Overview
Mean Girls is returning to the big screen — this time with songs and dancing joining the high school-set story about cliques, popularity and the general chaos of being a teenager. In the works since 2020, the new Mean Girls film doesn't just remake the OG 2004 movie two decades later, but adapts the stage musical based on that movie. So, yes, this tale about the Plastics, a burn book and new student Cady Heron went from being a flick to treading the boards, and is now charting the opposite course.
When it leapt from the screen to the stage in 2018, Mean Girls not only found a second life in the theatre, but did so with tunes and fancy footwork. Unsurprisingly, the production was a hit. With the musical's book written by Tina Fey (Mr Mayor), just like the original feature — and its songs composed by her husband Jeff Richmond (Girls5eva), with lyrics by Tony-nominee Nell Benjamin (The Sea Beast) — this favourite struck just as much of a chord with audiences when set to music. Now, expect that experience in cinemas.
Given that the all-singing, all-dancing show's tracks have highly appropriate names such as 'Meet the Plastics', 'World Burn' and 'Someone Gets Hurt', winning over audiences was to be expected. Also easy to predict: the musical's jump back to movies from Broadway, with the end result arriving Down Under on Thursday, January 11, and just dropping its first trailer.
The film is releasing on a Thursday, but you'll still want to wear pink. And, as with the Lindsay Lohan (Falling for Christmas) and Rachel McAdams (Dave)-starring film from 20 years ago, as well as the stage musical that followed, audiences will be basking in Fey's talents. Again, she wrote the initial feature's screenplay, and now does the same on this second effort. She also produces with Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels.
In the directors' chairs: Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez (Quarter Life Poetry: Poems for the Young, Broke & Hangry).
As seen in the debut sneak peek — which is light on songs, admittedly — the story remains the same, obviously. So, the film still charts Cady's rough adjustment to American high-school life after spending the bulk of her childhood living in Africa, plus her time spent with the resident popular group, aka the Plastics.
Australian actor Angourie Rice (Spider-Man: No Way Home) plays Cady this time around, while The Sex Lives of College Girls' Reneé Rapp reprises her role as Regina George from the stage version. Also featuring: Bebe Wood (Love, Victor) as Gretchen and Avantika (also The Sex Lives of College Girls) as Karen, plus Christopher Briney (The Summer I Turned Pretty) as Aaron Samuels, Auli'i Cravalho (The Power) as Janis and screen debutant Jaquel Spivey as Damian — as well as Jon Hamm (Good Omens), Jenna Fischer (Splitting Up Together), Busy Philipps (Girls5eva), Ashley Park (Only Murders in the Building), Tim Meadows (I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) and Fey herself among the adults.
Check out the so fetch trailer for Mean Girls below:
Mean Girls releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 11.
Images: Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures.