Mean Girls, the newest musical adaptation released Jan.12 and left fans confused and much to desire. Mean Girls’ has had a unique and significant impact on pop culture since its release in 2004. It satirically explores the cliques, gossip, and social dynamics prevalent in high schools. Its commentary on the pressures to conform and the consequences of toxic behavior resonated with audiences. The film’s portrayal of high school life has influenced subsequent teen comedies and TV shows, but how does the new musical fare?

What’s more, it needs to be acknowledged that this movie was based on the broadway musical adaptation and not the original movie which has caused major misunderstandings and upset fans. The overall marketing strategy seems to be the root of the problem, after reviewing the trailers for the movie it seems like it was tailored to make people believe it was a remake instead of a musical in order to gain more traction.

The movie began with Cady, who is played by Angourie Rice in Kenya instead of her home like the original movie which surprised me and caught many fans off guard. As the movie progressed, I realized this choice was intentionally made to separate itself as the musical. Cady finds herself excited to finally have a real Highschool experience. However, she gets a rude awakening when she finds out not everyone is as welcoming as she thought.

The cast of the movie was filled to the brim with talent like Renee Rapp as Regina, Auliʻi Cravalho who played Janis, and Jaquel Spivey who played Damian. However, their talents weren’t fully appreciated by the script due to how hard it was trying to replicate the original; which caused for the musical numbers to seem displaced and too long.

In terms of fashion I, along with many fans, were disappointed that it didn’t replicate the iconic y2k fashion like the original movie. However, it was based in a more modern time which explains most of the outfit choices but not the excess amount of tacky fast fashion placement.

Overall, the movie could’ve done more with its 2 hour playtime but it wasn’t a total disappointment, the cast and it’s unique take on modern time mean girls was needed not to mention some of the songs were definitely playlist ready, so if you want to do something fun; go watch the new Mean Girls.