“So fetch” is the thought that ran through my mind when I first saw the trailer for the “Mean Girls” musical adaptation last October.
I had never seen the “Mean Girls Musical” on Broadway, so I went in blind. One of the main reasons I liked this film was because I felt like it was similar enough to the movie without being too much. Iconic lines like, “she doesn’t even go here” and “whatever, I’m getting cheese fries” were included.
There were also appearances from the original cast, including Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall and Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury. Lindsay Lohan appeared in a short cameo as well.
Singer and songwriter Reneé Rapp starred in the movie as Regina George, previously playing the part on Broadway herself. In my opinion, they couldn’t have cast anyone better than Rapp because of her musical theater background and her lyrical capabilities. She also has a specific hold on Generation Z, with multiple videos on TikTok associating her with Taylor Swift.
Along with Rapp’s stunning performance, I was impressed by Auli’i Cravalho who played Janis and Jaquel Spivey who played Damian. However, I thought Angourie Rice fell flat in her portrayal of Cady Heron.
In Spring 2023, Maeve Meyers, a freshman at Coastal Carolina University, played Regina George in her high school’s musical. She had critical opinions on the film.
She said she didn’t like the change in the musical orchestrations to sound more like pop, and the portrayal of Regina George wearing and using cheap products like e.l.f. Cosmetics.
“They were wearing, like, Shein clothing,” Meyers said. “I’m sure highschoolers would wear that, but Regina George would never.”
