Being a teenager is a complicated matter. Something that Hollywood is responsible for remembering from time to time. But rarely has he done it with so much ingenuity and good humor as he did in the film Bad Girls from director Mark Waters. The 2004 teen classic, based on the book Queen Bees and Wannabes (2002) by Rosalind Wiseman He is hooligan and malicious.
Also, he managed to tell the story of teenage rivalries, hardships and pain from an unforgettable humorous perspective. Part of the credit went to Tina Fey. The screenwriter took the original material and turned it into a rare mix between a growing-up comedy and a mockery of American youth hierarchies. The result was a mocking argument that also had the ability to be fresh and innovative.
The musical Bad Girls (2024), by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., preserves much of that satirical cruelty that made a generation laugh so much. Twenty years later, the story reaches a different type of audience, but without losing its capacity for twisted humor. Only now, it’s much more malicious and certainly better focused on its central themes than the 2004 film. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better. The iconic film that launched Rachel McAdams’ Regina George finds much more ground to explore in the millennium. At the same time, their ideas are clearer and less mixed with the need to fit into any genre.
Bad Girls
Mean Girls (2024), by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., has nothing to envy of the 2003 teen classic. Instead, it creates a story that, without being novel, is fun in its own right. The musical section – which discards several of the musical’s Broadway hits – is effective without being entirely memorable. But it is the charisma of the cast that sustains the production. Especially Reneé Rapp, who shines as the new Regina George.
The result is a film that, although it knows where it comes from – the references and winks to the previous one are constant – has its own entity. Also, clear ambitions that he fulfills to the letter. It achieves this by incorporating the musical section, not as an element that slows down or overexplains the plot, but rather provides a new dimension. If the original always had a lot of exaggerated and fun drama, the new version enjoys taking advantage of that quality. So the school scenario is transformed, once again, into a social jungle in which you have to survive.
The most evil girl at school returns
An interesting point about the film is to distance itself from any comparison with the previous one, directly assuming that it is a combination of two things. On the one hand, it makes it clear that although it is going to tell the same story as the one from 2004, it will not do so under the same approach nor with the concerns of the previous one. And it does well. After all, living in the school jungle with cell phones, social media and 21st century fears is a new experience. Bad Girls He does not ignore it, but rather incorporates it in a brilliant and well-structured way.
But the best thing is to achieve its identity, by paying more attention to the Broadway musical it adapts than to the film on which both are based. The result is that the songs feel organic, necessary and not just an excuse to advance the plot. They are not easy to learn and are unlikely to become classics. But on screen they are fun enough to allow the story to have its own rhythm, meaning and easily channel towards the core of what it tells. Survive the halls of high school.
The combination then creates a study of teenage life that is hilarious because it could be applied to any place and any space with ease. Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) plays her newly arrived student with sympathy and good humor. And yet, so she cannot surpass Lindsay Lohan in the same role, there is a lot of charm and charisma. This clumsy girl who suddenly finds herself at the center of the social whirlwind is much more than she seems. The scene of furious rivalry never outgrows him or crushes his figure. Instead, it sets the tone for the character’s transformation with ease.
The girl of the moment has just arrived
But of course, the center of all eyes is Regina George. Renee Rapp she plays the queen bee of the teenage social ladder with a mischievous joy that is contagious. The actress moves away from the general memory of the character and focuses on her power to manipulate.
Less subtle than McAdams was, Rapp manages to create the sensation that the entire student universe depends on the gossip of his group. But beyond that, she is a born leader, larger than life and fiercer than one would assume. In fact, at several moments, the character seems excessively aggressive, but the appropriate direction manages to sustain its vitality without making it unpleasant.
His accomplices Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and the clumsy Karen (Avantika), are a delight of absurd jokes and, to a large extent, easy to laugh. Still, the three together create an infallible team whose energy fills the entire screen. Finally, Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), becomes an object of desire without much enthusiasm and It is perhaps one of the weak points of the production.
Pink again, but this time, a different shade
In 2023, Barbie by Greta Gerwig covered the world in a fraternal pink, kind and full of existentialist reflections. In Mean Girls, there is also the same type of feminine power and almost, with exact tonality. But the film has the quality of being more aggressive, furious and crazy. Which gives you uncharted territory to explore.
With its cameos of original characters and soundtrack designed directly for the Tiktoker generation, the film is aimed at. And without a doubt, she makes a great effort to show what this — new — classic can give to a new generation of girls. The funniest thing about a show that will surely become a pop culture obsession.