The 2004 “Mean Girls” written by Tina Fey, and directed by Mark Waters, based on Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 book “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” is arguably one of the best teen comedies out of the 2000s, managing to still carry relevance after two decades. 

The original film follows the protagonist Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan),  a 16-year-old girl, formerly homeschooled, navigating the waters of a West Coast public high school. The film is a witty adaptation of the stereotypical life of teenage girls, with raunchy comedic charm. 

The movie turned Broadway musical quickly hit the charts, generating $60.8 million in North America and $84.3 million globally. 

Following the 2004 “Mean Girls” the 2011 “Mean Girls 2” was released as a spin-off of the original book/movie, being directed by Melanie Mayron. The lighthearted, quirky, and playful film didn’t do nearly as well as its original counterpart, with no reference to the same events of the original, a completely different cast, but the same idea of the main antagonists being “the plastics.” The story of “Mean Girls 2” was extremely predictable and overall just missing something from the storyline, mainly being forgotten from the franchise. 

On October 31, 2017 “Mean Girls’’ the Broadway production premiered at the August Wilson Theater. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, and produced by Lorne Michaels. The show received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for twelve awards at the 72nd Tony Awards. The show closed after 833 performances on Broadway on March 11, 2020, due to Covid-19. 

The film adaptation was released in theaters in January 2024. Being modeled by the Broadway music and the 2004 movie, the new film was not intended to recreate the iconic movie, but instead be a modern-day take. “We love it so much that we’re going to make something fresh, because we can’t recreate it – it’s too iconic,” said Tony Award- nominee Jacquel Spivey. 

While being a fan of the original “Mean Girls” I knew not to have high expectations going into watching. Additions to such amazing movies never seem to produce the same feeling you get while watching the original. Reneé Rapp, who played Regina George, heavily carried the film. I noticed flaws and mistakes that personally I don’t believe Rachel McAdams Regina George would have made, such as applying an e.l.f. cosmetic lip gloss. The original Regina George wouldn’t be caught dead using a non-designer makeup, let alone a drugstore brand anyone would use. The costuming was outdated, which is understandable due to the fact that the wardrobe team was trying to emulate trendy teen girl fashion which has a way of changing and often. The film missed the mark with making a relatable story yet it was way more cringe-worthy than anything else. 

One of the biggest flaws I noticed watching the film was that the actress who played Candy Heron (Angourie Rice) wasn’t a Broadway musical singer.  It made her stick out but not in a way that would be beneficial to the storyline or give anything to the film, for me it made the scenes she was in feel forced and strained. 

Overall, the movie was entertaining in the way I expected it to be, but the story was predictable, the costumes and wardrobe outdated, the jokes overdone and unrelatable.  what I expected it to be, the storyline was very expected, the wardrobe and costumes were outdated, the jokes were unrelatable and overdone, the acting and singing was good with of course the exception of Cady Heron. Unless you enjoy terrible reboot, I really wouldn’t recommend the movie to anyone.