The original Mean Girls is one of the funniest teen films of its era, but also one of the most quotable. The new Mean Girls movie has many of its famous lines, but sandwiched between song and dance numbers that the trailers have downplayed. This Mean Girls is based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name as the original 2004 film. Tina Fey reprises her role as Ms Norbury, the high school math teacher who is wrongly accused of being a drug pusher in one of the story's odder subplots. The jokes from the 2004 screenplay have been chopped and replaced with zingers that fly in a hyper-self-awareness climate. Cady is scolded by her friend, who is a feminist, if she doesn't dress slutty at the Halloween party.
The narrative arcs in this film are very close to the original. Fans will be happy to know that Cady befriends Damian and Janis, who are gay, after he arrives at North Shore High. Cady gets the chance to act as a double agent whenRegina George invites her to join her A-list group. She will pretend to be a plastic and tell bad things about her friends, Janis and Damian. Cady has a plan to take downRegina if she gets the glamour and popularity of being a Plastic. The musical numbers are put into social media content as if they are the only way a Gen Z audience will fully accept them. It doesn't help that the songs are solid rather than spectacular, though Rapp really sells her Billie Eilish-like bop 'Someone Gets Hurt'. The film is more of a re-enactment than a new one, but it is still entertaining. The original Mean Girls had a sparky, snarky confidence, but this one is less sure of itself, a bit try-hard, but ultimately quite likeable.