The Mean Girls franchise is iconic, and the excitement around the new musical movie was totally justified! Here are my standouts:

Starting strong, Renee Rapp was born to play the role of Regina George; she embodied the role perfectly, and you can see why she was chosen to play the role on the Broadway stage and onscreen. Every song she sang became my favorite purely because her vocals were out of this world; I had goosebumps every time she was on screen, not sure how she did it but she made Regina even meaner than she already was in a good way.

Auli'i Cravalho, who played the role of Janice, surprised me. There was no doubt that she could outsing the songs, but after Moana, I was curious to see her portrayal of Janice, and I can say I was impressed. What I liked about her role is that she had the essence of the original Janice, but she switched it up. For example, she showed more of Janice from the LGBTQ+ side, and it was great to see the similarities but more representation of the community.

Avantika, who plays Karen, although I do think she didn't get as much screen time as I hoped, her song and incredibly sassy dance break was a highlight and a great contrast from the other songs; it was a fun, silly vibe that blended well with the role.

We can't forget the OG cast members reviving their roles, like the queen and creator of Mean Girls, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows as Mr. Duvall, and a cameo from a certain someone, but I'm not going to spoil it for you.

Last but far from least is Jaquel Spivey. Every word that came out of his mouth was a sassy punchline and was totally on par for the role of Damian, and what a soulful voice. Even without lines, Spivey stole the show with just his facial expressions. I'm a big fan of the OG movie and always find that remakes and characters never live up to expectations; however, Jaquel quite possibly has become my Damian.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the movie; it was nostalgic. I will say I believe nothing will top the original, but I was happy to see the iconic phrases and scenes still included but also new additions to switch it up and make it more relevant to today's generation, like the use of social media, the clothing styles, and even changing up some of the Broadway songs. It's totally fetch!