regina's songs being the real highlights.
This was originally shot for Paramount+ before the execs thought this could make the big bucks in the theaters. Because of this, the movie definitely has a mid-budget feel. You can see this was shot at an older school and not one of those nicer ones you usually see used in theatrical films, and "Africa" is clearly just some field in America. However, I give directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. credit for doing a lot with what they had. This is their first feature-length fiction film, and I wish them the best as they show promise. The musical numbers pop in terms of choreography and visuals.
The original movie had iconic casting, but the gang here isn't shabby, even the ones who don't shine as brightly as the originals still are pretty good. The standouts here are Rapp, who has the best voice, kills her numbers and has a slightly tougher version of Regina that is on equal with that of Rachel McAdams, and Auli'i Cravalho (the voice of Moana), as Cady's friend Janis 'Imi'ike, she's also a great singer and has this more fun energy to her that I feel out does original actress Lizzy Caplan. Although I think Amanda Seyfried was the best and more well-rounded Karen, the simple-minded member of the clique, Avantika is pretty entertaining as she makes the choice to make the character a wide-eyed space case 85% of the time. Weakest actor might actually be lead Rice. She does alright but has the weakest singing voice and her speaking voice feels a little muted in the beginning. However, when it comes to her personality being influenced by the events around her, I actually thought her changes were done stronger than original actress Lindsay Lohan.
Recommended. Sure it isn't as good as the original but is definitely an entertaining time by itself and frankly came out better than I thought it would. This really does have some of the best shot musical numbers of recent years.
