Hollywood continues to churn out sequels and remakes. It used to be comic book films, but maybe they’ve decided musicals is what audiences want? Lately, there’ve been a handful of films that started as novels, morphed into stage musicals and now, we get them repackaged as musical films. The marketing teams for these films are being coy about marketing them as musicals.
“The Color Purple” was released in December of 2023. The film is an adaption of the book and the Broadway musical more than a reworking for the award-winning 1985 film. The musical drama did reasonably well at the box office and will likely find a bigger audience now that it’s on the streaming platforms. In January 2024, we have another film that shares a few similar traits to “The Color Purple”; “Mean Girls” the teen comedy musical film.
The 2004 teen comedy, “Mean Girls” was based on the book, Queen Bees and Wannabes (Rosalind Wiseman). The screenplay was written by Tina Fey. The film stars Lindsey Lohan as Cady Heron. A transfer student from Kenya, the fresh-faced innocent infiltrates the “Plastics”, a mean girl clique of popular girls in high school. “Mean Girls” is a fun, fetch take on teen comedies. Tina Fey returned to write the book for the stage musical with her husband, Jeff Richmond composing the music and lyricist Nell Benjamin writing the songs. The musical debuted on Broadway in 2018.
Paramount Pictures presents the new musical teen comedy film, “Mean Girls” with Tina Fey and the musical team condensing the 2-hour 30-minute Broadway production into the almost 2-hour film. Tina Fey and Lorne Micheals return as producers from the original film and Tina Fey also plays a key role as the math instructor at the school. The home-schooled junior, Cady, is ably-played by Angourie Rice. Reneé Rapp (The Sex Lives of College Girls 2021–present) has the starring role as Queen Bee, Regina George.
Directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. use social media references (as did the Broadway musical) to update the material. Embarrassing incidents can feel excruciating in high school, but they’re magnified in today’s world of SnapChats and Insta posts that can spread thru school like wildfire. It’s a heighten reality that the first-time feature directors captured well.
Unlike “The Color Purple” which felt like a film with musical numbers, “Mean Girls” feels like a musical with brief narrative interludes. Fortunately, Reneé Rapp is a talented singer who has a magnetic appeal on camera. The camera is often in close-up on her face, and she has interesting ways of moving her mouth as she sings. She dominates the film and is the reason to see it. Having portrayed the character for a year on stage in the Broadway musical, she seems to have total control of her performance. Rapp has two studio albums under her belt. She also co-wrote the opening song with Neil Benjamin, “What If” performed by Angourie Rice as Cady.
There are a few tweaks to the original screenplay, but the central plot remains the same. High school is a jungle. Even if you’ve been raised in Africa, you might still get eaten alive. Cady wants to fit in and is willing to comprise her integrity to both win the boy and gain popularity. Regina George is still treated to a cruel comeuppance, and lessons are learned by all the junior girls. Mean is easier than nice but hurting people or not being true to yourself is never good. This point is driven home by the friend that Cady neglects, Auliʻi Cravalho (sang as Moana in “Moana”). She plays Janice, who has a nice empowering song, “I’d Rather Be Me”, rejecting the notion of forgiveness and fitting in.
There are some fun musical numbers, particularly the “Revenge Party” number that is used twice. I wasn’t clear why Megan the Stallion was in the social media cameos, but she supplied a song for the film. The other big-name actors all gave satisfactory, brief performances. The film makes it clear that teachers and parents are obstacles to be navigated, none of them are treated with much respect.
The marketing of the film has the tagline: “You Still Can’t Sit with Us” and calls this version “a new twist”. There’s a little musical note included in the logo of some posters but otherwise, the fact that the “twist” is that this version is a musical is downplayed. Marketing for “The Color Purple” was similar. Warner Brothers added a tagline: “A Bold New Take on a Beloved Classic”. Again, not acknowledging the musical aspect. Perhaps the next Hollywood musical can boldly announce itself instead of letting audiences discover the truth after opening weekend. Now that would be fetch.
Drinks with Films rating: 2 shots of crazy-colored liquor at a teen house party (out of 5)
Drinks with films 