an effective musical adaptation in the shadow of a cult film

The iconic comedy “Mean Girls: Lolita Despite Me” returns to the big screen this Wednesday with a song remake. A comical and pleasant musical adaptation which will not, however, erase the first version.

“We dress in pink on Wednesdays”. For an entire generation, dress codes Regina George, Karen Smith and Gretchen Wieners – the famous “mean girls” – are still well known. Twenty years after the release of the cult comedy of the 2000s, the rules have not changed. The remake Mean Girls: Lolita in spite of myself, in theaters this Wednesday, January 10, repeats almost identically the plot of the previous version. With one exception.

The American filmmaker and comedian Tina Fey, screenwriter of the original film, delivers here the adaptation of a musical performed on Broadway since October 2017 and largely successful. It is therefore in song that those that an entire high school calls “plastics” and considers it “royal highnesses” are making their return on the big screen. And history repeats itself.

Portrait of a hierarchy

Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) arrives at a high schoolEvanston, Illinois. This is his first steps in an educational establishment. Formerly living in Kenya, the teenager has always been home-schooled. His arrival at high school is therefore marked by a challenge: that of finding his place. Extremely shy, Cady quickly bonds with Damian (Jaquel Spivey) and Janis (Auli’i Cravalho), two tender and laughing students, but who – in this court more royal than recreational – do not really have the wind in their sails.

Without explanation, the group of “plastics” led by high school queen Regina George – skillfully played by American singer Reneé Rapp – invites the new girl to their table. Newly formed, the trio takes advantage of this invitation to take revenge on Regina who harassed Janis in the past and Cady joins the group to put the plan into action. But the shiny gloss and the charming Aaron Samuels make the young woman’s head turn somewhat. Mean Girls: Lolita in spite of myself thus recounts the dirty tricks, the betrayals, the popularity issues and the quests for power which take place within an establishment a priori governed by an unshakeable hierarchy.

Through interlocking plots, intersecting stories, and caricatures, the film manages to express in Tina Fey’s effective humor the cruelty that adolescents can show among themselves. This version of the scenario also places emphasis, perhaps more than the previous one, on the suffering of these students. The adaptation into a musical comedy notably allows the occurrence of sensitive and comic monologues. Pleasant songs which, however, do not revolutionize everything.

An inevitable comparison

With the production of this musical adaptation, Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. bet on an almost identical scenario, with the addition of songs. And if certain music is effective and gives the film a certain bite, the repetition of scenes and dialogues, although always enjoyable, inevitably leads to comparison with the cult version of the 2000s: a generational comedy widely known by the youngest thanks to the platforms streaming and whose charm we cannot find.

Mean Girls: Lolita in spite of myself nevertheless brings some modernized elements. The new version offers a more fulfilled representation of homosexuality and introduces racialized actors and actresses. The character of Cady only lives with her mother and single parenthood is never the subject of an explanation or indiscreet questions. But the fresh air brought by small touches to the comedy, even if it is undeniably precious, is perhaps not sufficiently worked to justify this adaptation whose aesthetics and cynicism cannot become pop culture references for the new generations.

The sheet

Gender : Musical comedy.
Director: Samantha Jayne, Arturo Perez Jr.
Actors: Reneé Rapp, Angourie Rice, Auli’i Cravalho, Tina Fey, Bebe Wood, Avantika Vandanapu and Jaquel Spivey
Country : UNITED STATES
Duration : 1h45
Exit : January 10, 2024
Distributer : Paramount
Synopsis : A new student, Cady Heron, finds herself rubbing shoulders with the elite of the social food chain, the popular girls called “the plastics”, led by their queen Regina George and her minions Gretchen and Karen. But when Cady has a crush on Aaron, she doesn’t immediately realize that she has just made a big mistake, her new bestie will quickly turn into an enemy. Cady decides to overthrow the established order with the help of her loser friends, Janis and Damian. Staying true to yourself while making your way through the unforgiving jungle of high school: quite a program, you have 2 hours.