After its success on Broadway, the “Mean Girls” musical has been adapted into a movie. Public opinion was divided when this movie was announced: Broadway fans were excited, fans of the original were cynical, and people who didn’t know it was a movie-musical were thoroughly confused.

It was slightly futile to try and re-create the magic of the original “Mean Girls”, a movie beloved by pop culture and constantly referenced across the internet. The remake doesn’t quite get there, but that’s not to say it didn’t have its high points: the humor was strong, the acting was largely impressive, and the more extravagant musical numbers were truly a pleasure to watch. “Mean Girls” (2024) proves to be a surprisingly funny and generally enjoyable film, but alas, it doesn’t hit the mark in a few key areas.

In an attempt to make the movie’s soundtrack more widely accessible to non-Broadway fans, “Mean Girls” (2024) translates its songs from the brassy excess of a musical to subdued and polished pop. Unfortunately, trying to de-Broadway-ify a movie that has been most highly anticipated by Broadway fans was perhaps not the smartest move. Listening to the soundtrack, the vision is clear, but the excessive pitch correction and the messy and overdone production make it a bumpy auditory ride.

The cast of “Mean Girls” (2024) makes an admirable effort to showcase rising new talent, rather than falling back on old favorites. These risks are largely rewarding: all three Plastics shine in their respective roles. However, Cady Heron, our leading lady, was miscast. Angourie Rice takes a sweet and understated approach to the character – a perfectly valid angle – but lacked the vocal prowess and expressiveness to pull off the musical component. Her songs feel stiff, made worse by the fact that whoever produced the music got a little overzealous with the autotune. Her love interest wasn’t much better – Chris Briney’s Aaron is non-singing, making that casting decision even more confusing.

While Cady may not have dazzled audiences, Renee Rapp’s performance as Regina George more than made up for it. Known for her role as Leighton on “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and for her debut pop album “Snow Angel”, Rapp previously played the role of Regina on Broadway before being cast in the movie version. Rapp interprets Regina as a repressed lesbian, in denial about her feelings and channeling that rage into her mean-girl machinations. She is a vocal powerhouse: “World Burn” is easily the most impressive song on the soundtrack,  showcasing her expansive range and hypnotic vocal quality. Entrancingly beautiful and effortlessly cool, Rapp’s performance is one to remember.

Regina’s sidekicks, Gretchen and Karen, are another pleasure of the film. Gretchen’s character was sidelined in favor of the protagonists, but shone brightly in the background. Karen, played by Avantika Vandanapu, was hilarious as the ditzy airhead of the trio, and her rendition of the iconic number “Sexy” was one of few that made the poppy production of the movie’s soundtrack work largely in its favor despite the autotuned quality. However, there were points where her airheadedness was taken too far: from staring blankly into the distance to attempting to drink juice through her nose, one got the impression that she’d had a recent lobotomy.

Finally, Auli’i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey stole the show as Janis and Damian, the artsy and socially outcast narrators of the movie. Cravalho and Spivey are both grade-A vocalists in their own right, and their chemistry and energy are a true treat for casual and mega fans alike to enjoy. Cravalho’s fabulous performance, singing-wise and acting-wise, is sure to net her even bigger-ticket gigs in the future. Due to their unsalvageably-Broadway quality, most of Damian’s songs were cut, a true tragedy for a character whose actor has received a Drama Desk award and Tony nomination. 

Though at times cringey, the movie makes interesting use of social media as a visual medium. The movie opens with Janis and Damian filming a video of the opening number, “A Cautionary Tale”, and other numbers like “Sexy” are performed in a similar format. Several scenes show the wildfire spread of in-story drama in social media montages, and some changes are made to the story to accommodate smartphones. It’s an honest attempt to modernize the film, and while gimmicky and over-the-top at times, it’s more successful than expected.

Audiences have mercilessly mocked the movie’s costumes, and for good reason. The Plastics’ outfits look less like popular girl high-fashion and more like the aftermath of a Shein haul. In an era of Pinterest boards, outfit inspo Tiktoks, and a vast network of fashion-based content to draw from, these outfits fail to evoke the early 2000s and simultaneously fail to capture the fashion sensibilities of now. 

“Mean Girls” (2024) is a uniquely difficult project to pull off, and people were inevitably going to be disappointed no matter which way the creative team took it. The movie betrays its most faithful audience – the Broadway fans – in favor of enticing a wider range of viewers, revising the soundtrack and altering the film’s composition into something more palatable. It attempts to shrink itself, making the numbers less grand and the background characters less emotionally complex, in hopes of avoiding the criticism that comes with being “cringe”.

As with any adaptation movie, fans had through-the-roof expectations that were simply not met, and ultimately, that’s okay. Overall, this film is a fun watch with a group of friends and a sense of humor. The less-than-stellar moments provide perfect material for light-hearted satirization, and the great moments are downright mesmerizing. It’s not breaking any boundaries or revolutionizing any industries, but it’s undeniably fun. Was “Mean Girls” (2024) successful in what it seeks to accomplish? Well, it may simply depend on who you are.

This story was originally published on The Gillnetter on January 22, 2024.