mean girls 2024 musical renee rapp tina fey

Shut Up! The ‘Mean Girls’ 2024 Cast Won’t Tolerate Any Slander

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Get in loser, Mean Girls 2024 is finally here. 

Now, before you start to throw a tantrum about how we shouldn’t be remaking every single film or TV show ever to exist, let me reiterate: this is NOT a shot-for-shot remake. It’s not even completely faithful to the Broadway musical that premiered on October 31st, 2017 – and yes, I don’t know why they didn’t premiere the show on October 3rd. Anyway.

The new Mean Girls has the same energy from the ‘04 film, with a handful of fun new jokes and musical numbers to spice it up. The standout performers are Reneé Rapp as Regina George, newcomer Jacquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard and Auli’i Cravalho as Janis ‘Imi’ike. Yep, Moana herself is in the film and she KILLS it. 

Look, I know it’s a hard task to convince you to care about Mean Girls 2024 when the original is so iconic, but here are three good reasons: Reneé Rapp’s Regina George is very gay, Tina Fey acted as the cast’s “guiding star”, and there’s a surprise that literally made me gasp. 

The cast is extremely proud of what they’ve created, and Tony Award winner Jacquel Spivey will not tolerate any Mean Girls 2024 slander. “I will tell haters, I know you have a love for this movie. We do too, and none of us would have signed on if we had the intention to recreate or change what’s already there,” he told Punkee. “There are some changes, and as much as it is a movie, it is also a musical.”

He went on to say that many of the cast have a musical theatre background – Reneé played Regina George on Broadway, Auli’i played Ariel in ABC’s The Little Mermaid Live, and of course, Jaquel starred in A Strange Loop on Broadway – which is what makes the film special. 

“That’s one part that we just really can’t erase and we don’t want to erase,” he explained. “So what you see [in trailers] is only a portion of what the actual movie is, so give it a chance.” 

Auli’i echoed Jacquel’s statement, saying that Tina Fey gave her “blessing” to improvise and add personality to their characters. “Our North Star is Tina Fey, she is someone who really allowed us to take control of these characters,” she said passionately. 

“[We were allowed] to do some crazy takes of adlibs and [to] try different things. That felt really great to have our OG creator of the ‘04 film as well as the overseer for the musical that made it to Broadway say, ‘You own these characters now. Do with them what you will.’”

mean girls 2024 musical renee rapp tina fey auli'i cravalho jacquel spivey angourie rice cady heron

Jacquel Spivey as Damian, Angourie Rice as Cady and Auli’i Cravalho as Janis. Image credit: Paramount, Mean Girls

Did the Mean Girls 2024 cast feel any pressure to live up to the 2004 film? 

Mean Girls 2004 has a devoted fanbase, so there’s no doubt in my mind that there will be comparisons drawn between the OG film and the 2024 version. One scene in particular – the ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ Talent Show dance – was important for the cast to get right. 

Bebe Wood, who plays Gretchen Wieners, and Avantika, who plays Karen Shetty, told me that there are a few differences in the new version. For one, the song the Plastics are dancing to is from the Broadway version, called ‘Rockin’ Around The Pole’. It’s a satisfying scene with a sprinkle of acrobatic moves thrown in and Bebe believes audiences will be “very delighted”. 

“There was totally a pressure to get it right, but I think we added our own little spin on it,” she revealed. “Kyle [Hanagami], our choreographer is so fantastic. He added some little surprises in there, we made it our own.”

Avantika added that the dance number holds “so much of the original’s essence” but with a few new moves. “That was 2004’s way of making it sexy, and this is 2024’s way of making it sexy.” She went on to say that while she was ‘intimidated’ by the project, there was a “sense of comfort” and camaraderie within the cast. “You’re not the only one who feels [nervous]… everyone was doing it for the first time,” she said.

Will there be any iconic Mean Girls 2004 lines in the 2024 version?

Don’t worry, most of the lines that we quote on the reg from Mean Girls 2004 appear in some shape or form in the 2024 film. Plus, there are a few extra lines that I’m sure will become part of our new vocab. Calling a pimple a “face breast”? 10/10, no notes.

Gretchen Wieners’ outburst when she sends Regina George away for wearing sweatpants will be forever etched in my memory. The unhinged way Lacey Chabert yelled “You can’t sit with us!” should honestly have won her an Oscar, but I digress.

mean girls 2024 musical renee rapp tina fey

Avantika as Karen, Reneé Rapp as Regina, Bebe Wood as Gretchen and Angourie Rice as Cady. Image credit: Paramount, Mean Girls

It makes sense that the new Gretchen, Bebe, found this scene particularly fun. She didn’t ‘go out of her way’ to make her line delivery different to Lacey’s, but her performance is *chef’s kiss*. “It’s just about understanding the character and knowing what she is going through in that moment,” Bebe recalled. “That was really, really fun… expelling [the] pent-up sort of frustration [Gretchen had] been experiencing for her basically entire high school career.”

Avantika was blessed with Karen’s “On Wednesdays, we wear pink” line, and she was “so excited”. “It’s like such a cute, fun iconic line… I tried to be conscious of the fact that maybe it wasn’t right to intentionally go out of my way to make it different [to Amanda Seyfried],” Avantika said. “The original is amazing for a reason, but [I was] also conscious of the fact that I should be adding my own spin to it.”

Aussie Angourie Rice, who has stepped seamlessly into Lindsay Lohan’s shoes as Cady Heron, loved being able to say “It’s October 3rd”. And while this sounds like a simple line, the actress teases some mystery around her acting choices. 

Angourie Rice Mean Girls 2024 Lindsay Lohan Cady Heron

Angourie Rice and Lindsay Lohan at the Mean Girls premiere. Image credit: Paramount

“There’s a nice twist on it… it comes from Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez, our two directors. They had a really great idea of how to put a little spin on that moment. So I’m excited for audiences to see… a little bit of magic in there,” Angourie said. 

Has Mean Girls 2024 been panned or praised by critics?

There have been a few reactions on social media from critics, though no official reviews have been posted yet. And so far, the majority of what’s out there seems to be overwhelmingly positive.

See for yourself: 

Mean Girls hits Australian cinemas on January 11, 2024.

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Image credits: Paramount, Mean Girls