The film “Mean Girls” was released in 2004 under Paramount Pictures with director Mark Waters and writer Tina Fey. It stars Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, as she moves from Africa to a high school filled with teen drama.

Cady then meets The Plastics: Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. Regina is the stereotypical, popular mean girl who plays the leader of the group. Gretchen is Regina’s sidekick, and Karen is the stereotypical dumb blonde. The Plastics are played by Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried, respectively. 

As the film progresses, Cady goes from being a kind, innocent girl to a cruel, jealous backstabber by taking away Regina’s status and power. “Mean Girls” is a story about betrayal and the literal mean side of girls within toxic female friendships.

The film was released on April 30, 2004, with many loving the cruel humor and dark characters, grossing 129 million dollars worldwide. Today, audiences know it as a funny, dramatic, and endearing classic for teenagers and adults to enjoy.

Then, 14 years after the original film’s release, a musical version of the film debuted in Washington D.C. and then was featured on Broadway in April 2018. The Broadway musical followed closely to the original film, with the musical featuring 21 original songs.

The musical made 124 million dollars whilst in the process of 830 performances before the pandemic in 2020.

In January 2020, it was announced that there would be a Mean Girl movie based on the original 2004 film and 2018 musical. Due to the pandemic, however, production was delayed, but on January 12, 2024, it was finally released.

The musical film was a combination of the film and musical, but it’s mostly inspired by the 2018 “Mean Girls” Musical. The film kept 12 songs from the original lineup of 21 songs. Cady was played by Angourie Rice, while Regina was played by Reneé Rapp, the original actress of the character from the Broadway Musical.

Gretchen Wieners was played by Bebe Woods while Karen Smith, changed to Karen Shetty, played by Avantika Vandanpua.

Since the film’s release, the students of RCHS had time to have their thoughts on the 2024 musical movie “Mean Girls” and rewatched the 2004 classic. Students have also had time to determine whether the film is a fetch or a flop. The 2004 film with McAdams and Lohan, or the 2024 film with Rapp and Rice?

“I personally really enjoyed [the movie] and thought it as a whole was very entertaining and enjoyable to watch,” freshman Vex Lindenbaum said. “I adored [the characters]. The actresses chosen to play each role were chosen very well, and I’m glad about the resulting cast.”

Despite her love for the original “Mean Girls,” Lindenbaum prefers the remake but believes it strays away from the original.

“I preferred the remake because I feel like it showed more involvement and covered more modern issues,” Lindenbaum said. “I do think they could have adapted more of the original because while it was a good remake, it took away from the original.”

Junior Victoria Bory agreed with how the characters were good but disagreed with the quality of the songs.

“The actresses playing Karen and Regina were hilarious,” Bory said. “While for the songs they were okay. They weren’t good or bad songs, though my favorite songs would have to be ‘Apex Predator’ and ‘World Burn.’”

While Bory does agree the remake is nice, she said she prefers the original film.

“I think [the original] is too iconic to outdo and one of those movies that everyone will know of,” Bory said. “I think [the remake] could’ve added more dramatic scenes that the original one had, along with the original dance from the Christmas play because they changed it.”

Another student, sophomore Jennie Hendricks expressed her love for the remake. 

“I thought it was super fun,” Hendricks said. “I loved the musical part and the sing-along because when I was sitting in the theater with my friends, we would get all excited about it.”

RCHS students have come to a tie regarding the “Mean Girls” movies, expressing that both films are funny and charming, and give a fantastic overall experience in their ways. Regardless, the new “Mean Girls” is indeed fetch.