On Jan. 12, Paramount Pictures released its production of “Mean Girls”, an adaption of the 2018 musical based on the 2004 cult classic film by the same title.
The film also has stars like Chris Briney—known for his portrayal of Conrad Fisher in “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, Auli’i Cravalio—known for voicing Moana in the 2016 animated film, and Tina Fey—who wrote the original movie and reprises her role as calculus teacher Ms. Norbury in the film.
Actress Renee Rapp portrays queen bee Regina George, who along with her friends, ‘The Plastics’: Gretchen Weiners (Bebe Wood) and Karen Smith (Avantika Vandanapu), rule North Shore High.
The movie follows new girl Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) after she moves to the school from Africa with her scientist parents. Cady’s mom is played by “The Office” star Jenna Fischer.
The movie has caused quite an uproar online, with many people mocking Rice’s performance of “Stupid with Love” on TikTok, calling her ‘emotionless’ and ‘bland’. Other fans have even claimed that Rice only got the role because she is a ‘nepo baby’ as her father, Jeremy Rice, is a director.
Some viewers even think that singer Sabrina Carpenter, who played Cady Heron on Broadway for two performances before the coronavirus pandemic hit, should have been casted instead of Rice. However, this would have been unlikely as Carpenter has been busy performing as an opening act for Taylor Swift’s ‘Era’s Tour’, and has also been performing across the world on her “emails i can’t send” tour.
Many fans were disappointed by the overall vocal performances and had high hopes for the film as Rapp played Regina George on Broadway from 2019 to 2020 and stunned audience members with her vocals.
Social media users also highly criticized the outfits of the main cast, referring to them as ‘SHEIN fits’. For those who don’t know, SHEIN is a popular fast-fashion company whose clothes are known for varying in quality and have been called out for its many ethical problems.
Overall, the movie just seemed too modern. In a few years, it will seem outdated and cringy, due to its uses of social media and modern references. Somehow, the same thing hasn’t happened to the 2004 original movie and its references, as it is still popular today. Something about the 2000s movies just keeps people rewatching over and over again.
“Mean Girls” continues to be played in theaters for fans who loved the musical, and are prepared to be wildly disappointed, or are looking for the nostalgia of their favorite 2000s movie.
