Summary

• The new Mean Girls movie will have to update iconic moments from the original film to resonate with a 2024 audience and avoid feeling like cheap fan service.
• The remake should give new actors the freedom to put their own spin on iconic scenes, like Amy Poehler's dance, for the movie to find its own identity.
• The new Mean Girls should find fresh, unexpected jokes and references that resonate with a modern audience, rather than relying on the repetition of nostalgic moments from the past.

Nearly two decades after the plastics first made their way onto the big screen, new Mean Girls movie will have to overcome.

The original Mean Girls is now streaming on Paramount+

Originally released in April 2004, Mean Girls was a box office hit, but the film exploded in popularity once it hit DVD and gained a radical cult following. In 2017, a Broadway musical adaption was created, also written by Fey, and that Broadway show is now becoming a movie. Obviously, this remake will be faithful to the original, but in order to find its own identity, it will have to avoid stepping on the toes of the original Mean Girls movie.

10 "She Doesn't Even Go Here"

Damien Calling Out The Crying Girl

One of the most quotable lines from Mean Girls is when Damien, in disguise, calls out a girl for not even going to the school she is making an imioned speech about. It is a hilarious moment that has become too iconic for its own good. When this line is spoken in the stage version, the laughs and applause feel like they are coming from the line's recognition, not the actual joke. What makes the line so funny is the quick and biting way Daniel Franzese delivers it, and there is no way to recreate that with the knowledge of how important it is.

9 Regina's Mom Dancing During The Girls' Performance

Amy Poehler's Incredible Dance While Filming

While several of the adult actors, like Tina Fey and Tim Meadows, are reprising their roles from the first movie, Amy Poehler is being replaced as Regina's mom by Busy Philipps from Girls5eva. Philipps is a hilarious actor, and will most likely nail the role, but she shouldn't try to recreate what Poehler did. In particular, the dance that Poehler does during the jingle bell rock. It is a small sight gag that hits like a bag of bricks and most of that has to do with Poehler's particular physical comedy. Philipps should be given new bits that can become iconic as well.

8 "You Can't Sit With Us"

Gretchen Standing Up to Regina

Another line that has become too iconic for its own good. When Regina, played by Rachel McAdams in the original Mean Girls cast, is pushed out of the plastics and Gretchen finally stands up to her, she loudly proclaims "You can't sit with us". This is a great moment in the movie, but it has been quoted to death, and it has lost most of its meaning because of that. There is no way for a movie in 2024 to naturally fit that line in without it feeling like cheap fan service.

7 "Her Dad Invented Toaster Strudel"

Where Gretchen's Wealth Came From

Mean Girls is filled with so many jokes that many can go by on a first watch. An underrated bit of comedic world-building is that Gretchen's father invented the Toaster Strudel and that is how her family became wealthy. A hilarious joke, but one that can be updated for a 2024 audience, as the inventor of the Toaster Strudel would have to be an elderly man at this point. There are countless hilarious inventions that Gretchen's dad could have come up with, and ways to update her fortune that will play better for a modern audience.

6 Cady Tells Aaron It's October 3rd

The Smallest Moment Of Romance Ever Put On Film

October 3rd is Mean Girls Day simply because of this iconic line from the first film. As Cady's feelings for Aaron grow, he asks her what the date is, and it just so happens to be October 3rd. It is highly unlikely that the remake will go without referencing this moment and date, but it has again become too iconic for its own good. At this point, it would be funnier if the remake managed to find some other date or random bit of advice Cady could give Aaron instead of just delivering what is already expected.

5 "You Go, Glen Coco!"

Damien Giving Out Candy Cane Grams

Despite having zero lines in the film, Glen Coco became one of the most memorable parts of Mean Girls, as Damien congratulated him for getting four Candy Cane grams. The lack of information given about Glen Coco makes the moment hilarious, as this beloved kid named Glen Coco just exists in the world. However, this moment would not pack the same punch, knowing who Glen Coco is going into the movie. While iconic, it is small moments like these where the new film needs to find its iconic moments instead of recreating old ones.

4 Karen Reveals Her "ESPN" Power

Her Breast Predict The Weather

Karen Smith isn't the brightest person, and she's not the best with words, but she is one of the funniest characters in Mean Girls, and Amanda Seyfried rightfully became a star after the movie. Her secret ability of where her breasts can tell if it is raining or not is one of her best moments, but so much of it comes from the element of surprise, and Seyfried's delivery. Avantika, who plays Karen in the remake, has a completely different energy from Seyfried, and that is the correct way to go. Seyfried's portrayal could never be outdone, but Avantika could find her own path with different, unexpected jokes.

3 Damian Singing Beautiful

His Talent Show Song Is Out of Date

Damian has several incredible moments in Mean Girls, but his best is his incredible rendition of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful". In many ways, Mean Girls is timeless, but it is also very much a product of 2004, and if it is going to be updated for a new generation, then so should the pop culture references. There have been 20 years of pop music since the first film came out, and there are countless songs that Damian could sing that would be as, if not more, hilarious than "Beautiful" was in 2004. Something by Billie Eilish or Olivia Rodrigo would be more fitting for the current moment, and just as funny.

2 Regina Gets Cady To Gossip About Gretchen (While She's Secretly On The Call)

An Outdated Form Of Manipulation

Regina George is a master manipulator, and the scene when she tricks Cady into bad-mouthing Gretchen on the phone is one of her most brilliant acts. However, it is very 2004, as teenagers these days know who is on the other side of the line at all times. In an age of smartphones and Facetime, the new Mean Girls needs to update how the teenagers communicate with each other, and craft jokes around that. So much of Mean Girls still applies to modern-day high school, but this remake could update the dated parts, and provide witty commentary on things the original couldn't.

1 "You Can't Just Ask People Why They're White"

Karen Not Understanding How Africa Works

When Cady first introduces herself to the plastics, Karen has a hard time understanding how she could have come from Africa since she is white, and Regina immediately shuts her down. It is one of the film's funniest moments, but it might be better left in the original movie. Even if the joke still lands well, it is yet another example of 20 years of nostalgia and references diluting the surprise hilarity of the original line. The new Mean Girls should push boundaries, but repeating jokes from 20 years ago isn't the way to do so.