The latest Mean Girls movie, based off of the broadway musical and movie of the same name, was harshly criticized online for its bad acting and singing, two traits recommended to star in a musical. The casting and authenticity for the movie was also criticized. What exactly about the acting and singing is so bad? The main songs of interest are “Revenge Party” and “Sexy”.  

Compared to the original broadway soundtrack, which sounds energetic and festive, the instrumental and vocals of Revenge Party in the movie sound monotone and empty. The bridge leading up to the final chorus in the song was very widely disliked due to the lackluster tone and heavy autotune in Angourie Rice’s singing, specifically the lower parts. In Sexy, it is mostly the instrumental lacking in energy.

 Avantika, the singer and actress for the character Karen Smith, had great energy in her voice, and when the original broadway instrumentals for the song is played along with her voice, it sounds much more lively. 

The issue with casting is that Angourie Rice, who plays the main character, Cady, is said to be a “nepo baby”, someone who has success in their career due to their parents having connections with that career. Many people online have come to this conclusion due to the fact that her father is a director and her mother is a writer. Along with the singing, instrumental, and casting, another issue is the choice of outfits.

 Many of the original Mean Girls outfits were made to look like rich girl outfits and very stylish. In the new movie, many viewers have said that the clothes look like they were bought off of cheap marketing websites like Temu and Shein, something that the original Regina George character would not be caught dead in. 

Finally, the amount of product placement within the movie. In different scenes, products from the brand e.l.f. are seen facing the camera in the background. This aspect, like many others mentioned, makes the movie look and feel distasteful and like a cheap cash grab compared to the effort put into the original movie and the broadway musical, and while the actresses, director, and everyone who worked on the movie most likely gave their all, the film feels soulless.