Mean Girls (2024)

It’s a movie based on a musical based on a movie, just like precursors Hairspray and Little Shop of Horrors, and also like those it doesn’t stray too far from the source material. It’s still the story of Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), a homeschooled teen who previously lived in Kenya until her research scientist mother (Jenna Fischer) moved her to the US Midwest and enrolled her in North Shore High School. She befriends fellow outsiders Janis (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey) but then draws the attention of the top clique The Plastics, headed by queen bee Regina George (Rene Rapp, returning to the role she played on Broadway). Cady is enticed by their popularity and Regina's rockin' bod but runs afoul of her when she develops a crush on Regina’s ex Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), so Cady ultimately conspires with Janice and Damian to take her down. Bebe Woods steps in as Gretchen Wieners, still trying to make “fetch” happen and sporting some major cleavage, while Avantika tries to fill the shoes of Amanda Seyfried as the vapid Karen, singing the breakthrough song "Sexy" while trying on slutty Halloween costumes with other nameless hotties. The horny highlight is still the Christmas show where all four perform as sultry Santas Helpers in sparkly red miniskirts and thigh-high leather boots. Plus there’s a brief cameo from Megan Thee Stallion to further hammer home the message that this isn’t your mother’s Mean Girls!