Mean Girls

In cinemas now

It’s hard to approach this latest iteration of Mean Girls without cynicism. After all, Mark Waters’ 2004 original is still arguably the quintessential teen movie, due to its near-perfect depiction of the innate cattiness that pervades secondary schools the world over. Nonetheless, Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr’s reboot is an adaptation of the successful Broadway musical version of the film, meaning direct comparisons to its cinematic predecessor are not entirely fair.

However, this simply means that the biggest issue with the Mean Girls of 2024 is not its inherent inferiority complex, but the fact that almost all of its songs are completely forgettable. While fans of the stage show have suggested that this is because much of composer Jeff Richmond and lyricist Neil Benjamin’s original ditties have been retooled for cinematic purposes, the inescapable truth is that this picture fails the primary mandate of its genre.

Its most pressing issue aside, Mean Girls is a mostly watchable retread of its source material. Angourie Rice and Reneé Rapp struggle with the unenviable task of filling Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams’ stilettos, but Auliʻi Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey steal the show as Janis and Damian, providing the film with most of its seldom laugh-out-loud moments. Also, although I personally didn’t care all that much for it, Tina Fey’s incessant incorporation of social media into her screenplay does at least refresh her original tale for Gen Z audiences, with a smidgen of gratuitous cameos also sure to keep viewers happy.

While Mean Girls does little to dispel the notion that it is just another of Hollywood’s soulless cash grabs, there’s enough teen treachery on show to hold the attention of easily-pleased cineastes.