Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Paramount Pictures
The bar was low for the Mean Girls musical movie. You’d think that might not be the case, given its predecessor’s place at the apex of teen movie fame. But seeing as almost all of the promotional material for the film has cleverly hidden that this remake is an adaptation of the Broadway musical (itself adapted from the 2004 movie), expectations are wisely being kept low.
As it turns out, that was for the best. The songs in this “new twist from Tina Fey”—who wrote the screenplay for this remake as well as the book for the stage production—work best when you go into the movie entirely blind. That way, it’s easier to get through the middlingly earnest numbers that fill the space between the film’s big showstoppers. There are a decent number of standouts, propping the movie up on the shoulders of its characters’ Juicy Couture sweatsuits. Most of them are delegated to the film’s star, budding pop sensation Reneé Rapp, who does a commendable, if inferior, job living up to the glorious cattiness of Rachel McAdams’ Regina George.
But it’s the new Mean Girls’ breakout star, teen sensation Avantika, who runs away with the movie in her uproarious number. As Karen Samuels, Avantika dials up the dopiness for a take that’s even more lovably obtuse than Amanda Seyfriend’s original. (Well, alright, let’s call them even.) It’s during Karen’s solo song at the annual Halloween party that the Mean Girls remake finds its groove—literally. Avantika’s rendition of “Sexy,” taken from the Broadway musical, is a thumping, cheeky electropop banger packed with punchlines. It’s the movie’s most delightful segment, so good that the silly self-empowerment song could find its way into everyday listening.