---
title: "Mean Girls"
year: 2024
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/mean-girls"
fi1m_id: "mean-girls"
imdb_id: "tt11762114"
tmdb_id: 673593
wikidata_id: "Q117014906"
fi1m_score: 56
critics_score: 54
critics_reviews: 16
published: "2026-09-09"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:00.358515+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mean Girls (2024)

Directed by Arturo Perez Jr., Samantha Jayne · 1h 53m · MPA PG-13 · Comedy

## Identity

Mean Girls

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/mean-girls
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** mean-girls
- **IMDb ID:** tt11762114
- **TMDB ID:** 673593
- **Wikidata ID:** Q117014906
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11762114/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/673593, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117014906

**Fi1m score: 56** · Critics 54 from 16 reviews

*In a sentence:* Twenty years on, the same jokes, now sung; only Reneé Rapp seems to have been told it was a musical

> Tina Fey’s script comes round for a third time, now with songs, and Reneé Rapp’s Regina George is worth the ticket. The rest is the 2004 film with smartphones and a chorus, and the songs are the least memorable thing in it.

## Synopsis

Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) has spent her childhood in Kenya, taught at home by her mother (Jenna Fischer). Now she starts at an American high school and, on her second day, is taken up by two outsiders, Janis (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), who narrate her story and sing about it. They point her at the Plastics: Regina George (Reneé Rapp), who runs the school by looking at people, and her attendants Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). Janis wants revenge on Regina and Cady is the way in. Cady also wants Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), who is Regina’s ex. Tina Fey writes and appears as the maths teacher, with Tim Meadows as the head. Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne direct.

## Review

Tina Fey wrote *Mean Girls* as a film in 2004, wrote it again as a stage musical, and has now written it a third time as a film of the musical. Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne direct, and the shape has not moved. Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), raised in Kenya by her mother (Jenna Fischer), starts at an American high school, is adopted by the outsiders Janis (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), and is sent by them to spy on the Plastics: Regina George (Reneé Rapp), Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). Most of the jokes are the ones you remember. The difference is that every so often the lights drop and somebody sings.

Rapp is the reason to go. She plays Regina slowly, barely raising her voice for the first half hour and letting everyone else fill the silence, so that when she finally turns on someone it lands like a door slamming. Her big number is the one stretch of the film that made us sit up. Bill Kirstein drops the cafeteria into darkness and lights her red, Andrew Marcus cuts to the crowd only to show them flinching, and Rapp sings as if she has been waiting the whole film for permission. For four minutes it is the musical the trailer promised.

Rice has the harder job and less to do it with. Her Cady is pleasant and small-voiced, and Fey’s script keeps asking her to stand at the edge of her own story while other people explain it. Cravalho and Spivey, narrating, have the most energy in the cast; Cravalho gets the best of the songs and Spivey the best of the lines. Avantika’s Karen is dimmer than the one you remember and funnier for it. Wood plays Gretchen for pity rather than laughs, which is a choice, and a fair one. Fey and Tim Meadows return as Ms. Norbury and Mr. Duvall with roughly the material they had before, and Lindsay Lohan, who was Cady in 2004, appears for one scene as a quizmaster.

The songs are the problem, which for a musical is the wrong place to have one. Jeff Richmond’s music is brisk and tidy and we left unable to hum a bar of it. Perez and Jayne stage several numbers through phone screens, with portrait-shaped inserts and captions, and this is the film’s one idea about the present day. It is a thin one. The phones change how we are shown things and never what anyone does; the Burn Book is still a scrapbook, the rumours still travel by mouth. Tom Broecker’s costumes are pink on Wednesdays, as required. Kelly McGehee’s school is a corridor, a cafeteria and a gym, and the camera does not find much in any of them.

Then there are the old jokes. We laughed at the lines we already knew, and then felt slightly cheated, because the laugh belonged to another film and this one had only borrowed it. Fey has trimmed the sharper insults so that nobody says anything you could not repeat in a staff room, and the 12A is honestly earned. The 2004 film worked because the cruelty was exact; you believed these girls could hurt each other. Here they mostly threaten to, in song, and then apologise.

At 113 minutes it runs about twenty longer than it needs to, and the last act, which we will not describe, stretches a school assembly into what feels like a term. The reviews so far are split more or less down the middle, and we can see both halves of the argument. Nobody involved is lazy. Rapp is working, Cravalho is working, the choreography is busy. What is missing is a reason for the film to exist beyond the fact that the stage show did.

See it for Rapp, and if you can, see it with someone who has never seen the original, so that at least one of you laughs at the right moments.

*Fi1m score 56, published 9 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews split almost exactly down the middle, and the one thing nearly everyone agrees on is Reneé Rapp. Her Regina George is praised across the board, from the warmest notices to the coldest, with Auli’i Cravalho’s Janis close behind. The critics who like it find the songs give the characters room the original did not, and say the updated social-media setting lands more often than it misses.

The complaint, repeated by most of those who do not like it and conceded by several who do, is that the sharp edges of the 2004 film have been sanded off. Several find the songs forgettable; The Hollywood Reporter goes further and calls the score tuneless and over-produced. Others object to the callbacks, the padding and a third act that runs long. The Guardian dissents, arguing the musical form suits the material better than the original did. The spread is wide, from warm approval to outright irritation.

## Straight answers

**Is Mean Girls worth watching?**

*Mean Girls* (2024) is worth watching mainly for Reneé Rapp's Regina George, and we scored it 56. The rest is Tina Fey's 2004 script with smartphones and a chorus, and the songs, Jeff Richmond's brisk and tidy music, are the least memorable thing in it. Go if you want Rapp; stay home if you want the original's sharper cruelty.

**How long is Mean Girls, and what is it rated?**

*Mean Girls* runs 1h 53m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy film.

**Where can I watch Mean Girls in the US?**

*Mean Girls* is streaming on Paramount+, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Mean Girls, and is it suitable for children?**

*Mean Girls* (2024) is a 12A and honestly earns it: there is no violence to speak of and nothing frightening. Tina Fey has trimmed the sharper insults so nobody says anything you could not repeat in a staff room, and the girls mostly threaten each other in song, then apologise. It suits older children and teenagers without trouble.

**How does Mean Girls compare to Heathers?**

[*Heathers*](https://film.one/film/heathers) is the darker and better film, and *Mean Girls* (2024) softens the high-school cruelty that *Heathers* plays straight. Michael Lehmann's film is sharp and nasty for an hour before losing its nerve, where the musical keeps everything repeatable in a staff room and leans on songs we could not hum afterwards. Choose *Heathers* for bite, *Mean Girls* for Reneé Rapp and a gentler evening.

**What should I watch after Mean Girls?**

After *Mean Girls*, try [*Heathers*](https://film.one/film/heathers) (1988, Fi1m 80): The high-school cruelty this film softens, played straight and much darker. Then [*Clueless*](https://film.one/film/clueless) (1995, Fi1m 84): Teen comedy that invents its own language and never once explains it; and [*Election*](https://film.one/film/election) (1999, Fi1m 86): A school popularity contest with real teeth and a teacher who deserves none of our pity.

### Reviews we read (17)

- **Empire**, Catherine Bray (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it a sharp, funny musical that successfully updates the original template, especially when offering new lines and evolutions in language around progressive discourse. It rewards both newcomers and fans while fleshing out characters through song. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mean-girls-2024/)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (80/100, inferred): The lively musical remake keeps the story's comic vision of teen culture alive through strong performances, especially from Rapp and Rice, and effective songs that highlight its themes. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/mean-girls-review-angourie-rice-renee-rapp-tina-fey-1235865805/)
- **Vulture** (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the self-aware musical remake pretty good at reminding viewers why the original is fun. The updated social media references and Reneé Rapp's committed performance as Regina are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/mean-girls-review-reduced-reused-but-well-recycled.html)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (70/100, inferred): The musical format suits the material better than the original film, delivering an amusingly histrionic sugar-rush with plenty of laughs and fun along the way. It sags in an over-extended third act with some strained business, though classic gags land effectively. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/10/mean-girls-review-high-school-sadism-comedy-as-sugar-rush-movie-musical-tina-fey)
- **Radio Times**, Emma Simmonds (3/5): The musical remake remains a smart and relatable look at teen turmoil, with decent direction incorporating the numbers dynamically and strong turns from the young cast including Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey. However, the songs lack memorable hooks and comic snap, and the film feels overly faithful to the original without enough fresh bite. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/mean-girls-2024-review-musical/)
- **The New York Times** (60/100, inferred): The musical remake is likable but over-padded and less tart than the original, yet it retains its ingratiating charms and appeal. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/11/movies/mean-girls-review.html)
- **Sight and Sound** (45/100, inferred): The critic finds the musical remake energetic with well-staged numbers that offer character insights and playful fantasy, but faults it for sanding down the original's sharp, edgy tone into something less spiky and more neutered. Standout praise goes to the performances and songs of Reneé Rapp as Regina and Auli’i Cravalho as Janis. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/mean-girls-playful-high-energy-remake-sands-down-sharp-edges-original)
- **Total Film** (40/100, inferred): The critic describes it as an enjoyable but safe redo that feels like the old Mean Girls with smartphones, lacking freshness and daring despite solid casting and some fun adult performances. Songs and set pieces are singled out as often underwhelming or cookie-cutter. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/mean-girls-2024-review/)
- **Screen Daily** (35/100, inferred): The big-screen version of the Broadway musical lacks the depth, charm and panache of the 2004 original despite its energy and fidelity to the story of high-school cliques. A few songs stand out, but the razzle-dazzle often distracts, leaving the film feeling like a high-school reunion with little reason to linger. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/mean-girls-review/5189290.article)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (30/100, inferred): The musical remake is tiresome and overworked, with insipid songs and excessive callbacks that fail to capture the original's spark despite strong turns from Rapp and Cravalho. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-01-10/mean-girls-review-musical-tina-fey-regina-george)
- **The Independent**, Clarisse Loughrey (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an unsatisfying rehash that recycles the original's punchlines and early-2000s dilemmas with little innovation or fresh take on contemporary teen life. Strong performances from René Rapp and Auliʻi Cravalho are singled out as highlights amid budget constraints and cut songs. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/mean-girls-review-musical-b2476945.html)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the musical remake a tuneless, labored mess that drains the fun from the material. The awkward, over-produced songs shoehorned in via social media framing are singled out for complaint. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/mean-girls-review-tina-fey-musical-remake-1235784164/)
- **/Film**, BJ Colangelo (8/10): The critic calls it a fun, fetch amalgamation of the original film and Broadway musical that updates high-school dynamics for a new generation, with less bite but more empathy. They single out the strong cast, especially Reneé Rapp's Regina George, and the improved ending for praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1489450/mean-girls-2024-movie-musical-review/)
- **Polygon** (70/100, inferred): The 2024 Mean Girls is a fun update to the story that benefits from a strong cast and some standout musical numbers, though it does not surpass the original film. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/e/23797674)
- **NME**, Nick Levine (3/5): The critic calls it a middling rehash that is perfectly entertaining but no match for the original. They single out the solid but unspectacular songs and the strong performances, particularly Reneé Rapp selling her numbers. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/mean-girls-review-musical-renee-rapp-3573170)
- **The Wrap** (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the 2024 musical remake a sanitized, muddled mash-up that is too lean on story and character development despite its length. Renee Rapp's commanding turn as Regina George is singled out as the sole highlight amid otherwise wasted talent and preachy musical numbers. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/renee-rapp-mean-girls-2024-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, Rosie Fletcher (3 out of 5): The critic finds the musical remake fun but notes it has lost some of the original's teeth and nuance. They single out the young cast for praise, especially Reneé Rapp's electric and magnetic performance as Regina. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mean-girls-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Arturo Perez Jr., Samantha Jayne
- **Director:** Arturo Perez Jr., Samantha Jayne
- **Screenplay:** Tina Fey
- **Cinematography:** Bill Kirstein
- **Editor:** Andrew Marcus
- **Music:** Jeff Richmond
- **Production design:** Kelly McGehee
- **Costume design:** Tom Broecker
- **Producer:** Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels
- **Cast:** Angourie Rice as Cady Heron; Reneé Rapp as Regina George; Auliʻi Cravalho as Janis ʻImiʻike; Jaquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard; Avantika Vandanapu as Karen Shetty; Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners; Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels; Jenna Fischer as Mrs. Heron
- **Runtime:** 1h 53m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 12 January 2024
- **Genres:** Comedy
- **Budget:** $36 million
- **Box office:** $105 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xgPEplWACQ

## Where to watch in the US

- Paramount+: streaming
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HU, ID, IE, IN, IT, JP, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Heathers* (1988), Fi1m 80: The high-school cruelty this film softens, played straight and much darker. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/heathers.md)
- *Clueless* (1995), Fi1m 84: Teen comedy that invents its own language and never once explains it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/clueless.md)
- *Election* (1999), Fi1m 86: A school popularity contest with real teeth and a teacher who deserves none of our pity. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/election.md)
- *Sing Street* (2016): A school musical where you leave humming the songs, which is the point.
- *Everybody's Talking About Jamie* (2021), Fi1m 73: A British school musical, warmer and less careful, with a mother who steals it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/everybodys-talking-about-jamie.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/mean-girls