Movie review: Was 'Mean Girls' a flop?

They are showing the new production of “Mean Girls” at movie theaters across the CSRA. (Photo by Maxwell Shaffer)

By Maxwell Shaffer | Staff writer

“Mean Girls” musical adaptation hit theaters all around the country Jan.12. The movie was welcomed to many fans either happy or upset because of how the movie was portrayed.

The movie was an adaptation of the “Mean Girls” musical that is on Broadway. The new film starring Renee Rapp, Avantika Vandanapu and Angourie Rice was met with good and bad reviews. 

The movie received a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the audience had some other things to say.

A critic wrote, “This adaptation makes the Broadway musical looks amazing because in this film the cast can’t hold a tune.”

On the other hand, another critic stated, “” Mean Girls” is a great film and accurately reflects the Broadway production.” 

But in my opinion, when I saw the movie I thought it would be a great film because I saw the old one. However, I actually didn’t like it because of the casting choices for some of the main roles. For example, the girl who played the main role of “Cady Heron” couldn’t really sing and it made it very hard to really enjoy this film.

The movie is one of three adaptations to the original film that was created in 2004. The “Mean Girls” story continues to grow a fanbase from everyone young and old. 

“Mean Girls” was released on April 30, 2004, but it was not a musical at first. The movie in 2004, was written by Tina Fey and stared Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried. The movie would become a huge success and grew a fanbase from all around the country.

From the success of the 2004 film, Broadway began turning the film into a musical. From the help of the lyrics of Nell Benjamin and music by Jeff Richmond the musical made its Broadway debut on April 8, 2018, at the August Wilson Theatre.

The musical went on a run from 2018 till 2020, where shows were stopped due to the rise of the COVID-19 Pandemic and on March 11, 2020, the doors for “Mean Girls” on Broadway would be closed.

Contact Maxwell Shaffer at Mashaffer@augusta.edu.