Fans geared up to watch and sing along to the new “Mean Girls” musical that dropped in January 2024, but were sadly disappointed by the film’s poor acting and musical numbers.

“Mean Girls” (2024) is a comedy musical based on the Broadway musical (2017) of the same name, which was based on the 2004 movie “Mean Girls”. The original movie follows the main character, Cady Heron, a new girl from Kenya, as she fakes being friends with the infamous “queen bee” Regina George to fulfill the revenge fantasy of burnt-out ex-friend Janis Ian. The film was then adapted into a Broadway musical, which unlike the film, was a powerful interpretation that showcased multiple moving numbers and dived deeper into the personalities of supporting characters, leading fans to have high hopes for the latest rendition, which unfortunately were not met. 

Likewise, the original “Mean Girls” was one of the most iconic movies of the early 2000s also held a similar level of depth, and this screen musical did it no justice. It would not be surprising if viewers were wondering, what the fetch they were watching!

Unfortunately for viewers, the director decided to constantly have characters break the fourth wall during scenes and musical numbers. This choice made the film seem considerably inauthentic in comparison to the original movie. Every time a character looked straight at the camera, it honestly made the film increasingly harder to watch. Whether it was symbolic or just for fun, it was the wrong choice. 

Karen, a popular member of a group known as “The Plastics”, was especially aggravating to see. Karen Smith is a silly and iconic character who is often described as stupid; however, it could be argued that Karen is not dumb at all. Rather than being the clueless, fun character she is, with a hint of depth, the musical had Karen acting like she had the brain development of a toddler. Which was honestly, embarrassing, and quite frankly offensive to have her be so half-baked and sexual. Karen had so much potential to be iconic, but that potential was lost during the script-writing portion of the film.

Not to mention that none of the jokes landed. The 2004 “Mean Girls” and the Broadway musical of the same news were hits. They were comedic and often referenced frequently due to their witty jokes. Every single joke in this film felt so forced and awkwardly placed. Every well-known line and joke was presented in such an uncomfortable way, and the delivery of said jokes was so awful. Nobody in the movie or the theater was laughing. 

Not to say that every aspect of the film was terrible; to a certain extent. The diversity and LGBTQ+ representation in the film were greatly appreciated and necessary, but Janis being canonically lesbian ruined the entire joke of the movie. The whole reason Janis wanted revenge on Regina in the first place, was from the bullying she went through, as Regina did not know the difference between Lebanese and Lesbian. It was funny because, yes, Regina was a “mean girl”, but she was also just an idiot and it gave viewers a reason to see her as an actual mean girl and not just a victim of Janis’s vendetta against popularity. This joke being cut from the movie was so disappointing.

The songs being changed, cut, and shortened was the one of the worst decisions made for this movie. Some of the best songs like “Where Do You Belong?” “Meet The Plastics” and “Who’s House Is This?” were altered or removed completely. In the absence of those songs, the plot progressed awkwardly and many scenes weren’t set up properly. They could have included one of the many cut songs instead of adding a random new song at the beginning, which was unnecessary and honestly not that good. The singing and choreography were awkward and disturbing. The delivery of certain songs, especially “Revenge Party” left viewers wondering why all the characters were extraordinarily maladroit when compared to the stage version and the 2004 movie.

The bad acting, humorless line delivery, offensive portrayal of women, and lack of engaging musical numbers lead to a low rating for the movie. Though it could have been better in more ways than one, it is still worth a watch purely because of how bad it is. 

After watching such a terrible film, it almost makes one wish they were hit by the bus instead of Regina George.