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who often seems frightened at everything, which in my opinion<br />
works better since her transformation into a Plastic is more<br />
noticeable. Some characters suffer though as Gretchen and Karen<br />
lose some screentime and their characters have been boiled down<br />
to very simplistic character traits. Vandanapu and Wood are not to<br />
blame, but originally, Karen and Gretchen felt like they matched<br />
with Regina in both attitude and appearance, but now, the group<br />
seems so disjointed, which highlights how Gretchen and Karen feel<br />
a bit off in the trio. Nevertheless, the cast do a great job with every<br />
character, and a special shoutout to Spivey who makes Damien’s<br />
character tons more fun and adds a lot more to love about him.<br />
Fans of the original will quickly notice that something still feels a<br />
bit off in this reimagining. I thought about it for a long time, but<br />
couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until it hit me, every character<br />
feels a bit flatter now, mostly due to every single character trait<br />
and flaw being spelled out for the viewer. The original wasn’t a<br />
masterpiece in “show don’t tell” either, but when the songs literally<br />
spell out the character motivations or their crippling fears, a layer is<br />
removed. Even the message of the movie is turned into a song, and<br />
the little mental exercise of figuring out the theme and analyzing<br />
characters is robbed from the viewer. It’s not detrimental, but it<br />
subtracts elements from the movie that didn’t need to be removed.<br />
Additionally, in the original Cady narrated what she experienced<br />
with inner monologues, that is missing here, and after a while you<br />
start noticing it, which again fuels this feeling of characters being<br />
more simplistic.<br />
Verdict<br />
The new Mean Girls is nothing if not fetch, and despite not<br />
surpassing the original, it’s still able to keep up with its tempo. The<br />
acting and singing is phenomenally done by the cast, even though<br />
some musical numbers could be shortened or cut entirely in my<br />
opinion. Although some characters feel a bit gutted in their new<br />
interpretations, it’s not disastrous by any means, but takes away<br />
some fun from the overall experience. Sure, there’s better movies<br />
out there with more defined thematic, but don’t let the opportunity<br />
to watch some enjoyable hijinks slip away. Mean Girls does not<br />
walk blindly in the shadow of the original, but proudly strides<br />
by its side, and although I would probably prefer to rewatch the<br />
original, I would gladly rewatch this one. It’s an equally fun ride,<br />
that doesn’t taint the legacy of the original, but instead brings the<br />
fun Mean Girls chaos to a new generation.<br />
JANUAR 2024 <strong>UNIKUM</strong> NR 1 27