Mean Girls
Mean Girls
Starring Angourie Rice, Renee Rapp, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey
Directed by Samantha Jayne & Arturo Perez Jr.
Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is a home-schooled girl living with her mother (Jenna Fischer) in Kenya when they move back to the States and she attends North Shore High School. An outsider, she's befriended by fellow outsiders Janie 'Imi'ike (Auli'i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), who tell her the ins and outs of high school life - the most important lesson is to stay away from the Plastics, a trio of popular girls led by the ruthless Regina George (Renee Rapp).
Cady inadvertently draws Regina's attention and is brought into her friend group with brain-dead Karen (Avantika) and gossip hound Gretchen (Bebe Wood), and then she falls for Regina's ex Aaron (Christopher Briney). Regina finds out and humiliates Cady, leading her and her friends to get revenge by breaking up Regina and Aaron as well as take her down several pegs on the popularity board: but in the process Cady forgets who she is, becoming the new Queen Bee and alienating her former friends in favor of newfound popularity. Yet as popularity goes, things can go crashing down quickly - and it could be Cady's downfall.
The Good:
Since I never saw the original, I only read up on it, and it seemed that it focused on some heated racist stereotypes that haven't held well in the last twenty years. This film rectifies that by incorporating groups based on their likes (the horny band geeks, the mathletes, etc.) and modernizes the story by using social media to announce the rise and fall of popularity of the characters. For someone long removed from high school life, I could still relate to the events of the movie because wanting to fit in is a theme that never gets old, even if the window dressing surrounds it does.
The cast was surprisingly green when it comes to cinematic presence, with only a few of them appearing as secondary characters in other films, with the exception of one: Auli'i Cravalho. The name might not sound familiar, but the role she played sure is: she was the voice of Moana from the Disney animated movie, and she stands head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. As Janis, she's the outsider with the dark tragic backstory that's revealed by her best friend Damian that's soul-crushing, and Auli'i nails it. The numerous songs she gets to sing also showcases her incredible talent that hasn't aged since she performed "How Far I'll Go." She's got an infectious, fun energy that'll make you want her to be your best friend and make you wonder why Cady would ever want to ditch her for the Plastics. Likewise praise is deserved for Jaquel Spivey, who plays Janis's best friend Damian. He does adhere to the traditional gay best friend tropes but he's fun and lively, serving as the perfect second fiddle to Janis and also someone you'd die to be friends with.
Renee Rapp also stands head and shoulders (literally) above the others, as the popular mean girl Regina George. It's not easy to take a role from the iconic Rachel McAdams and make it their own, but she pulls it off with gusto. The filmmakers use her height to make her even more a legend than the songs claim her to be, and she dominates the screen with her fierce presence alone, not to mention her impeccable timing and strong facial expressions that show there's more depth to the character than just the stereotypical mean girl.
The songs are catchy, pop-infused and filled with important messages about self-acceptance and finding your inner strength, and the choreography is fast-paced and exciting. There's numerous moments where the music kicks in and I found myself tapping my toe to the music, and seeing the lush, extravagant movements on screen kept me enthralled in the story from start to finish. At almost two hours, there didn't seem to be a moment where I was finding myself getting bored, even if the story was lacking in the final act. That's due to the music, the exemplary singing, and top-notch choreography.
The Bad:
Angourie Rice attempts to play Cady as a girl who starts off the film as a shy, naive girl who slowly builds popularity by doing dastardly deeds to Regina, eventually emerging as the new Plastics leader, but compared to the other actors around her, she's not quite up to the task. Despite being the star of the show she's overshadowed by the others, and her ultimate character development feels like it's lacking and occurs because the story demands it, and not because of some fluid natural progression.
The story kind of falls apart in the second act after Cady's rise to popularity, hitting every generic note that ultimately feels flat. The good girl gone bad, turning on her former friends, losing everything due to circumstances she caused, and eventually gaining back everyone's good graces with a come-to-Jesus moment. Maybe calling it "flat" is a bit negative, but it happens so quickly and generically that there's no other word for it. It's simple, it's lazy writing, and everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow after one heartfelt speech - no wonder this is a movie, because that would never happen in real life.
There's an odd moment when, after the Burn Book is revealed, where all the girls in the school are gathered in the gym and one of the teachers tries to give a rousing speech about the power of womanhood and how we should be lifting each other up and not tear each other down, and there was only one thought in my mind during this sequence: "Barbie" did it better.
The Summary:
Filled with catchy songs, fun choreography and tremendous first-time performers, "Mean Girls" is an updated version of the 2004 classic that holds its own and makes for a fun cinematic experience.
The Score: B+
Comments
Post a Comment