The Mean Girls musical movie is out and, despite the online discourse and cries of "wokewashing", it would be wrong to call it controversial. The film, which is based on the Broadway musical version of the original 2004 teen comedy, has started conversations, sure, and no, not everybody likes it – but it fundamentally lacks any of the bite or wit required to be truly divisive. It is a diluted, lukewarm version of the seminal, spiky 00s teen comedy, and it is an insult to Gen Z to assume they'd be impressed by it.
The film follows nearly the exact same storyline – many lines and quips are carbon copies of the originals, so as to secure those reliable I-get-that-reference laughs from the audience – and aside from the musical element, which is grating enough, very little is added to the 2024 iteration.
