MEAN GIRLS Movie Musical - News & Discussion Thread- Page 8

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/13/24 at 5:29pm

NYT's article on the costumes. It is a gift article.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/13/style/mean-girls-costume-design.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NU0.eJuN.ph02I8O33qG5&smid=url-share

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/13/24 at 5:49pm

Considering the murkiness of Hollywood economics, if this does open to ~ $30M and has normal-to-decent legs, it should be fine economically. I noticed a few sponsorship endorsements too, which helps the bottom line. And I expect it will get tons of views once it hits streaming.

A solid start to the year for a studio that was referred to as "a melting ice cube" by Hollywood Reporter the other day.

[BentleyB]

Posted: 1/13/24 at 7:24pm

ChairinMain said: "One review claims that Grey Henson has a cameo in the film, but i can't find any other info about it. Does he?"  He is in a brief shot of “Revenge Party” when they are dancing in the hall.  He is then Damien’s date at the dance at the end, but it is so brief, I said to people who saw him both in Shucked and Mean Girls that it was him and they didn’t notice.

.

[itsahopi]

Posted: 1/13/24 at 9:07pm

Rentaholic2 said: "I've never seen the stage production, but it sounds like both it and this movie are placed in present day? That's disappointing. Mean Girls is a millennial period piece in my view, and a lot of its humor and dialogue is very rooted in that time period. Do kids these days say words like "fugly"? (I know from the cast album that at least that word is still used)."

If you haven't seen either stage version or the new movie, then you don't know Tina Fey updated the book in 2018 and then again in 2023. Both new versions feel current. Funny to me that you said moving it to present day was "disappointing" and that it's a "millennial period piece" without having actually seen the revised versions. Why do people here talk like this all the time? So matter of fact, with zero actual facts.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/13/24 at 9:18pm

Looks like the film will be available digitally on Feb 13th.

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 1/13/24 at 9:36pm

itsahopi said: "Rentaholic2 said: "I've never seen the stage production, but it sounds like both it and this movie are placed in present day? That's disappointing. Mean Girls is a millennial period piece in my view, and a lot of its humor and dialogue is very rooted in that time period. Do kids these days say words like "fugly"? (I know from the cast album that at least that word is still used)."

If you haven't seen either stage version or the new movie, then you don't know Tina Fey updated the book in 2018 and then again in 2023. Both new versions feel current. Funny to me that you said moving it to present day was "disappointing" and that it's a "millennial period piece" without having actually seen the revised versions. Why do people here talk like this all the time? So matter of fact, with zero actual facts."

I obviously know she updated the book.  I was expressing my disappointment in the idea that they would change the time period of the story.  I can have that opinion without having seen the updated versions.  People here talk like this all the time because it’s a chat board. It’s for chatting. And I chatted my chat. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 1/14/24 at 1:04pm

That was terrific! A technically better movie musical than Color Purple. Fantastic cast! I was not a fan of the stage show but i'm looking forward to seeing the movie again!

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 1/14/24 at 1:24pm

Was this a hot mess!? Absolutely! Was it fun? Sure.  Renee Rapp was wasted in this and never got the sense she was “mean”

The last fifteen minutes of the movie were so crazy rushed. Stars was a waste of a song. Loved it in the stage show but this was messy as the lead actress can’t sing to save her life so they got someone else to sing the song in the background. Why not ?

The only pro thing about it was Auli'i

Anyway go see it after a couple of drinks. Just make sure you have a barf bag as the camera spins and spins.

Some of the one liners are funny. 

 

 

Updated On: 1/14/24 at 01:24 PM

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 1/14/24 at 4:38pm

I saw both Mean Girls, and The Color Purple this weekend. I am shocked to say that I felt Mean Girls was better. While the score from Mean Girls is not particularly memorable, I do feel it serves the piece better than the score for The Color Purple fits its respective film.

The Color Purple is not without its attributes. I adored the cast, and the cinematography is undeniably gorgeous, but it was so very slow in parts, and the songs help slow down the action to a grind.

Mean Girls moved at a brisk pace. I was never bored. True, some of the songs slow the momentum a bit, but not to the extent that is seen in The Color Purple.

While I walked out of both films feeling that the original movies were better, I still found Mean Girls to be the more entertaining and rewarding movie musical of my weekend.

[RW3]

Posted: 1/14/24 at 6:39pm

I do wonder how much the upcoming West End production will be impacted, if any, by the updated tour production and film adaptation. 

[Marlothom]

Posted: 1/14/24 at 6:56pm

Looks like it's estimated to top the MLK weekend with $32M; very impressive for a movie that was originally planned as direct-to-stream! 

[inception]

Posted: 1/14/24 at 11:32pm

Saw this this afternoon & thought it was fun & fine.  Better than some reports above make it out.

Had debated seeing Color Purple instead but found that it has been pulled from nearly every theatre in Western Canada.  Reading reports online that it tanked quite badly after its opening day.

Hopefully Mean Girls does better & has legs.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 1/15/24 at 2:12am

Just got back from seeing this. I know I complained about the soundtrack, but the songs do come off better in the actual movie. It’s definitely got some flaws, but it’s a good time with a likable cast and has some pretty clever bits of filmmaking. I’d watch it again.

[berniesb!tch]

Posted: 1/15/24 at 4:16pm

Saw this over the weekend. I was shocked how much I enjoyed this. Not nearly as good as the original, but nothing could be. They really improved the musical so much and the cast is great, Avantika and Renee especially. I thought Someone Gets Hurt was a particular highlight. 

When I left my best friend and I (the musical came out our senior year of highschool) said if this movie came out then we would have been so obsessed with it. Hope all the young theatre kids are loving it!  

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 1/15/24 at 4:50pm

I just got home from a showing, and I will say that this works much better as a movie musical than as a stage musical. As others have noted, the stage version was bloated, and the film's omission of many songs helps address this issue. Having seen the stage musical twice, my main complaint has always been its lack of bite compared to the 2004 film. There was no "Mean" in Mean Girls on Broadway. The movie musical recaptures some of that edge, but I agree with the observation that certain updates appeared somewhat pandering or like virtue signaling.

I had listened to a few clips of "Stupid With Love" before watching this, and I was surprised by the change in orchestrations. However, within the film's context, they do make more sense. Nonetheless, I remained baffled by Angourie Rice's casting. Her performance seemed lacking in both acting and singing, and I don't understand why she was the actress chosen.

Moving on to some positives: Renee Rapp's portrayal of Regina undeniably steals the show, and I have no complaints about listening to her sing. She also adds her own spin to Regina, a refreshing take on the role. Instead of mimicking Rachel McAdams, she's offered a contemporary interpretation. While some may not have been fans, "Someone Gets Hurt" was, without a doubt, my favorite scene in the movie.


I also want to briefly call out that Jaquel Spivey did an excellent job of making Damian his own, even while delivering some of the very iconic original lines.

Overall, I'd rate it a solid 3/5. While nothing will ever match the original movie, this adaptation comes a bit closer than the stage musical.

Updated On: 1/15/24 at 04:50 PM

[inception]

Posted: 1/15/24 at 5:19pm

Re Angourie Rice: when I googled her just now I learned she was in three Spiderman films, so maybe they thought she might get recognition from younger audiences?

This version doesn't seem to be marketed as much as a vehicle around her as the original was for Lyndsay Lohan. 

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 1/15/24 at 5:27pm

I wonder if they considered Sabrina Carpenter for the role of Cady in this. She briefly portrayed Cady on Broadway before it was shut down due to Covid, and she has gained a pretty significant following since then.

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 1/15/24 at 5:34pm

This was not as good as the original, especially with Cady's and Janis' actresses, but Regina was perfect and this was a good time. The costumes were amazing! And, does anyone feel Cady, lackluster as she was, was so much like a younger (and less good) Amy Adams, Amy would have been perfectly cast as her mom, and it would have been really uncanny?

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 12:26pm

I feel like it felt rushed. Act 1 (up to when Shug discovered the letters) felt like it was moving too fast.

H.E.R as Squeak felt worthless. "Uh Oh" is one of my favorite numbers from the musical. Without that, her character was literally useless. 

[Voter]

Posted: 1/17/24 at 3:45pm

I thought this was pretty good and fun. 
The actors who played Aaron Samuels and Cady Heron were SEVERELY miscast. It was ruining the film for me. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/9/24 at 3:27pm

Tina has some thoughts on Broadway fans' opinions of what was cut. 🤭