There’s a new Mean Girls movie after 20 years. Photo by: Alize Hernandez

Which “Mean Girls” movie is the best?

I am sure everyone has heard of the new “Mean Girls” musical which was released on Jan. 12, 2024. I was very excited when I learned about it, as “Mean Girls” is one of my favorite movies. There are a total of four movies in the franchise: the original movie, “Mean Girls” (2004); “Mean Girls 2” (2011); the Broadway adaptation (2017) and the new “Mean Girls” (2024). The newest movie combines the original movie; and the Broadway musical. Popular songs such as “World Burn,” “Meet the Plastics,” “Revenge Party,” “Someone Gets Hurt” and many more are featured in the musical.

Mel Sanchez ’24 said, “Overall it was a good movie, but the turning point was just [that] the joke made in the original that Janice was gay but in the new movie the writer made Janice gay which ruined the original movie’s joke.”

The soundtrack was amazing. The way Reneé Rapp, who plays Regina George, sang the songs was amazing. I was also impressed with the performances of Erika Henningsen as Cady Heron and Auli’i Cravalho as Janice Sarkisian. Everyone had amazing voices and they brought their characters to life. Overall, it was good – it wasn’t the same as the original, but I would recommend it to anyone who loves musicals and the movie “Mean Girls.”

Arden Smith, the assistant drama teacher, said, “I enjoyed Reneé Rapp as Regina George and Auli’I Cravalho as Janice. I thought both gave stellar performances: acting, singing and dancing.” 

The actors were all good, the movie even had a few returners: Ms. Norbury, played by Tina Fey;  Coach Carr, played by Jon Hamm; Principal Duvall, played by Tim Meadows; and Lindsay Lohan, who played the Mathletes announcer. 

If I were to say something negative about this movie it would be that they didn’t have some of the same quotes, especially with the explanation of what fetch means. The writers changed “Oh, it’s like slang, from… England” to “Oh, it’s like slang, from… a movie.” In my opinion, the original quote would always make me smile. They also didn’t even have the quote, “Is butter a carb?” But I can understand why they cut some of the quotes because maybe some were offensive or they wouldn’t make sense to the new generation.

Either way, there are a lot of mixed feelings about the new movie such as saying it will never be like the original “Mean Girls” movie, which I sort of agree with. Of course, the sequel of a popular movie is not going to be better than the original, but overall the new “Mean Girls” movie was excellent and a fun film to watch. I recommend watching it if you want to have a good time with your friends and family.