By Margaret Rose Tipton Siytangco

In the tradition of high school comedies, the 2004 Mean Girls movie became a teen cult classic. Now, 20 years later, it returns to the big screen, reimagined and spun off from the 2018 musical that the original movie inspired.

It will be hard to talk about the new movie without paying some homage to the 2004 predecessor. As proof of it being such a cult phenomenon, everybody who has worked or has been part of an organization that likes to have “themed” days must have come across the phrase “On Wednesdays, we were pink.” It has become such a thing that on Oct. 3 every year since the movie came out, Fashion houses worldwide do a PINK theme for that day and month.

Other than the pink day outfits, the iconic brightly colored risqué peekaboo bras have also returned. The naughty little Christmas dresses are back as well, along with the tagline “It’s so FETCH,” making a lot of us who grew up and loved ye ol’ Mean Girls happy. It’s the same story set to music, and I, for one, enjoyed it. It’s nostalgic yet fresh (fetch?) at the same time.

On a side note, everyone who has been watching movies for the past decade has been aware of the Hollywood agenda. Of being woken of femme power, inclusivity, cultural appropriation, and representation. It had come to the point of feeling like it was being stuffed down our throats forcibly. You can see it being forced in every storyline. But NOT THIS YEAR. I think Hollywood has learned its lesson, and it shows this in 2024.

This reiteration of Mean Girls is phenomenal in delivering these same messages without the viewer having the same mental “checklist” being ticked off one by one.

Are all skin colors represented? Are all sizes represented? Are all genders represented? I know asking these questions is dangerous in the media, but the nice thing is that MEAN GIRLS did its best to answer all these questions with a yes.

The lead meanie character, Regina George, used to be the iconic Barbie. Blonde, pretty, thin and sexy. This year’s Regina? She’s Blonde, beautiful, hot, sexy and VOLUPTUOUS. She isn’t your typical skinny biatch. Played by Renee Ramp, this Regina is curvy and owns it. Big is beautiful and smoking hot. Her voice will also capture you and keep you confused— should you root for the underdog or the lead mean girl?

Bebe Wood plays the second mean girl, Gretchen Wieners. Her facial expressions are completely different from the original Gretchen's, but somehow, they work better. Her eyes are so expressive that you can’t help but empathize with her.

But the third! The third Mean Girl!!! Avantika Vandanapu brilliantly portrays Karen Shetty, who, for this writer, completely steals the show. She has broken the mould of vapid empty-headedness, and yet she’s so lovable in her ditziness. Someone hands her a trophy immediately.

The lead lady, Cady, first played by Lindsay Lohan, is now brought to life by Angourie Rice, whose bright blue wide eyes gaze makes you feel for her from the get-go. I have to be honest and say that I think she may have missed the mark on delivering the best transformation from good girl to meanie, but she can reel you in.

Her two geeky best friends, Janis and Damian, performed by Auli’i Crqavlho and Jaquel Spivey, also deserve a huge round of applause for their impactful performance.

If you liked Mean Girls, watch this. If you like musicals, watch them. If you like high school movies, watch this. If you want to be entertained, watch this.

Tina Fey has done it again for the third time and delivers another fun movie. It comes out on Feb. 7 and it’ll leave you saying, “It’s so FETCH."