Remake: ‘Mean Girls’ Remake Doubles Down On Characterization
by Frank Martin
The first Mean Girls made quite a few waves upon its released. It was a high school comedy with a primarily female cast that wasn’t just funny but also had a fairly engaging plot. There has since been a direct-to-TV sequel, a musical, and a new film adaptation based on that musical. It doesn’t take into account the scores of fans who quoted the film on a regular basis. But analyzing the recent remake, which focuses on adapting the musical rather than retooling the first film, shows that while the original film was strong, it was lacking in characterization, which the new movie corrects.
The remake more or less follows the same plot points as the original. It focuses on Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), a new student in an American high school who just moved to the States with her mother from Africa. She has a hard time making friends and talking to a new boy she has a crush on. She draws a curious interest from the school’s queen bee, Regina George (Reneé Rapp). Cady decides to topple Regina in order to make way for her to date the boy whom Regina used to go out with. Unfortunately, this causes Cady to alienate what few friends she made along the way and become just as bad as Regina.
Anybody who’s ever seen the first Mean Girls would know that pretty much describes the exact plot of the first film. But there are notable differences in their execution. The first film was first and foremost a comedy. So the plot moved fairly quickly, but it never slowed down to focus on more poignant character moments. The remake does this. It’s evident from the very beginning as the movie starts with Cady in Africa, something the original did not. There’s a lot more pathos to see Cady’s loneliness in school and the struggles she goes through on her journey to becoming the new queen bee. This drama is heightened by the movie’s musical nature, which sets it apart as a worthy rival to the original.
Mean Girls is now streaming on Paramount+.
