Mean Girls is back! Not a crappy straight-to-DVD sequel this time or the promised version that follows the misadventures of Lindsay Lohan‘s Cady Heron as an adult. This time, Tina Fey reimagines the film into a musical. The original movie that came out in 2004 – that was adapted from Rosaling Wiseman‘s Queen Bees and Wannabes – is a cultural sensation that’s managed to live on for decades. The film has been a huge success on Broadway, and this updated version is sort of a remake, but not from the 2004 film. The overall premise remains the same:
New student Cady Heron is welcomed into the top of the social food chain known as the Plastics, which is ruled by the conniving Regina George. However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, she soon finds herself caught in their crosshairs.
Two original cast members make their returns: Tim Meadows as Mr. Duvall and Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury. Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Bebe Wood, Christopher Briney, Jon Hamm, Jenna Fischer, and Busy Philipps round out the new cast of the 2024 musical. This new version has a lot to live up to since the original film is considered a beloved classic by many. Here are the things that Mean Girls should avoid.
The Characters Can’t Be Identical To The Original Cast
This will be a hard one. Since Tina Fey and Tim Meadows are returning to their respective roles, it’s unlikely that they will be any different than the first time they played Ms. Norbury and Mr. Duvall. Even with the new cast, Cady Heron and Regina George will still have the same core characteristics as the Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams version. Though most of the personas will remain the same, the new cast shouldn’t be a copy-and-paste of the original take on the characters before them.
What makes Reneé Rapp’s version of Regina George stand out? Little wrinkles that add dimension to Regina can make her come across as different than McAdams’s version. Plus, this all goes into the acting department as well; the mannerisms, and movements, should be distinct from the updated version. Just because these characters have the same personalities as their original counterpart, it doesn’t mean that the new cast can’t put a new spin on them.
Tina Fey returns as a writer for the musical, so hopefully, she was wise enough to differentiate from the first film. Of course, the changes have to be good ones that enhance the film, not make people wish they were watching the Lindsay Lohan version.
Have The Same Dialogue as The Original
The first Mean Girls has too many quotable lines: “That was so fetch”, “If you’re from Africa, why are you white?”, or “Gretchen, stop trying to make *fetch* happen. It’s not going to happen!” are just some of the iconic lines that fans still quote till this day. Based on the trailer, it doesn’t appear to be a carbon copy of words from the original, which is great, but there’s an added pressure that Mean Girls has to be as funny, bold, and daring as the original.
Can they pull that off? Thankfully, Tina Fey is a talented writer Mean Girls isn’t her only accolade; she went on to write 30 Rock, a classic sitcom of the modern era. Plus, the actress/writer has starred in plenty of great films that showcase her gift as a comedian. Fey can write juicy dialogue that resonates with modern culture. The star-studded cast can bring out the greatness of said dialogue. I know that this new twist is a musical, so there’s a new wrinkle that can surely bring out the laughs in a different manner. Somehow, Fey has to find a way to make Mean Girls not seem like a carbon copy of the original, yet be original and different enough that stands on the same playing field as the Lindsay Lohan version. That will NOT be an easy task.
Have Endless Cameos From The Original Cast
With Tina Fey and Tim Meadows back in this new version, it wouldn’t be a surprise if more names from the original made a brief cameo. That’s not an issue per se; however, if Mean Girls wants to stand out as its own film then it shouldn’t rely on the lore of its predecessor. There’s a danger of the original cast overshadowing the new version, especially if the 2024 film is simply no good. Let the new cast stand on their own two feet instead of banking off the nostalgia of the 2004 classic.
Follow Us
