Confucius said it best, so long ago:
“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
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| While Cady (Angourie Rice, far right) watches apprehensively, her school's "mean girls" — from left, Karen (Avantika), Regina (Reneé Rapp) and Gretchen (Bebe Wood) — reveal the "Burn Book," in which they've written all manner of nasty comments about fellow students. |
Although it seemed an unlikely choice to transition into a musical, Mean Girls became a Broadway hit upon opening in 2018; Fey wrote the show’s book, accompanied by Jeff Richmond (music) and Nell Benjamin (lyrics). Touring productions continue to this day, and a film adaptation was inevitable; directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. — with a script once again by Fey — have delivered a thoroughly entertaining two hours of lively razzle-dazzle.
(And I have to wonder: Was Fey prescient, two decades back? Did she somehow know that the dark side of social media would make this story fresh again?)
All of the original film’s essential plot beats have been retained; many have been re-tooled as energetic production numbers by choreographer Kyle Hanagami.
The first is a seemingly spontaneous, home-made garage video by Janis ’Imi’iki (Auli’I Cravalho) and Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey, a force of nature), who function throughout this saga as both characters and a Greek chorus. This opening number, “A Cautionary Tale,” sets the stage for the events to follow. (Pay close attention; their promised details will prove accurate.)
The scene then shifts to Kenya, where 16-year-old Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) — despite having thoroughly enjoyed studying animals and stars in the wild, with her mother (Jenna Fischer) — laments her inability to enjoy a “normal” teenage experience. Mom relents, moves them to Evanston, Ill., and Cady eagerly begins her first day at North Shore High School...
...and hasn’t the slightest notion how to fit in.
A droll montage introduces her various teachers and subjects, most importantly the AP math class taught by Ms. Norbury (Fey, reprising her role from the 2004 film). Cady winds up sitting behind Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), and is instantly smitten.
Lunchtime is the worst, as Cady slowly walks down the center aisle, silently shunned by the cliques at each table. Janis and Damian — outcasts themselves, and proud of it — take pity and rescue her from social oblivion.
Then the air is sucked out of the cafeteria, as queen bee-yatch Regina (Reneé Rapp, deliciously haughty) makes her entrance, joining her already seated posse, Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). They’re “The Plastics,” over-the-top glamour girls with nothing but disdain for the common herd. Regina spots Cady, and — much to everybody’s surprise — invites the new girl to their table.
Cady naïvely believes she has been befriended; in truth, Regina wants to embarrass this apple-cheeked, ponytailed newcomer. But when Cady proves resilient, Regina grudgingly makes her part of their clique. All seems well, until Cady admits to her crush on Aaron, who — bad luck — is Regina’s ex. That simply won’t fly, and Regina’s response is spitefully cruel.
Humiliated and angry, Cady accepts Janis and Damian’s multi-faceted plan to take down The Plastics. This will require Cady to feign friendship with the three girls, and pretend not to be concerned about Regina’s betrayal.
At which point, a quote by Nietzsche springs to mind:
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.”
We’re not even halfway into the film at this point, with all manner of spite, jealousy and bad behavior to go. Fey also will deliver pointed statements about acceptance, inclusion, honesty and the collective experiences that should uniteyoung women, rather than divide them.
Rice credibly handles her character’s emotional and behavioral arcs; they’re quite a roller coaster ride, with all manner of highs and lows. She’s most sympathetic when Cady acts true to herself, but equally effective when succumbing to the dark side.
Rapp leaves no doubt that Regina is not to be messed with, and the actress delivers dismissive one-liners with lethal, cut-them-dead effectiveness. She’s also outrageously self-centered; one suspects that she spends hours in front of a mirror, admiring herself.
Avantika deftly navigates a very difficult role, because Karen is drop-dead gorgeous, eternally optimistic ... and an utterly clueless dim bulb. She also flaunts her sexuality to a cleavage-enhanced degree, particularly during a provocatively slutty, costume-laden production number (“Sexy”) during a raucous Halloween party.
And yet — this is important — Karen also has a sweet, innocent kindness (which Regina has no use for, of course).
Although Gretchen initially seems a willing lieutenant to Regina’s various machinations, Wood gradually reveals that this girl is vulnerable and insecure. As the story progresses, some of Wood’s scenes are heartbreaking: notably her quiet solo number, “What’s Wrong with Me?”
(Ashley Park, cast here as the school’s French teacher, played Gretchen in the original Broadway production.)
Tim Meadows brings considerable depth to his performance as school principal Duvall, and Jon Hamm is wonderful during his brief scenes as Coach Carr. Busy Philipps is hilarious as Regina’s determine-to-be-cool mother.
Several of the production numbers are wonderfully inventive: notably “Apex Predator,” with the student ensemble pretending to be prey animals whenever Regina strolls by; and “I’d Rather Be Me,” a power ballad that Cravalho delivers with enraged intensity. And I’m particularly impressed by the fact that these numbers are presented in extended takes and lengthy tracking shots by cinematographer Bill Kirstein, whose camera often moves in improbable directions.
Another cute touch: the numerous times that music accompanying a song turns out to be performed by the high school musicians, sometimes in unlikely places (such as up a tree).
That said — under the heading of Too Much Of A Good Thing — the songs occasionally are intrusive. This film would be better if the weaker ones were dropped, starting with Cady’s opening solo, “What Ifs” (which was added for this film, and it shows).
Even so, that’s a minor quibble. I’ve no doubt this musical Mean Girls will prove just as popular as its dramatic predecessor, and — if Tuesday’s sold-out preview audience was any indication — fans will be wearing pink for quite awhile.
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