I HAVE TO SAY…

I’m going to start this off by saying that I enjoy Renee Rapp and by proxy I unironically like this musical.

But, Renee Rapp aside, I think this adaptation is judged harshly just because of the nostalgia of the original movie. Mean Girls is iconic and I get not wanting more content from it when it was already great, but I don’t think this musical disappoints, though there are aspects that could’ve been better.

The movie adaptation is only part of the musical on Broadway. I don’t know how they differ, but I do want to see the musical live whenever it comes back around, even more so after watching this.

To me, the musical on Paramount is campy. It plays into the fact that it’s a musical in certain scenes. Some of the music numbers come across as music videos. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. The songs are catchy as hell and after a watch, I always have a few of them stuck in my head.

Auil’i Cravahlo, who plays Janis (and is the voice of Moana), Jaquel Spivey, who plays Damian, and Renee Rapp, who plays Regina George, were the highlights for me. Their voices were incredible and they nailed the songs and mannerisms of their characters.

Some people criticized the modernization of the movie, but it made sense to me. I didn’t want to watch a carbon copy of the original in a musical format. I wanted a revival with the same central themes. The use of social media and the styling choices worked for me. I don’t think people would’ve had as big of a problem with them if it wasn’t an adaptation.

I found Cady’s character more annoying and Karen’s character dumbed down even more than the original, which didn’t work for me as much. I also didn’t like the subtle references to the original, like the scene with Lindsey Lohan or saying “fetch” is from an old movie. I wish they would’ve kept Kevin G’s rap the same, because this one didn’t land as well.

Still, I enjoyed most of this movie and I think it got a bad rap 😉 because it wasn’t marketed as a musical and it’s an adaptation of a beloved movie.

My top three songs and moments are:

• The Halloween party when Renne Rapp sings Someone Gets Hurt.
• When Auil’i Cravahlo sings I’d Rather Be Me.
• When Jaquel Spivey sings at the talent show

Honorable mention, the song Sexy by Avantika who plays Karen.

Have you seen this movie? What do you think?