The 2024 Mean Girls remake directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez has left viewers feeling uninspired by its rather unsurprising mediocrity. The new movie possesses some clever new versions of scenes, and often has the potential to be genuinely funny. The humor, however, was ruined by the desperate attempts to be relatable to the modern teenager. This remake will undoubtedly become dated within a decade, unlike the original.
The original Mean Girls has remained a classic for a reason- many of its jokes have stood the test of time, and although the outfits chosen are accurate to when the movie came out, they remain stylish to this day.
           Because of this, one of my main criticisms of the new movie is the fashion. With another movie that perhaps is not so focused on aesthetics, outfits or set design wouldn’t be as relevant to a review. With Mean Girls, however, one of the main focuses is The Plastics’ fashion and appearance choices, because the plastics are the queen bees of the high school.Â
The rest of the student body will copy virtually anything The Plastics’ leader Regina George does, and thus Regina always aims to look wealthy and unattainable. In the original Mean Girls movie, the Plastics would wear classic and feminine colors, as well as mini skirts and heels. In the new movie, however, Regina can be seen wearing neon green parachute pants, a faux leather ensemble, and a marbled corset crop top. The clothes looked as though they were bought from a website such as Shein, as they look cheap and badly tailored- which is clearly not accurate to what Regina would wear. Although they might be true to trends today, The 2024 Mean Girls outfits are frankly gaudy and do not pay proper homage to the iconic fashion the original Mean Girls is so well known for.Â
           Moreover, Regina’s cruelty was made to be more subtle and was disappointingly understated in this new rendition. In the original, Regina’s mean behavior can be seen through her backhanded compliments and her manipulative techniques. In the 2024 version, they decided to remove the iconic four-way phone call, in which Regina tries to manipulate the other Plastics. Additionally, the ending of the movie was completely redone- in this new rendition- Regina becomes significantly kinder to Cady, which seems rushed and cliché. The director’s decision to remove these famous scenes takes away the completeness of Regina’s character as a mean yet popular girl.
           Another issue is how this new film tries desperately to be relatable with current teens. Although this may be good for now, this attempt for a quick laugh will inevitably end up making this version outdated within only a few years. Furthermore, the cinematography where the movie at times appears to be recorded through a TikTok screen is unnecessary and will age this version as the app and phone screens change.Â
           A positive aspect of this new version, however, is the quality of the acting. Although I feel as though both Regina and Cady could have been cast better, many of the supporting characters were cast perfectly. In particular, Karen’s actress conveyed her seductive yet innocent personality almost impeccably. Another example of this good casting was for the comedic character Damian- the actor was both funny and flamboyant, which is exactly what this character is known and loved for.Â
           In conclusion, I would say that this film wasn’t necessarily bad, but is definitely not worth spending time watching. If I were to rate this 2024 version out of five stars, it would earn a passable two point five. If you’re in the mood for a classic Mean Girls night, go for the original.