How do you follow in the footsteps of giants? There is one glaring obstacle MEAN GIRLS faces: why is it so unfunny?
MEAN GIRLS the musical bears minuscule difference from its classic predecessor. The timid and humble Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) cosplays as popular girl and best friend of queen bee Regina George (Renee Rapp) to get insider information for her true friends, local rebel Janis (Auli'i Cravalho) and fabulous Damien (Jaquel Spivey). Their plans are thwarted, however, when Cady loses her genuine self to the toxic, bimbo femininity she discovers among her new friend group, “the plastics”.
In the original film, the toxic femininity is played up; temporally, the film found itself in the throes of diet culture and slut shaming. Much of the comedy derives from the vulgarity of women heartily calling each other fat skanks. Of course, this kind of language is highly unsavory in our modern day, but it is the very foundation of the original MEAN GIRLS: women hating each other based on misogynist principles. So if the comedy comes from transgression, my question becomes this: how do you make transgressive jokes in a society that has all but banned them?
MEAN GIRLS the musical has a few relevant moments. Regina still eats the kalteen bars hoping to lose weight. Karen is shamed for having slept with 11 boys. Cady is judged for not being her “sexy self” at halloween. Janis is no longer labeled a slur, but she is called a “pyro les” for inadvertently setting Regina’s backpack on fire. These moments, however, don’t hold the same comedic weight as in their predecessor. They don’t pack the same punch. In fact, they simply cannot. We live in a relatively understanding society where even bimboism can be empowering should you choose to pursue it. Thus, the film is not solely to blame. But, it remains that a film about overcoming cruelty has to show cruelty to begin with. What cruelty do we have to show? Surely, it still exists, but much differently than what my generation grew up with. I don’t see it happening as overtly as in the aughts when magazines called Britney Spears fat for 2 extra pounds of stress weight. Perhaps the original plot line of MEAN GIRLS is a little outdated with the kind of popular feminist wave gripping young women today.
Perhaps it’s time to stop remaking.
The film was colorful and not horrible. Congratulations for avoiding utter failure, the fate of which many sequels and remakes have suffered.
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