Get in loser, we’re writing a blog! Welcome back to another week of From Silver Screen to Spotlight: the only blog that reviews, critiques, and rates movie musicals. When I saw the due date for this blog, October 3^rd, I couldn’t help but get excited! After all, on October 3^rd, 2004, Aaron Samuels asked Cady Heron what day it was (it was October 3^rd). That’s right! This week, I thought it would be fitting to review Tina Fey’s fetch movie and musical Mean Girls on none other than National Mean Girls Day! So, grab your pink shirt (even though it’s not Wednesday), your Burn Book, and Glenn Coco candy cane because we are going back to high school!

Quick Facts

  Mean Girls opened on Broadway in 2018 at the August Wilson Theater. During its tenure, Mean Girls played a total of 804 performances, grossed over $122 million, and scored 12 Tony nominations until COVID sadly forced the show to close in March 2020. But not to worry! Thanks to the Mean Girls national tour, the Plastics are still dominating North Shore High in a city near you!

Mean Girls the Movie

            Who doesn’t love Mean Girls as a movie!? Not only is it the definition of a cult classic, but it is the epitome of a 2000s teen comedy. From a fetch cast to an incredibly quotable script, Mean Girls is arguably the most recognizable cult classic of the 2000s. After all, fans have devoted an entire day to celebrate the franchise! Even Ariana Grande paid homage to Mean Girls in her “Thank You, Next” music video in 2018.

Firstly, credit must be given to Tina Fey for her brilliant script writing and performance in the movie itself (talk about a double threat!). But the true stars of the movie are the Plastics (Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried) and Cady Heron (played by Lindsay Lohan). Combined, these four women steal the show with their comedic skills, acting chops, and on-screen chemistry, especially seasoned actresses Rachel McAdams (Regina George) and Lindsay Lohan (Cady Heron). However, that is not to say that the supporting cast is not great as well. In fact, my favorite performance in the movie is by Daniel Franzese (Damian). Other honorable mentions include America’s cool mom Amy Poehler, Jonathan Bennett (Aaron Samuels), Rajiv Surendra (Kevin Gnapoor), and Lizzy Caplan (Janis Ian). For the entire cast and crew, check out Mean Girls (2004) – Full Cast & Crew – IMDb.

But where Mean Girls truly shines as a movie is in its message. On the surface, Mean Girls is presented as a silly, feel-good comedy that can also illicit a laugh or two no matter how many times you watch it. But underneath the comedic surface is a message that popularity, while tempting, is not as rewarding as being your true authentic self—cheesy yet perfect for a 2000s teen comedy. To put it simply, Mean Girls is timeless with its loveable cast, quotable script, hilarious jokes, and fun nature. It is, as Gretchen Wieners would say, fetch (sorry Regina).

Mean Girls the Musical

Back in 2018 when the musical first opened on Broadway, I was obsessed with Mean Girls as a musical. Back in 2018, I thought Mean Girls was a must-watch movie musical, but today my opinion has greatly changed.

As a musical, Mean Girls is rather mediocre. I think it still captures the energy of the original source material, but I am not too fond over the changes they made. First, I must preface and say that the musical is written by Tina Fey, but I don’t think Fey necessarily seized the day with this script. For starters, the musical is too modern. I appreciate Fey’s attempt to modernize the script with Gen-Z references, but I think this just detracts from the original source. For instance, in the act two opening number “Stop,” Damian warns Cady of the dangers of popularity, advising her to stop falsifying her identity to fit in. Throughout the song, Damien makes several references to social media and pop culture, an attempt by lyricist Nell Benjamin to make the show more relatable with a younger audience. While I appreciate the thought, I did not think this change was necessary. In fact, I thought it was rather cringey at times. Personally, I love that the movie takes place in the early 2000s. For many, the 2000s retains a sort of nostalgic charm that everyone can enjoy, even if they were not a teen themselves in the 2000s. And despite being 18 years old, the movie still holds up today. However, we as an audience greatly lose that 2000s charm in the musical adaption. Ironically, the musical is trying to be something it is not meant to be, thus negating the entire message of the show. I can understand Fey and Benjamin’s concerns, thinking that modernizing the musical would make it more relatable and appealing to a wider audience. However, musicals like Heathers (which you can read about in a separate blog post) are proof that you can have your Kälteen Bar and eat it too; in other words, musicals can still stick to the time period without losing interest from the audience.

On a lighter note, the Mean Girls cast is very good. I particularly love the onstage chemistry between Erika Henningsen (Cady Heron) and Kyle Selig (Aaron Samuels). I actually had the privilege to see these two in person when I saw the show on Broadway in 2019. However, I thought the Grey Henson (Damian Hubbard) stole the show with his comedic acting, vocals, and impressive tap skills. His commitment to the character and passion for his job were evident in every scene he was in, and his infectious energy brought the show even more to life. Other honorable mentions include Barrett Wilbert Weed (Janis), Taylor Louderman (Regina), and Ashley Park (Gretchen).

Book and Score

The musical’s book follows the movie’s original plotline with the exception of a few deviations. As I mentioned, the musical is modernized compared to its filmed predecessor, so some of the jokes and references have been curated to a Gen-Z audience. Thankfully, Fey keeps almost all of the iconic quotes and scenes in the musical, but she does alter them slightly. For instance, the “Jingle Bell Rock” scene is different in the musical due to copyright. Therefore, Cady and the Plastics dance to an original Christmas song using different choreography. Additionally, Fey drastically changed Aaron’s storyline, a change which highly weakened the musical. In the musical, Aaron and Cady still meet in calculus, fall in love, and start dating at the end of the movie, but only after the school finds out that he illegally attends North Shore High. To put it simply, I thought this addition was dumb and unnecessary. To me, it seemed more like a filler more so than a consequential detail. Furthermore, I strongly dislike the character of Karen in the musical. In the movie, the writers wrote Karen to of course be dumb, but not a caricature of dumb. Instead, Karen is portrayed more so as naïve and ignorant rather than a dumb blonde, a choice which is far more believable to audiences. The musical, however, portrays Karen as a dumb robot. Even by theatrical standards, Karen’s dumbness in the musical feels too forced and too faked. Now, I in no way blame Kate Rockwell (Karen Smith) for this. As an actress, she was simply working with the script she was given, and the script she was given highly restrained her from exploring the nuances of Karen’s intelligence. This by far has got to be my least favorite thing about the musical.

In terms of the score, I think that Jeff Richmond (the composer of the musical) did a fairly decent job. Again, some of the lyrics teeter the fine line between funny and cringey, but the vocals and beat thankfully help to distract from the lyrics. The score ranges greatly in genres; from upbeat pop songs to darker, seductive songs, the musical actually does a good job at capturing the different emotions of the show. It is by no means my favorite soundtrack, but it is definitely a fun one to sing and act along with whenever it is on. Some notable songs include “Where Do You Belong,” “Stupid With Love,” “Apex Predator,” “Sexy,” “Someone Gets Hurt,” “Revenge Party,” “World Burn,” and “I’d Rather Be Me.” As Damian would say, good job Jedd Richmond, you go Jeff Richmond! You can watch Mean Girls’ Tony Performance of the song “Where Do You Belong/Meet the Plastics” right here: https://youtu.be/ju6Xwr9edPI. You can also watch Kate Rockwell perform the song “Sexy” here (and just in time for Halloween too!): https://youtu.be/TCFK1k8-Uz8

 

           Set Design and Lighting

The entire set for Mean Girls is completely digitalized which does make transitions cool and seamless, but it is by no means my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, it was very cool to watch live, but as someone who prefers a physical set, the digital one just did not do it for me. I was grateful that they did use real props, but this still was not enough because props are not enough to cover up negative space. Since the entire set is digitalized, the lighting and set go hand in hand. Both were average and nothing entirely special. After all, a digital screen is only cool for so long. Of the movie musicals I already reviewed, the set and lightning design is superior to Heather’s, but comes nowhere close to the set and lighting design of Beetlejuice and Legally Blonde.

Should we stop trying to make fetch happen?

So only one question remains: is the musical as fetch as the movie? Not at all. The musical is not terrible by any means, but it is definitely inferior to the movie. To put it bluntly, the musical does nothing to add to the movie; with the exception of the changes listed above, the musical is a carbon copy of the movie. In the movie, Cady Heron discovers that the limit does not exist, but there is a limit and the musical reached it. On this October 3^rd, celebrate Mean Girls by watching the movie, the superior of the two.

But of course, I am not going to completely stray you in the wrong! After all, I did see the musical and I did enjoy it! Mean Girls will be an enjoyable show to watch if you were to purchase tickets for the show, especially if you are a die-hard Mean Girls fan. However, I think there are better movie musicals out there to purchase tickets for than Mean Girls, especially when the Mean Girls movie is better. Sorry Gretchen, but fetch is not going to happen today!

To see if Mean Girls is coming to a city near you, check out Mean Girls Tickets & Broadway Show Dates 2022 | Vivid Seats