Mean Girls: And just as the last flickers of Barbiemania seem set to extinguish, another bright and beautifully blushing entity gate-crashes the cinema. Enter: The Plastics.
The new Mean Girls is not a simple carbon copy of the iconic film released in 2004 simply because it is a sequel to it. It is instead a film version of the musical version of mean girls that came out in Broadway in 2018 dancing around the plots of a movie. While its synopsis might be the same, it means that the new Mean Girls is most probably not the girly film that most of us know.
Stepping into the shoes of Regina, Reneé Rapp who plays the queen bee of The Plastics once again knows her way around the leadership. Of course, Rapp is no stranger to the character having been widely acclaimed during her Regina Broadway debut in 2019. Joining her on screen is Angourie Rice as Cady Heron, and Auli’i Cravalho embodies Janis ‘Imi’ike.
It has to be said that while I have viewed the original film every few times, it has to be the musical that got me hooked that much so that the songs have shown up on my Spotify Wrapped more than once. So on this Thursday when the film was finally opened in Singapore, I was both apprehensive as well as eager considering that movie musicals can go either way after all, but by the time the credits rolled, they say you can be surprised. Below, all the thoughts I had and the feelings that appeared in me at all stages of watching the film.
Reneé Rapp as Regina George is definitely a sight to see
For those who know Rapp’s stint as Regina George on Broadway, this is no shock to them. There’s a reason, other than the physicality, why she was cast in the role at the age of 19, to nothing but praise. More so, she has the voice, the humour and every time she is on the screen, she is just in charge.
No need to wonder why Rapp’s Regina has actually every single student in the school a subordinate to her every slight whim despite how horrible she is, these movies are bound to make one feel inclined to her, to wish for her, and so it is easy as well to understand that men encircle her in all admiration.
Avantika is sure to be the new girl that makes waves
Believed to be, Avantika who plays the character of Karen Shetty is at the center of what can be called the best sequence in the entire film. Out of all the characters in the film, she is arguably the most hilarious character ever—and even though she has only got one song in the entire show, she completely owns it.
The music is not amazing but it isn’t bad either most of the time.
Until this point, the film has detached hyper-dramatic orchestral arrangements of the musical in exchange for a mild pop-ish sound. The pros: it helps avoid abrupt changes from prose to musical, and for the star performers of the film, Rapp, Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey as Damian: it makes them sing. I especially grew fond of the film’s new version of ‘Apex Predator’.
All these comments suggest that there is some understanding when the music achieves maximalism and few elements of music are left. In particular, ‘Stupid with Love’ is stripped of most of the comedy – including Cady’s cloying bubble of over-excitement and the hungry ‘I See Stars’ finale is painfully underwhelming.
I certainly am one of those people who had some expectations regarding the movie beforehand but I too am guilty of owing it to that viral clip which came from ‘Revenge Party’ and was filmed from a wobbly GoPro. It was relatively similar when it was quite evident how that particular scene was supposed to work, even though I wasn’t really sure about it, I still wasn’t a big fan of that sort of choice, one bad shot doesn’t make a bad movie.
Besides giving people some good laughs (look out for the cameo by Megan Thee Stallion), they also do well in modernizing the narrative and make clear the current nature of social media, which is increasingly volatile.
Megan Kathleen: This film is very self-aware from what I’ve seen, and it only serves to enhance the humour.
The Mean Girls film has this very theatrical feel in its visual presentation especially moving images, freeze frames and the students’ (or the cast, whichever) actions and moves. The drama in this film most of the time will require you to use a stretch of imagination just like in stage performance but the beauty of it is that the film is ever ready to laugh at itself for that.
One gets the strong impression that the conjurers appreciate the hilariousness that sin a situation such as a character on screen bursting into song or for example a mid scene back up chorus appearing in the frame is.
Overall, mean girls was a nice film to watch
Not everyone will find this picture satisfactory. Remakes are always hard to impress fans with and this is very much true with original Mean Girls.
It is also worth noting that musicals are not everyone hundred percent loving and perhaps that was something the creatives were quite conscious about if their choice to not promote the film as a musical is anything to go by. But fair enough, for people who are ready to go with the flow, so to speak, you will consistently be entertained by Mean Girls.
Watch free movies like on Fmovies
