Between a book, multiple movies, a musical, and the newest addition, a musical movie, the Mean Girls franchise is one that everyone knows to be a staple in coming-of-age movie showings. A mix between the 2004 original movie and the 2017 musical of the same name, the Mean Girls musical movie brings the best of both stage and screen.
Across all of the different adaptations, the plot remains the same high-school story line that fans know and love. Inspired by the book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, the movie tackles cliques and some of the realities-and exaggerations-of high school, while bringing along a few worthwhile lessons. The newest movie of the same name follows the same arc as the original, with a few updates.
About the Story
At age sixteen, Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) moves from Kenya back to the United States. She attends North Shore High School. Cady is instantly lost since she had never been to a traditional American high school before. Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey) and Janis ‘Imi’ike (Auli’i Cravalho) help her find her way, at least briefly.
Unexpectedly, Cady is quickly picked up by the Plastics, an elite clique at North Shore composed of Regina George (Reneé Rapp), Gretchen Weiners (Bebe Wood), and Karen Shetty (Avantika). Janis and Damian encourage Cady to report back to them. However, Cady is hesitant, but eventually complies. During her classes at North Shore, Cady meets Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney) in Ms. Norbury’s (Tina Fey) calculus class.
Instantly enamored, Cady goes on to make several bad decisions, one after another. She joins Janis in a plot to ruin Regina’s life. This eventually creates quite a few consequences for Cady, teaching her life lessons that apply to anyone who has gone through high school.
Why Mean Girls the Musical?
The film features seventeen musical numbers, twelve of which graced the stage during the Broadway musical. However, a few changes occurred. Cady’s introductory number “What Ifs”, replaced “It Roars” from the stage version. Additionally, the creators of the film cut six songs from the Broadway production.
Lindsay Lohan, who played Cady in the 2004 movie, cameos as a Mathletes competition moderator. Ashley Park, the original Gretchen on Broadway, plays North Shore’s French teacher and Megan Thee Stallion makes an appearance as herself. Of course, one of the most recognizable faces from the Mean Girls franchise is Tina Fey herself, who once again appears as Ms. Norbury, reprising the role that she had played in both the original movie and the Broadway musical.
Throughout the movie, classic teenage themes pop up again and again. In the wise words of Cady from the original movie, “Calling somebody else fat won’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn’t make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George’s life definitely didn’t make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you.”
Janis and Damian help Cady get oriented in her new school, and are surprised when she initially asks if she can join them for lunch.
Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), is Cady’s love interest in the movie. He also just so happens to be Regina’s ex-boyfriend, instantly complicating the situation.
Cady is invited to sit with the Plastics at lunch on her first day at North Shore High School. There, she quickly learns about the many rules that accompany the table, including the classic one: “On Wednesdays, we wear pink.”
