Photo:Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection; Jojo Whilden/Paramount
Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection; Jojo Whilden/Paramount
The newMean Girlsmovie isn’t a regular remake, it’s a musical remake.
Based on the2018 Broadway musical of the same name, which was based onthe 2004 filmof the same name, the film introduces audiences toa new generation of the Plastics.
While the film certainly pays tribute to the original in many ways, including everyone’s favorite one-liners and some returning cast members, it also features quite a few differences. One of the biggest, of course, is thatthis new iteration is a musical, featuring songs from the hit Tony-nominated musical.
With the new filmtaking place almost 20 years after the original, North Shore High also looks very different this time around. AstheMean Girlstaglinesays, “This isn’t your mother’sMean Girls.”
“It’s for high schoolers now, so we wanted to make it reflective of their experience,” co-director Samantha Jayne told PEOPLE atthe film’s premiere. “It also has music and we’re able to dive deeper into character and really have an opportunity to dimensionalize these characters more. It’s a nice reimagining of this kind of a cautionary tale, a tale as old as time.”
Read ahead for the biggest differences between the newMean Girlsmovie and the original.
Warning: This post contains spoilers forMean Girls
Cady’s mom is a single parent
Jojo Whilden/Paramount
“This is super exciting for me,” Fischer said about taking on the role. “My character is a single mom who brings her daughter back to America for high school. Cady has to navigate American teenage social dynamics for the very first time. Neither of them has any idea what this will entail.”
Speaking with PEOPLE at the film’s premiere, Philipps revealed that Amy Poehler (who played the character in the original film)was “so happy” about her taking on the role.
When asked if she talked to Poehler about the performance ahead of filming or if she decided to take her own approach, Philipps admitted the ladies “saw each other,” but she “couldn’t remember if we talked about it.”
“Which is so embarrassing, but I think that the understanding was just that it was gonna be totally different anyway, and we’re all friends,” she says, referring to Tina Fey, who wrote and starred in the original film as teacher Ms. Norbury (a role she reprises in the new film).
At one point in the film, the characters even break the fourth wall as they address the audience while sitting at a desk that has a plate that reads “Narrators.”
Karen and Janis have different last names
In honor of Avantika’s Indian heritage and Auliʻi Cravalho’s Hawaiian heritage, both of their characters have different last names. Karen Smith’s last name has been changed to Karen Shetty, while Janis Ian’s name has been changed to Janis ‘Imi’ike.
Cravalho told PEOPLE that Fey addressed her about the last name change, which she thought was “really special” in terms of representation. “She really wanted to make us feel warm and invited to play with these characters,” she said. She noted that they decided on the surname ‘Imi’ike because it means “striving for the stars” or “reaching the summit.”
“That feels important for her character,” she continued. “She has a best friend in Damian, she’s got a great friend in Cady and she’s not worried about fitting in with the cliques. She’s staying true to herself.”
Gretchen is of Latina descent
Paramount Pictures
Gretchen’s backstory is also slightly different in the new movie. While Regina’s righthand is Jewish in the original movie and Broadway show, she is of Latina descent in the movie.
After learning that Bebe Wood had Cuban heritage, co-director Arturo Perez Jr. added a small change to the script to pay tribute to her heritage. “I’ve never played a Latina character before,” Wood said. “Art wanted to incorporate that in a small way, so instead of mentioning my grandfather, I say ‘my abuelito.’”
Janis is a lesbian
Paramount Pictures/YouTube
As a result, the backstory of how Janis and Regina’s friendship crumbled is slightly tweaked. In the movie, Damian explains that the two were best friends and Regina was the first person Janis came out to. Though Regina supported her, she eventually started a vicious rumor about Janis being super clingy. He reveals that the feud eventually reached a climax when Janis set off a fire at school, giving her the nickname “pyro-les.”
Several jokes have been altered
While the new film does feature many notable lines from the original — such as “You go, Glenn Coco!” — others have been altered for modern day. “I was writing in the early 2000s very much based on my experience as a teen in the late ’80s. It’s come to no one’s surprise that jokes have changed,”Fey toldThe New York Timesabout the script changes. “You don’t poke in the way that you used to poke. Even if your intention was always the same, it’s just not how you do it anymore, which is fine. I very much believe that you can find new ways to do jokes with less accidental shrapnel sideways.”
Fey points out that in the new movie, Regina doesn’t joke about Janis’ sexuality during the gym scene: “There’s a joke in the original movie when Janis gets up on the table and Regina says, ‘Oh my God, it’s her dream come true: diving into a huge pile of girls.’ It was mine and Sam Jayne’s feeling that Regina wouldn’t try that now because she knows the kids around her would be like, ‘That’s homophobic.’ She would know not to be homophobic, and hopefully, truly would notbehomophobic.”
Damian sings a different song during the talent show
One very small (but hilarious) tweak in the movie is the song Damian sings during the talent show. In the original, Damian performs Christina Aguilera’s LGBTQ+ anthem “Beautiful." However, in the new movie, the performance gets a Gen Z update as he performs theiCarlytheme song … in French.
Gossip is spread through social media
With the movie now taking place in 2024, social media plays a very active role in how rumors get spread around the school. The film features various segments where internet personalities such as Chris Olsen weigh in on all the drama surrounding Regina and Cady on TikTok (at one point, Megan Thee Stallion even gives her two cents!).
Regina’s mom is the one who tells her about the Kälteen bars
The truth about the Kälteen bars comes out a little differently in the new movie. In the first film, Regina storms out of Cady’s party and stress-eats a bar, at which point her boyfriend Shane Oman tells her he uses them for weight gain in wrestling, In the new film, Regina is seen logging miles on the treadmill at home. As her mother tries to comfort her, Mrs. George is the one who tells her that the bars cause you to gain weight.
Ms. Norbury and Mr. Duvall are an official couple
Perhaps one of the cutest changes to the new movie is that Ms. Norbury and Mr. Duvall are an official couple. During the gym scene, Mr. Duvall pleads with Ms. Norbury to take over the seminar with the girls, to which she quips that he’ll have to walk their dogs as payback. It’s presumed that the two are married as Mr. Duvall is shown wearing a gold wedding band on his ring finger.
source: people.com
