Can a film adaptation of a beloved Broadway show ever live up to the original? Well, for director Samantha Jayne and writer Tina Fey, it can’t. 

Across social media and the internet, the new “Mean Girls” movie musical faced significant backlash. It failed to capture the essence that made both the original movie and Broadway production so cherished.

Spoilers. The plot follows the familiar story, Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is the new girl from Africa. She makes friends and meets the plastics: Gretchen Weiners (Bebe Wood), Karen Smith (Avantika Vandanapu), and the queen bee Regina George ( Renee Rapp). Cady falls for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney) and the drama begins. 

There were many new actors cast in the movie, starting with Angourie Rice. Rice was a child actress starring in the films “These Final Hours” and “The Nice Guys”, which were both well-received by audiences.

Her performance captured a much calmer demeanor of Lindsay Lohan’s Cady, yet she struggled to create a memorable presence in her own film… While Rice’s singing voice is sweet and soft, it pales in comparison to the renditions by Broadway star Erika Henningsen and beloved pop star Sabrina Carpenter.

Then there is Avantika, who played Karen Smith. Her singing voice was captivating and exuded so much energy, just like Kate Rockwell’s Karen in the Broadway version. Her acting also gave off that innocent, spacey, but lovable energy that Amanda Seyfried’s Karen was in the original. 

However, some scenes felt as though Karen was too dumb.While the original character was portrayed as naive, she still had a sense of reality, but that can’t be blamed much more on Avantika than the script. She was still a highlight of the movie, making audiences laugh. 

Finally, we have our Queen Bee, Renee’ Rapp as Regina George. Her strong singing voice was the highlight of the whole movie, her voice was captivating, which comes with no surprise, as she played Regina George on Broadway.

Because of her acting skills, she really embodied the role as Regina and felt perfect as a follow-up to Rachael McAdams’ Regina. Regina George felt much more like the main character than Cady. People all over the internet love Rapp, and she was definitely one of the best parts of this movie. 

Additionally, there are other notable actors, such as Auli’i Cravalho, who played Janis Ian, and Bebe Wood, who played Gretchen Weiners, who enhanced the viewing experience of the movie.

Regarding the cinematography, it was shot very well. The transitions flew smoothly and there were moments in the movie where it felt as if the viewer was actually there.

There was the part during the song “Revenge Party” where the camera zoomed into Cady, as if Cady was recording herself. That whole scene was unnecessary and was awkward. 

The soundtrack cut songs and parts from the original Broadway version that would’ve supposedly not have transferred well to the films format. “It Roars” was replaced with “What ifs”. Also, during the “Meet the Plastics”, the other plastic parts were removed and we only met one plastic, Regina George.

The beat and backgrounds were different as well from the Broadway version. For example, “Stupid with Love” wasn’t as energizing as the Broadway version and was turned into a much calmer version of it. The song “Sexy” was also changed to have different beats, which seemed okay compared to the Broadway version. 

The soundtrack changes made the movie feel like a knock-off, not a true rendition of the original musical we’ve grown to love and relate to.. 

Then we have the overbearing product placement for e.l.f. products. People all over social media claim the movie felt like a two-hour advertisement. 

It was out of place to have Regina George, the rich queen bee, use anything but the best products, like Dior.

My rating would be 3/5 stars. Rotten Tomatoes  rated this movie  3.5/5 stars. The actors did a good job embodying their characters, but the songs were subpar, and the script did not live up to its expectations. 

Still, if you are a Mean Girl fan or not, it’s a fun watch, just don’t expect a blockbuster revival of your favorite classic.