So Fetch! It’s been twenty years and Fetch has never caught on, proving once again that Gretchen Wieners cannot catch a break, and it’s not her fault that her father is the inventor of toaster strudel. In twenty years no one really expected anything to be done to what is quintessentially a classic, let alone a Broadway musical that modernized the original movie for a world that has everything at the tip of their finger tips and made the movie less problematic, looking at you Coach Carr.
Tina Fey adapted the movie into the Broadway show, and then penned the screenplay for the 2024 Musical revitalization that feels truthfully like someone remade Mean Girls (2004), added some music, and removed some problematic points of the 20 year old classic. Does it reinvent the wheel – absolutely not, but at the same time did the two foot tall wooden wheel needed to be modernized so society could thrive and excel absolutely, so why complain, moan, and groan that a new version for a NEW audience exists if it keeps everything you love about the original intact, if this works for you then you go Glen Coco!
In all seriousness, it feels repetitive to tell you what Mean Girls is about but here it goes okay? Mean Girls focuses on new student Cady Heron (Angourice Rice) as she has left Africa with her mother (Jenna Fischer) to go to North Shore because she wants to have a social life. Upon arriving at North Shore she feels she doesn’t fit in as everyone including Principal Duvall (returning Tim Meadows) and teacher Ms. Norbury (returning Tina Fey) keep calling her Cady instead of the pronunciation of Katie. There she becomes friends with the coolest people she’s ever going to meet Janis (Auli’I Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) who try to help Cady understand the modern high school set up. However, not everything is as it seems as Cady garners the eye of resident mean girl, Regina George (Renee Rapp) and her ensemble of minions consisting of Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). A scheme is launched between Cady, Janice and Damien to melt the plastics and reclaim high school normalcy.
When you’re essentially trying to recreate Michael Angelo’s David but make it your own, the DNA is always going to be present and putting your own spin on the character is going to be something incredibly difficult. However, the entire cast with the exception of Bebe Wood brings their own spin to the character. This is not to say that Wood wasn’t great, she just tried to do a carbon copy of Chambert. While Rachel McAdams brought you mean biotch Regina to life, Renee Rapp instils actual fear – she’s not going to put some laxatives in your drink this Regina is going to shiv you and then walk away pretending like nothing ever happened. Savage – amply fitting here since she co-sang with Megan Thee Stallion on a number – is the understatement for the queen bee assuring she is always the queen of the world. Avantika took the Seyfried originated role, flipped it on its head and gave it new life for what K for Karen means, bringing one of the most hilarious and unexpected moments to life in the movie.
While we just talked about the plastics an endless amount, let’s talk about the original creators of this masterful plan. Auli’I Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey take some of the most iconic characters from the original movie, put their own spin on them and bring them to a new dimension of life. This fresh take on the originators of chaos brings to life something so fresh and entertaining while paying homage to the performances that paved the way for them. Lastly though, but certainly not least is Angourie Rice – the titular character who had arguably the largest shoes to fill. There is no way to change Cady Heron – she has to be the new kid trying to fit in, she can’t be too self confident or detrimental or it fails the character. She balanced this flawlessly, and when the third act character change takes place it almost feels like two separate actresses.
The music in Mean Girls (2024) is also fantastic, and rearranged from the Broadway show so it doesn’t feel like a pro shoot or something that belong on stage. It is meant for the cinematic world and the arrangement of music and styles works for the film in a different way than the stage show worked. Moreover though, the only person in the movie that had a role in the Broadway show (that sings, looking at you Ashley Park – robbed of a moment) was Renee Rapp who took over the role of Regina George proves that putting her in the movie was absolutely the right call. Everyone’s chemistry and ability to mesh together and create harmony with each other is truly outstanding and brings to life the new version of the 20 year old beloved classic. Mean Girls is certainly fetch, and as long as your name isn’t Gretchen Wieners there will always be some for you. Normally we wouldn’t do this with us, but you can come and sit with us.
