January 09, 2024
Gabriele Holtermann/Sipa USA
The 'Mean Girls' movie musical, written by Tina Fey, hits theaters Friday, Jan. 12. Above, Upper Darby-native Fey at the film's NYC premiere on Monday.
The "Mean Girls" movie musical premieres this weekend, introducing a whole new generation to the wrath of the Plastics.
The film, written by Upper Darby-native and "Saturday Night Live" alum Tina Fey, is the latest in the beloved franchise that includes a 2004 film and a 2018 Broadway play. It hits theaters Friday, Jan. 12.
RELATED: Da'Vine Joy Randolph wins Golden Globe for best supporting actress
The project completed filming last April in Middletown, Monmouth County, where Mater Dei High School was transformed into the fictional North Shore High School.
Before donning your pinkest finery and ordering a tub of buttered popcorn — after inquiring whether butter is a carb, of course — here's what you should know about Fey's new "twist" on the beloved teen rom-com:
The plot of the film follows the new girl at North Shore, Cady Heron, as she attempts to navigate teenage friendships and romantic entanglements after being homeschooled in Africa for years. She initially strikes up a friendship with fellow outcasts Janis 'Imi'ike and Damian Hubbard, who educate her on the various cliques at school. All hell breaks loose when she falls in with teen queen Regina George and her army of perfectly polished "Plastics," Karen Shetty and Gretchen Wieners. Things further devolve when Heron begins a flirtation with George's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Aaron Samuels, making an enemy of the queen bee herself.
The new movie is inspired by the Broadway musical of the same name — which premiered in New York in 2018 and has since toured nationally, including a recent stop in Philly. The Broadway musical, in turn, was inspired by the 2004 film of the same name. Fey wrote the movie, the Broadway show and the upcoming movie musical. The 2002 book "Queen Bees and Wannabes," by Rosalind Wiseman, was used as source material when Fey launched the franchise.
The cast of the movie musical includes some familiar faces from the "Mean Girls" universe, as well as many new additions.
Reneé Rapp — a singer and actress who stars in "The Sex Lives of College Girls" on Max — is reprising her role as George after playing the character on Broadway. "Emily in Paris" actress Ashley Park, who played Wieners on Broadway, will appear in the new film as a French teacher. From the 2004 movie, Fey is reprising her role as frumpy teacher Ms. Norbury, and Tim Meadows will once again play the consistently bewildered Principal Duvall.
Newcomers include "Mare of Easttown" actress Angourie Rice as Heron, "Moana" star Auli'i Cravalho as 'Imi'ike and "The Summer I Turned Pretty" actor Christopher Briney as Samuels. The cast also features Avantika Vandanapu (Shetty), Bebe Wood (Wieners) and Jaquel Spivey (Hubbard). Other famous faces in the film include Jon Hamm as the ever-raunchy Coach Carr, Jenna Fischer as Heron's mom and Busy Philipps as George's mom.
The actresses who played the original Plastics — Rachel McAdams, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert — have reportedly not returned for the film, although three of them recently reunited for Walmart's Black Friday ad campaign. However, Lohan made a surprise appearance on the "pink carpet" at the "Mean Girls" NYC premiere on Monday. Daniel Franzese, who starred as Hubbard in the original film, and Rajiv Surendra, who played rapping mathlete Kevin Gnapoor in the 2004 movie, also were in attendance, according to Variety.
Yes!
While "Mean Girls" has launched a hefty promo tour for the new flick in recent months — one that's included merchandise and cheeky public advertisements — the marketing has not made it particularly clear that this film would be an adaptation of the Broadway musical, not a simple reboot of the 2004 film. For example, early trailers described the film as "a new twist" and promised viewers, "This isn't your mother's 'Mean Girls,'" while including little reference to the songs that would be scattered throughout.
Disguising a movie's musicality seems to be a recent trend in Hollywood. Along with "Mean Girls," trailers for the 2023 movies "Wonka" and "The Color Purple" also did little to let potential viewers know they would be watching musicals. Industry professionals told The Ringer that these choices were likely purposeful, as studios reportedly believe people don't want to see musicals, a notion supported by the fact that many recent musicals have underperformed.
Marketing strategies aside, "Mean Girls" will in fact feature high-energy dance numbers and many songs from the Broadway iteration.
The movie's 13-song tracklist was released last week by Interscope:
On Wednesdays, we reveal the @MeanGirls original soundtrack tracklist 💖 The film and soundtrack are out next Friday, 1/12! pic.twitter.com/J9uvYDPUUH
— interscope (@Interscope) January 3, 2024
"What Ifs," performed by Rice, and "Not My Fault," performed by Rapp and rapper Megan Thee Stallion, are new tracks written for the movie, according to Playbill. The original Broadway cast recording of "Mean Girls" featured 21 songs, meaning several tunes — including "It Roars," "Where Do You Belong?," "Fearless," "Stop," "What’s Wrong With Me? (Reprise)," "Whose House Is This?," "More Is Better," "Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise)" and "Do This Thing" — were cut.
"Not My Fault" and "World Burn," sung by Rapp and the cast, have already been released ahead of the movie.
The official premiere date of "Mean Girls" is Friday, Jan. 12, but the movie is hitting many theaters a day early on Thursday. Following the theatrical release, the film will eventually be available to stream through Paramount+ — where it was originally scheduled to premiere — although a streaming date has not been revealed.
Follow Franki & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @wordsbyfranki
| @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Have a news tip? Let us know.
