Greetings again from the darkness. High School is a challenging time. High School girls can be mean, especially to each other. Those two points were made quite clearly in the 2004 film MEAN GIRLS, written by the brilliant Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters. The film struck a chord with that generation both emotionally and through vocabulary. Society has seen many changes since 2004, but evidently High School is still challenging, and High School girls are still often mean. That film was adapted for a musical stage production in 2017, and now that Broadway musical has been adapted back to the big screen for a new generation. Tina Faye returns as screenwriter (and as math teacher Ms. Norbury), and the new film is co-directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.
This is my first sojourn into MEAN GIRLS territory. Of course, I have come across ‘mean’ girls in real life, but I have not watched the 2004 film, the 2011 sequel (a TV movie), or the live musical production. Angourie Rice (THE NICE GUYS, “Mare of Easttown”) plays Cady Heron, the home-schooled girl who transfers to North Shore High when she and her mother (Jenna Fisher) relocate from Kenya. Excited for her new adventure, yet uncomfortable as the new kid, Cady is schooled on the social hierarchies (cliques) by artsy Janis (Auli’I Cravahlo, the voice of MOANA) and proud gay Damian (a talented Jaquel Spivey). Most of the education revolves around “The Plastics”, a trio of snooty girls: the not smart Karen Shetty (Avantika), the desperate to be seen Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood), and their leader and school villain, wealthy diva Regina George (Renee Rapp in the role made famous by Rachel McAdams).
Regina takes an interest in Cady (a near clone of Amy Adams) and high school life devolves into the mess that it too often is. Cady falls for hot boy and fellow Calculus classmate Aaron (Christopher Briney, DALILAND). This immediately changes the dynamics since Aaron is Regina’s ex. Petty jealousies intensify and personalities shift wreaking more havoc on relationships that were never very deep. Brief supporting roles are covered by Jon Hamm as the clueless coach and health teacher, Ashley Park (“Beef”) as a teacher, an over-the-top Bijou Phillips as Regina’s mom, and Tim Meadows as the fed-up Principal. Meadows is the only actor to appear in all three MEAN GIRLS movies, and he and Tina Fey each nail a couple of zingers. And yes, you can expect a couple of cameos.
The intended message is valuable and delivered clearly, however, for a musical, it’s the songs that often seem weak and sometimes forced. A couple of the songs land, but most miss the mark. Renee Rapp nails her song at the Halloween Party, and Auli’I Cravahlo is truly a standout when she gets the opportunity to showcase that voice. “Gruel” and “fetch” are recycled here for effect, and though the songs are a bit disappointing, we do hope the message is received by a new generation (even if most of these actors look like they should be out of college, rather than clunking through high school).
Opens nationwide in theaters on January 12, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFtdbEgnUOkWATCH THE TRAILER
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. David Bowie’s 1975 song “Fame” has a line, “Fame … what you get is no tomorrow”, and that stuck with me during the second half of this terrific and wild film from Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (SICK OF MYSELF, 2022). Borgli not only tackles the issue of sudden fame and the weight that goes with it, but he also comments on ego and today’s cancel culture. Subtext runs throughout a film that feels descended from the mind of Charlie Kaufman and/or Spike Jonze.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 