After a span of two decades, Paramount Pictures unveiled its remake of the iconic 2000s teen comedy movie, Mean Girls. With the production of the movie initially being announced in January of 2020, its trailer was released to the public on Nov. 8 of 2023. Following the trailer release, the audience had various reactions for the upcoming movie. Although some people believed that the recreation of the movie would not replace the original, many were looking forward to the revival of Mean Girls.
However, the trailer omitted a crucial element of the film—the musical aspect of it. Paramount’s president of global marketing and distribution Marc Weinstock explains that this decision was driven by the idea that musicals,“have the potential to turn off audiences.” However, the plotline follows the familiar story countless people grew up watching, but with the addition of a musical twist.
The opening scene in Mean Girls starts with Janis Sarkisian (played by Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damian Hubbard (played by Jaquel Spivey) singing “A Cautionary Tale,” which is also the opening song in the Broadway musical version of Mean Girls. Soon after, the camera pans to South Africa where Cady Heron (played by Angourie Rice) is introduced—explaining how she has to move to Illinois and attend public school at North Shore High for the first time. The first song in the soundtrack is upbeat, which may allow some people to feel excited for the remainder of the film.
Following the original plotline, Cady navigates herself through her school, where she befriends Janis and Damian. Moreover, she learns about the social hierarchy and different cliques at school. One prominent group is referred to as “the Plastics,” consisting of Regina George (played by Reneé Rapp), Karen Shetty (played by Avantika Vandanapu) and Gretchen Wieners (played by Bebe Wood).
Cady develops a “mean girl” personality as she is later on introduced as one of the Plastics. However, she sabotages Regina George before she becomes the new leader of the group—drifting apart from Janis and Damian. But the characters mend their relationships with each other as the plot comes to a close, ending with the Spring Fling dance. The movie musical ends with Janis and Damian explaining the “moral of the story,” and the importance of coexisting with one another.
For the movie being inspired by the Broadway musical version of Mean Girls, it only included 13 songs rather than the 22 songs that are featured in the musical. This allows for the audience who are not familiar with the musical, to understand and experience the movie.
Despite the remake staying faithful to the original plotline, there were several instances where the movie diverged or introduced changes. For instance, the remake incorporates social media like TikTok to depict the mannerisms of today’s teenagers, making it unique from the original film. Another prominent change was the beloved Plastics’ performance of “Jingle Bell Rock,” which is an iconic part of pop culture. Rather than dancing to the familiar “Jingle Bell Rock,” the Plastics’ performs to the song “Rockin’ Around the Pole.” Additionally, rather than the broken stereo pausing their performance, Regina accidentally falls mid performance.
There were several iconic lines from the original movie that were not cut for the new remake. Some notable quotes include “Oh my god, Karen, you can’t just ask people why they’re white,” and some of Regina’s other harsh comments were left out. The audience may find the remake unappealing for these reasons, as these quotes help make up the personality of the original film.
Regardless of the various changes and different approach on how the remake has been made, the film itself allows the audience to get a new perspective through a different lens—that being, an updated version with a twist of music to it. Overall, the new Mean Girls film allows new generations to explore the franchise and further promote it in different forms in different places.
