A remake of the Broadway musical itself adapting the cult American film, “Mean Girls: Lolita Despite Me” was released in theaters this Wednesday, January 10, 2024.
Since its release in theaters 20 years ago, Mean Girls has been a comedy institution among America’s thirty-somethings. A little less cult in France, the fact remains that the film translated into Lolita Despite Me remains a classic of the genre. Remaking it barely two decades later therefore proved to be particularly daunting.
And yet. Mean Girls: Lolita Despite Me, released in cinemas this Wednesday January 10, 2024, succeeds in surprising and being, in certain aspects, very enjoyable. This is not a strict remake of the film worn by Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams in 2004, but rather a supercharged adaptation of the American musical, performed on Broadway between 2018 and 2020.
Still written by Tina Fey, the story of Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), a teenager who lived her entire childhood in South Africa before returning to the United States and discovering the harsh law of the jungle that plagues high school under the cut of the plague Regina George (Reneé Rapp), is now embellished with songs.
Mean Girls: Lolita Despite Me will not surprise fans of the original comedy: it sometimes copies shot by shot, line by line, actor by actor (Tina Fey thus reprises her role) of the 2004 comedy. no surprise if you already know the original film.
However, Mean Girls: Lolita Despite Me manages to be delightful and surprising in the way it transposes the plot into the 2020s. Whether in the use of the smartphone, its tangy staging, the influence of social networks and especially TikTok with the appearance of influencers, openly feminist remarks or even musical influences (Regina George sounds in a style similar to that of Billie Eillish), this new version attempts to anchor itself in its time.
If he doesn’t invent anything, he nonetheless remains entertaining and effective. This guilty pleasure which could become cult for the new generation.