They are back! After a detour across the Broadway stages, Cady, Regina, Gretchen and Karen appear on our screens again with the musical Bad teenagers. While we wait to find our favorite movie, “Plastiques,” here are seven things you should know about January's “most captivating” movie.
An undeniable impact
Released 20 years ago, the film “Mean Girls” (or “Mean Girls” in the original version) has left its mark on popular culture. The phrase “fetch” has become entrenched in the conversations of young people – and let's be honest, even not so young people – and the iconic lines have been overly quoted by fans. Ariana Grande also took inspiration from the film for the music video for her song “Thank u, next.” The video, starring Jonathan Bennett, Jennifer Coolidge, Kris Jenner and Troye Sivan, has nearly 800 million views on YouTube to date.
The plot
Does this all sound familiar? Then let's remember the main strands of the plot. In “Mean Teens,” a young woman who spent her childhood in Africa arrives at an American high school where she will meet Regina George and her “Plastics” gang, popular but superficial and malicious students who are beneath her classmates rule.
Bebe Wood (Gretchen Wieners), Reneé Rapp (Regina George) and Avantika (Karen Shetty) in a scene from the film Mean Teens. Photo provided by Paramount Pictures
Careers (re)started
Not only did the original film help breathe new life into Lindsay Lohan's career, it enabled or at least helped launch the careers of Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Daniel Franzese, Jonathan Bennett and Lizzy Caplan.
A hit on Broadway
Much more than just a simple theatrical product, Mean Girls added followers to its cult following when it jumped onto Broadway stages in 2018. Mean Girls was a huge hit in the Big Apple, earning no fewer than twelve nominations at the Tony Awards that same year (but came away empty-handed in the face of the triumph of The Band's Visit). For this occasion, the original work was also modernized and incorporated elements such as social networks and the ubiquity of smartphones.
Back to the music
This exact version will be transferred to the big screen starting this weekend. Because today the “Plastiques” deliver their killer lines in front of a backdrop of pop music and waves of vocals worthy of a Broadway stage. However, fans of the show will be disappointed to learn that no fewer than 14 songs were cut for the film in order to keep the plot more concise and, most importantly, under the two-hour mark.
Familiar faces…
For this new film, actress and singer Reneé Rapp returns to the role of Regina George, which she played on Broadway stages in 2019 and 2020. Anyone who has seen the musical show will also recognize Ashley Park, who fails to repeat her role as Gretchen Wieners and slips into the skin of a French teacher.
…and newbies
Alongside them, the young Angourie Rice will succeed Lindsay Lohan in the role of Cady Heron, while Avantika and Bebe Wood will take on their respective roles of Karen Shetty and Gretchen Weiners. Christopher Briney, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey and Jon Hamm complete the cast of this 2024 version of Mean Teens.
Angourie Rice (Cady Heron) in a scene from the movie Mean Teens. Photo provided by Paramount Pictures
The movie Mean Teens opens January 12th.