Mean Girls 2024 Movie Review | Safe for Kids?

Is Mean Girls 2024 safe for kids? Is Mean Girls 2024 OK for kids? Read the Mean Girls 2024 Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, an honest parents guide and mom review of the all-new 2024 Paramount and Tina Fey musical to film adaptation of Mean Girls 2004 starring Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Busy Phillips, and Tina Fey. No spoilers! #MeanGirls May contain commissioned links.

Mean Girls 2024 Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide to Musical to Film Adaptation

An Oprah sized The Color Purple success?

Or a Dear Evan Hansen Ben Platt sized failure?

The musical to film adaptation movement may be trendy right now – but can this movie makeover survive high school and The Plastics?

In this Mean Girls 2024 Review | Safe for Kids?, I’m breaking down the visuals, the story, a full PG-13 age rating explanation for violence, adult themes and language, and what kids’ age recommendation is suggested to watch in this new 2024 Mean Girls parents guide to the new musical to film adaptation. A no-spoiler parent review of Mean Girls, can this 2024 glow up even compare to the original?

The Visuals

Visually, Mean Girls 2024 is the right mix of stage theater and filmography. Enhancing musical numbers with special effects, lighting and creative camera movements, the visuals spotlight the soundtrack with love and care. I can’t say that I was overly thrilled with the costuming and hair choices (it’s hard to say whether the film was trying to stay in 2004 or 2024 at times) but the bright colors and camera work really shines.

Photosensitivity Warning. For viewers prone to epilepsy and photosensitivity, please note that Mean Girls 2024 has multiple musical numbers with extensive sequences of flashing and strobing lights that may be triggering. Both “Sexy” and “World Burn” soundtrack songs feature these visual special effects.

The Story

Based on the musical that’s based on the 2004 original movie, Mean Girls gets a new modern twist on the high school musical to film adaptation. With a new screenplay by Tina Fey and directed by duo Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. (“Dan Miller“), the cast stars Angourie Rice (“Spider-Man: No Way Home“) as Cady Heron, Reneé Rapp (“The Sex Lives of College Girls“) as Regina George, Auli’i Cravalho (“Moana“) as Janis, Jaquel Spivey (“A Strange Loop“) as Damian, Avantika Vandanapu (“Spin“) as Karen, Bebe Wood (“The Real O’Neals“) as Gretchen, and Christopher Briney (“The Summer I Turned Pretty“) as Aaron Samuels, along with Jenna Fischer (“The Office“), Busy Philipps (“I Feel Pretty“), Ashley Park (“Joy Ride“), Tina Fey (“Soul“), and Tim Meadows (“The Goldbergs“).

For those who are familiar with the original story, this all-new musical to film adaptation doesn’t stray far from the original script. But the new addition of musical numbers along with dance sequences and camera movements – Mean Girls hits just the right mix of theater and film without being over-the-top. Thankfully the number of songs has been edited to fit more of the story. And honestly, I couldn’t be happier with “most” of the casting.

Reneé Rapp is perfectly casted as Regina George (and yay for body positivity!), but the award truly goes to the Janis (Cravalho) and Damian (Spivey) duo. I loved this mashup of characters so much. The power of their voices combined with their acting talent and their attitudes – they absolutely stole the show. I honestly wasn’t overly thrilled with the Gretchen and Aaron castings – but all of the teacher castings were fun. I appreciate the diversity and inclusion efforts. And you can tell how much Tina Fey is passionate about this project.

Mean Girls 2024 PG-13 Rating Explained

Is Mean Girls 2024 safe for kids? From a PG rated 2004 kids film to a PG-13 rated musical upgrade, should parents be concerned? It’s no secret that I am highly skeptical of all MPAA ratings (um hello, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker not disclosing any language??). And as we know, not all movie and TV age ratings are the same. As a parent, it’s been rather heartbreaking to witness how ratings have shifted over the years with a G-rating no longer an option.

PG ratings now oscillating between Turning Red intense to Christopher Robin calm, and even PG-13/TV-14 age ratings teetering on the edge of R or MA ratings (Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night, I see you!), there’s a wide range between the age of 0-14 years old for parents to consider. Having fully disclosed parent guidelines can help determine if a movie or show is kid friendly – and safe for the whole family to watch together.

Why is Mean Girls 2024 rated PG-13? In this Mean Girls 2024 Review | Safe for Kids?, this new Tina Fey musical to film adaptation is rated PG-13 for “sexual content, language and some teen partying.” With film and TV ratings also unpredictable these days, having fully disclosed parent guidelines can help determine if a movie or television show like Secret Invasion is kid friendly. Is Mean Girls 2024 too crude for kids? Is Mean Girls 2024 too adult? Let’s breakdown that PG-13 age rating in this Mean Girls 2024 parents guide.

Violence/Suspense. Mild overdramatized high school fist fighting and hair pulling, one character hit suddenly by a moving vehicle. Character shown in intricate collar neck brace.

Adult Themes. Hold onto your pink shoes. The adult theme section of ean Girls 2024 is going to be one of my longest to date. Bullying and cyberbullying present, as well as presence of social media and phone texting throughout the movie. Mild toilet humor with one mention of the smell of one’s “BM,” and one reference to “diarrhea.”

Multiple verbal references to drug usage including discussions about “heroin,” “vaping,” “illegal drugs,” “doing drugs,” “drug pusher,” and “drug bust.” Alcohol is discussed and consumed in this film. Multiple scenes of teen partying with underage drinking of shots holding beer bottles and solo cups, acting intoxicated, and verbal references to “vodka,” “alcohol poisoning,” and “getting wasted.”

Sexual innuendo is a common theme throughout the film, mostly for comedic effects. Multiple scenes of kissing and making out, including boy/girl kissing and same sex kissing. One kissing scene with boy in only boxers and girl half dressed. Multiple scenes of sensual dancing including twerking and grabbing oneself in different sensitive areas while dancing. Multiple scenes showing girls in low cut shirts, short skirts and tight clothing that show off cleavage and/or bra exposure. Multiple scenes of guys with open shirts and/or shirtless including one locker room scene of boys in only towels. One scene of a girl “crotch sitting” with a guy. Lots of flirting, hugging, and hand holding between same sex and opposite sex couples. No nudity or sex acts shown (but keep reading, because it’s basically everything but…)

Multiple verbal sensual innuendo references including mentioning how any people a person has had sex/slept with, and words including “sex,” “sexy,” “hot,” “crotch sitting,” “horny,” “hooking up,” “slut,” “slutty,” “wench,” “hairy nips,” “nipple,” “boobs,” “breast,” “old lady taco,” “vagina,” and “condoms.” One reference referring to a girl’s period with “super jumbo tampons” and her “flow.” Multiple references to sexuality and sexual equality including “gay,” “lesbian,” and “feminism” references. Professions of love with “I love you” statements also present. Visual and verbal reference to the “spin the bottle” game.

Language. Ahem, some language? High school certainly hasn’t become less foul in the last 20 years, with this Mean Girls 2024 film coughing up plenty of swear words and foul language throughout the film. Swear words and foul language phrases include 1 “d-cks,” 2 “-sshole,” 8 “b-tch,” 4 “sh-t,” 1 “b-stards,” 2 “d-mn,” 2 “H-E-double-hockey-sticks,” 3 “crap,” 5 middle finger visual gestures, 2 “WTF” in text, and 1 “mother f—-ing” not quite said fully, but implied.

And the fun doesn’t stop there. Mild insults and bad language phrases include “freaking,” “be-otch,” “shut up,” “heck,” “scum sucking,” “pissed,” “stupid,” “moron,” “idiot,” “nerd,” “dumb,” “loser,” “crotch,” “horny,” “slut,” “slutty,” “wench,” “hairy nips,” “gay,” “lesbian,” “oh my gosh,” “swear to g-d,” “oh my g-d,” “dear g-d,” “oh Lord,” and “good Lord.”

Mean Girls 2024 Age Rating for Kids

The Overall

Can a remake be good? In a word, fetch.

I wasn’t expecting to ever like a movie remake, especially when the original is so iconic and untouchable. But 2024 proves that even a mom movie reviewer can change her mind.

Think Bridesmaids…goes to high school. Mean Girls 2024 may look like a teen film, but this high school experience is for a mature audience. This new version may have removed an f-bomb, but Mean Girls has definitely dialed up the comedic maturity in all other areas of this PG-13 film. But even being a little raunchier and a little naughtier than the original, I certainly laughed more than I ever did in high school.

But no, this updated Mean Girls 2024 film is still NOT for kids.

Follow Mean Girls 2024 on social media:

• Website: https://www.meangirls.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meangirls
• Twitter (“X”): https://twitter.com/MeanGirls
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meangirls
• #MeanGirls

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Mean Girls 2024, the all-new Tina Fey musical to film adaptation hair flips into theaters starting Friday, January 12, 2024. Will your family be watching?

I was invited to screen the new 2024 Mean Girls musical film adaptation in exchange for this Mean Girls 2024 Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide. All photos courtesy of Paramount. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more movie updates, celebrity interviews, entertainment and behind-the-scenes info!