The New Mean Girls Movie, Anyone But You & More

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This week I went on a quick press trip to The Ocean Casino Resort where we were treated to a full “Mean Girls” experience complete with Fetchtinis and our very own Burn Books and Plastics-themed drag performances, as well as an advanced screening of the new “Mean Girls” musical movie, which comes out in theaters today.

While “Mean Girls” is one of the single most important, enduring pop cultural reference points for Millennials, who were somewhere in or around middle school when it came out in 2003, I wanted to give this new adaptation a chance to carve out its own space in culture before I made a judgement call on it. Perhaps it could be a version of the generation-defining movie that proves to be a similarly impactful moment for Gen-Z. It was difficult not to suspect from the film’s marketing that it wasn’t going to wind up just feeling like an updated knockoff, but what if it ended up genuinely freshening up the story?

This is where I tell you that if you want to really form your own takeaways and opinions on the new “Mean Girls” movie, stop reading, go see it in theaters and then circle back around to see if you agree with me.

But, for me, the new movie, which was also written by Tina Fey, falls flat. Instead of giving the beloved story a full update, it gives it a few nips and tucks (and a lot of singing and dancing) while ultimately attempting to rehash too many of the same jokes. It’s a sanded down imitation of the original “Mean Girls,” which in part was so impactful because of its cutting dialogue and refusal to hold back. This doesn’t have that same quality. Most of the moments that directly mirror scenes or interactions from the original feel haphazard and rushed and delivered with less nuance.

There are a handful of really smart updates that modernize the story for the social media age. Instead Regina George’s moment of humiliation that she turns into a trend being the two holes cut out of her tank top to show her bra underneath that everyone copies, this time they turn on the sprinklers to soak her, which she then turns into a sexy running mascara look which the whole school co-opts and it becomes a viral social media filter. Instead of making photo copies of the Burn Book to spread around school, Regina drops it into the hallway because she knows it’ll decimate via social media. They are changes big enough to create a new-ish moment that feel organic to the era it’s meant to reflect, but the film doesn’t make enough of those changes.

In fact, the new “Mean Girls” features way too many lines directly lifted from the original script for my taste. If there were just a handful of repeat lines, they would make for fun IYKYK Easter eggs. But since there are so many, they lose their impact and actually make the script feel lazy and, in some instances, actually outdated. In many ways this musical remake can’t decide if it wants to be an homage to the original film or a thoroughly modern update on the story. I wish it would’ve chosen a lane and stuck with it.

Some of the performances, too, feel like they’re happening in different films. Avantika goes all-in as Karen Shetty, but she plays up her character’s dumbness to such an extreme that it ends up feeling like parody. On the flip side, Bebe Wood is pretty spot-on as Gretchen Wieners. Renée Rapp’s Regina George, meanwhile, is a big enough left turn to differentiate her from Rachel McAddams’ legendary performance, but perhaps too much so — at some points, it didn’t feel like the same character.

My favorite performance of the movie came from Jaquel Spivey as the new Damian Hubbard. He injected a lot of newness to the scene-stealing character while also maintaining his core identity. Auli’i Cravalho is decent as Janis ‘Imi’ike, but she felt too compassionate and lacked the edge that allowed Janis Ian to pack so much punch in the original.

There are some fun cameos from both the original film and the Broadway show, too, which make for genuinely solid meta moments that I could’ve used more of. But, again, I bet the film was wary of going overboard on those.

The biggest hurdle for this film was, of course, the musical part — and they know that, because any hints that it’s a full-blown musical were wiped from any and all promotional material for the movie. I guess that’s because a lot of people would’ve been turned off if they’d felt as though it was an all-out musical (the marketing for the “Wonka” musical prequel and even “The Color Purple” musical adaptation pulled similar stunts), but it also reflects what to me is a cold-hard fact about the material. The actual music from the “Mean Girls” musical is simply just not that good. So, while some of the song and dance numbers were pretty impressive spectacles and you sometimes even felt like you were watching a high-budget music video (particularly during Regina George’s songs), the songs themselves fail to make any sort of lasting impact, so you’re left wondering what the point was.

While I clearly had my complaints about the new “Mean Girls” movie, I do think it’s still worth seeing to make your own opinion about it. Reviews haven’t been that great, but it’s also expected to perform pretty solidly this weekend at the box office, so there’s an undeniable interest there. Maybe I just hold the original too close to the heart to be able to accept any other take on the text, but also maybe it’s just not that great of a remake that feels sort of like a cash grab? Whatever, I’m getting cheese fries.

Read

• “You go, Glen Coco!” is one of the many iconic lines from the original “Mean Girls,” but did you know that Glen Coco is actually a real person from writer Tina Fey’s life? I loved this little feature spotlighting him and how his small tie to the film has impacted his life. (Kelsey Weekman for Yahoo! Entertainment)

• How Monica Garcia was able to redefine what it means to be a reality TV villain. (Alison Herman for Variety)

Listen

“Think Twice: Michael Jackson” Podcast

I read about this podcast in a few “best of” roundups at the end of 2023, and it delivered on the hype. It’s an phenomenally well-researched, in-depth look at Michael Jackson’s life and career, with a through-line focus on the child sex abuse accusations against him and what could’ve perhaps laid the groundwork for some of the ways he was able to skirt them over the years. Listen below.

Watch

“Anyone But You” (in theaters)

Sorry, but this is what I want out of a rom-com! Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s chemistry pops just as much as the paparazzi photos and fan-driven rumors led us to believe it would, and the movie delivers some genuinely memorable romantic moments that left me smiling to myself. It was cute and occasionally raunchy and sometimes clever, which was more than enough for me to enjoy it. There’s an incredible through-line with one of the greatest pop songs of the 21st century that I can’t stop thinking about, too. Sydney might not be the best actress of her generation, but she’s most certainly a star, and Glen has undeniable charisma. Is it perfect? Of course not. It is entertaining? Absolutely. What more could you want?

Teddy Swims covers “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge)

I don’t even really know who Teddy Swims is, but his gorgeous take on one of Taylor Swift’s best songs came out yesterday and I’ve already listened to it a sick number of times.

Self-Promotion

“RHOBH” star Crystal Kung Minkoff on “Gabbing with Gib”

Crystal Kung Minkoff from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” was on my podcast this week, and we talked a lot about her own evolution on the show and becoming comfortable with asserting herself on camera, her thoughts on the various dramas from this current season and more. Watch above or listen below!

“Southern Charm” deep dive on “Gabbing with Gib”

Today’s episode of the podcast featured Kara Berry, the host of the podcast “Everyone’s Business (But Mine),” and we went deep on this incredible season of “Southern Charm,” our latest thoughts on the Olivia/Austen/Taylor/Shep drama, where the show goes from here and more. Listen below!

Talking all things “RHOC” and Bravo on Betches’ “Mention It All” podcast

My pal Dylan Hafer invited me back onto his Bravo podcast to go deep on the Tres Amigas breakup, what’s going on what “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” thoughts on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and more. Listen below!

Currently

In the city for the weekend, ready to dive into the new seasons of “The Traitors” (the first three episodes dropped on Peacock today!) and “Break Point” (the second season of Netflix’s professional tennis docu-series came out on Wednesday). Have a fetch weekend, everyone!