Movie poster from Paramount

“That is so fetch!” While using “fetch” as slang never stuck around, the iconic line from the movie “Mean Girls” certainly did. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the movie “Mean Girls,” Paramount Plus remade the movie, but based it more on the Broadway musical adaptation that was adapted from the original movie from the 2000s. The 2024 remake is a great mix between the two, with the music from Broadway and returning actors who were in the original. I enjoyed how it was a more modern take on the story.

The main character of the movie is Cady Heron, who moves from Africa to America to North Shore High where she meets her friends Janis, an artist who does not like cliques, and Damian, a very supportive friend, as well as the Plastics, a clique which she gets close to. The Plastics are made up of the three queen bees, Karen Smith, Gretchen Wieners, and the leader Regina George. Later Cady, Janis, and Damian plan Regina’s downfall for some classic high school revenge. Janis and Regina used to be friends, but after a misunderstanding, they became more like enemies. This all turned into complete chaos among the girls in the junior class, which required an assembly to talk about forgiveness. All these events lead to the night of the spring fling, their version of prom.

I enjoyed the original movie, but I love how the music and events influenced the plot and reinvented the film. I like how social media influences the plot and helps it move along, as well as how the fashion choices help make it a more modern take on the movie. Of course, with the music, there were changes from the original script and characters of the original movie. Also, the filmmakers tried to recreate iconic lines but it didn’t have the same feel. In the end, both movies show well how rumors, drama, and popularity affect how teens act and interact with others. It shows, on a more exaggerated scale, how rumors can spread and change like an old folktale starting from one thing to something completely different.

Overall, I really liked the adaptation from the original movie, especially how the filmmakers incorporated social media into the plot and showed how it influences people’s images. The film even referenced the original movie near the end. There were still things missing; some elements that I missed the most from the original were Ms. Norbury calling out Regina during the assembly, Ms. Norbury’s divorce, and Cady’s father. However, I am glad that they did not have the creepy P.E. teacher in the remake. In the end, I rate “Mean Girls” a 9.5 out of 10.