Mean Girls review: "needed to be more makeover than remake"

In 2004, Mean Girls had surprise on its side. Sharper than your average high-school comedy, it tapped Heathers’ influence for PG-13 mischief and turned a canny riff on teen cliques into a quotable meme machine. Even with songs, social media, and savvy casting added to the mix, this enjoyable but safe musical redo, coming via-Broadway, lacks that freshness: it’s the old Mean Girls with smartphones, essentially, with an attendant risk of redundancy.

With plot beats so familiar you can set your hall clock by them, returning writer Tina Fey’s script offers tweaks to details more than bold rethinks. And despite co-directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.’s previous experience with shorts and pop videos, the film only fitfully summons the gusto that fans of musicals might expect.

Among the better decisions, the stage show’s framing device becomes a TikTok prologue with “cautionary tale” comments and pop-culture references. Juno and “We’re Cloverfield-ing” are among the allusions dropped; both are witty nods, though  are almost as old as – echoing that awkward trailer tagline - 'Your Mother’s Mean Girls™'.

After a nifty tent-based segue from Africa to the US, we’re on known territorial footing as brainy Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) arrives at North Shore High, struggling to position herself between the outsiders - Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) – and the Plastics. Cady soon trades studies for status as she infiltrates the latter, enacting Janis’ revenge on ‘queen bee’ Regina (Reneé Rapp) for past grievances. Meanwhile, Cady wrestles with a crush – on Regina’s ex.

In fairness, the cast makes the grade. Building likeably on the recent Spider-Man movies’ Betty Brant, Rice’s guileless lead contrasts nicely with Rapp’s resting OMG face. The adults seem to be having more fun still, with Busy Philipps, Jon Hamm, Jenna Fischer, and a returning Tim Meadows there for the LOLs. Also back, Fey serves sarcasm with a smile as her Ms Norbury nabs the film’s funniest line – no spoilers.

Cravalho and Spivey add stage-sized charisma, but that vim isn’t always matched elsewhere. From the dinner hall to the talent show, few of the set pieces pop like they should. The songs lean towards cookie-cutter modern pop and over-extend the plot, leaving the second half saggy. A livelier 'Revenge Party' lifts proceedings but as that bus approaches, Fey’s faithful yet oddly pointless revisit trades surprise for knowing recognition and nostalgia. Turns out it is your parents’ Mean Girls, after all...

Mean Girls is in US theaters on January 12 and in UK cinemas on January 17.