Get In Loser. Mean Girls is Back And Better
Unless you’ve been living under a huge rock, then you’ve seen it.
That is, the trailer for the new Mean Girls movie musical coming out next year. If you haven’t, then watch it and come back.
Instagram, Twitter and most especially Tiktok are abuzz with all sorts of reactions to the trailer. This is after all the era of the reboot, from the Gossip Girl reboot (which was canceled earlier this year) to 2022’s Matilda musical film which was met with rave reviews, this is remake season and while some of us are here for it, a lot of the world isn’t too. Reactions to these reboots are always pretty mixed with one side of people supporting Hollywood leaning into nostalgia and reviving old favorites usually with some kind of twist. The other side of people however, are firmly in the ‘you’re ruining it’ camp. These people feel that the remake resurgence is a sign of unoriginality and that what was once a welcome reminder of an old favorite is now simply boring. Cosmopolitan writes that “over the years these rare returning favorites seem to have turned into unwelcome houseguests, showing up unannounced and refusing to leave”.
So of course, the announcement of a Mean Girls musical film was met with mixed reactions. There’s the people who thought that the titular group in the film The Plastics headed by Rachel McAdams’ Regina George, needed to be left alone and then there were those who thought a movie musical was the perfect continuation of the Broadway version of the film that had seen massive success. The trailer’s release yesterday was met with these same reactions which was to be expected. Also perhaps warranted were the several complaints and critiques about the trailer not actually including any music from the movie, which is a real choice for something that is supposed to be a movie musical. Still, all expected reactions. What was not expected was an added layer of reactions mainly from millennials to this statement from the trailer:
“This Isn’t Your Mother’s Mean Girls”
The millennial girls are upset about this being included in the trailer but…should they be? In an article from The Cut, the statement has been described as well, “rude” and the tweets responding to the official Mean Girls post are nothing if not hilarious, with one user quoting “I cannot tell you how triggered I am by the ‘this isn’t your mother’s mean girls. YOUR MOTHER???? YOUR MOTHER???!!!!” following up by adding “I am 34”. One reply to the quote even says "It's definitely Aunt with no kids OKAY OKAY THE FUN AUNT ''. Add in another quote saying ‘they really said ‘this isn’t your mother’s Mean Girls’ and now I’m in crisis.” and it’s easy to see that the girls aren’t happy with being referred to as mothers but girl…, maybe they should embrace the fact that this indeed, is not ‘your mother’s mean girls’?!
Let’s get a little technical here. According to Britannica, ‘millennial’ is a term used to describe persons born between 1981 and 1996, give or take a year or two, meaning that Tina Fey’s original 2004 Mean Girls film is prime millennial content. Even the millennials on the younger end now, would have been seated for the original cult classic. So, it makes sense for such a statement to be made because it’s true! The movie musical led by The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Renee Rap, who is reprising her role as Broadway’s Regina George comes almost exactly 20 years after the premiere of the original film. From the marketing to the fashion choices to even the fact that it is a movie musical, it is so clear that this is a different kind of Mean Girls, not the one for our ‘mothers’.
While the trailer might have admittedly missed the mark by not actually including any music in it, expecting it to look and sound exactly like the 2004 film is not only unfair, it almost perfectly illustrates the generational divide between millennials and Gen Z’s. While the millennial reactions to the trailer were lamenting being referred to as mothers, some Gen Z reactions to the trailer have been nothing but fun and positive with several replies and quotes from people remarking that they were “so seated” and really looking forward to seeing Gen Z famous The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Christopher Briney as heartthrob Aaron Samuels. It might be worth millennials thinking about and thereafter recognizing that this and in fact, every new piece of content might not have been made *for* them but rather for everyone and maybe more so Gen Z’s to enjoy.
A sound argument could be made for the fact that the statement is not meant to be polarizing or exclude any specific demographic but rather to emphasize that this is a new era. This is still Mean Girls. There is still the burn book, The Plastics, the famous Jingle Bell Rock dance scene and on Wednesdays, we obviously still wear pink. It’s still Mean Girls just… with a twist. Perhaps millennials should be embracing a fresh take on the much loved characters instead of feeling attacked by some true, if not slightly cheeky marketing tactics which seemed to have worked perfectly judging by all the interactions with the trailer.
As to whether or not the movie musical is needed or will be good and the question of why a choice was made to exclude music from a trailer from a movie musical (?!!), are things that need answering separately. What is clear though, is that this new film is meant for a different generation and maybe that’s a good thing. This indeed is not ‘your mother’s mean girls’ so let’s wait and see what it is? Who knows, ‘fetch’ may happen yet.
