In Kenya, sixteen-year-old Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is told that, after being homeschooled in Kenya all her life, she is moving back to the US. On her first day of attending a public high school, outsiders Janis ‘Imi’ike (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey) quickly explain the hierarchy of the school’s various cliques. After being warned to avoid the ‘Plastics’, Cady is soon brought into the fold by the queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp).

Like Sandy Olsson in Grease, Cady navigates the pitfalls of the school, at first infiltrating the ‘Plastics’ out of revenge for the previous wrongs made to her new outsider friends, and due to Cady’s falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend.

It’s hard to believe the extremely quotable Mean Girls (2004), which launched its talented cast, is now 20 years old and is therefore fresh for a remake. Based on the Broadway musical, which is based on the 2004 comedy film, which was based on the 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes, the movie is as fresh as the faces that burst into song at the drop of a hat. While the story, characters, and writing are the same as the original movie, this outing has an infectious energy from our young cast, the songs, and the swooping camera that flies through the halls of the school and various house parties.

Verdict: Representing the use of modern technology and a more diverse cast in terms of ethnicity and body positivity, this musical is a ‘fetch’ night out.

4 stars.

Luke McWilliams, www.themovieclub.net.