#cadgina

[chisamayas]

I prefer girls 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

[come-see-our-show]

I saw an early screening of the Mean Girls movie last night, so here is a summary of my thoughts, comparing the movie musical to the Broadway musical, which I was lucky enough to see live in 2018!

Changed that I liked:

The usage of social media in the Broadway show made it very clear that it was written by adults who didn’t know much about Gen-Z. It was probably one of the worst parts of the show in my opinion. But Tina Fey must have done her research since 2018, because the way the movie uses TikTok, memes, vlogging, and FaceTime to push the story forward worked VERY well. I think there were some influencer cameos, but it didn’t feel they were included to show how “young and hip” they were, It actually added authenticity.

The diversity within the cast and changing last names to reflect the characters’ backgrounds (Karen Smith ➡️ Karen Shetty, Janis Sarkisian ➡️ Janis 'Imi'ike)

Cutting down “Meet the Plastics.” It’s a very exposition-heavy song and doesn’t need to be super long, even though the full version is quite catchy and fun.

All of the new jokes landed so well, probably because Tina Fey’s writing style is better suited for the screen as opposed to the stage.

This is more of a comparison of the musical vs. the original film, but a big change was The Plastics’ weaponized wokeness (which I talk about here).

The production design for most of the songs was very different. The stage musical has a lot of rock songs, which were changed to a pop sound for the movie. I personally prefer rock musicals, but it was a good way to give the movie a separate identity from its predecessor so it doesn’t risk becoming a carbon copy. It worked on some songs (“Someone Gets Hurt” and “World Burn”) but not on others (“A Cautionary Tale” and “Revenge Party”).

Cutting the joke about Regina’s ass being big. It was a very low-brow joke, which I’m not a fan of, and was just really immature. Thank God that was changed to her falling, which still shows her being embarrassed without her body being the joke.

Explicitly making Janis a lesbian! (It’s only implied in the stage show with “It’s not even true… I only have one butt”) And she goes to prom with a girl while Damien dances with a boy! ALSO THERE’S REJANIS LORE AND IT’S SO HEARTBREAKING I LOVE IT

megan thee stallion just… being there

Miss Norbury and Principal Duvall being a couple and owning a dog together!!!

As a low mezzo, I appreciated whoever decided to lower the key for “I’d Rather Be Me.” I felt very represented 🩷

Having Cady be raised in a single-parent household so it focuses in more on her relationship with her mom. Jenna Fischer was so motherly and sincere and brought a warmth to the movie. Their scene together near the end made me emotional (you’re never too old to ask your parent to stay with you until you fall asleep) (also this is my request to make jenna fischer my mom)

Changes that I didn’t like:

Cutting BOTH of Damian’s solos??? (SHE’S LEAVING!!!!!!!! JUST LIKE MY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Cutting “More Is Better.” It wasn’t necessarily a memorable song, but it did give both Cady and Aaron more depth, both as separate characters and within their relationship.

While cutting some of the songs helped with pacing, cutting HALF of the score made me forget that it was a musical sometimes, which sucks because I really like musicals!!!

Other stuff:

The movie was marketed horribly. One of my friends didn’t even know it was gonna be a musical because there were no songs in the trailers 💀 (Also, this isn’t just a Mean Girls problem. The Color Purple also didn’t have any songs in the trailer. I didn’t even know Wonka was a musical until I saw it in theaters, so that was a bit of a shock.) If you’re producing a musical movie, maybe your focus groups should be musical fans, because that’s still a HUGE market.

Auliʻi Cravalho’s voice is STUNNING! She and Jaquel Spivey had great chemistry and their friendship felt so genuine!

The opening and ending transitions from the garage were everything to me

The EDITING

Angourie Rice is a great actor and fit Cady perfectly… except for her singing. Out of the entire cast she was easily the weakest in terms of vocals and it was pretty disappointing since she’s the LEAD. I could barely hear her in the new song “What Ifs” because of how quiet and breathy she was. I think it’s a better written song compared to “Roar” though.

Jon Hamm cameo!

Ashley Park cameo!

I cannot stress enough how funny this movie was. I was probably laughing louder than everyone else in the theatre.

I lost my shit during “Meet the Plastics” when Regina unzipped her jacket and Cady was staring at her boobs. She’s just like me fr 🏳️‍🌈

I know that Regina is a horrible person but I couldn’t find it in me to dislike her in the slightest. She just served too much cunt 😩

Christopher Briney is a good actor, but I don't think he was the right choice for Aaron Samuels. I would hate to ridicule anyone for their looks, but it still plays an important part in casting. Aaron is supposed to be a somewhat naive, wholesome, hot jock (and Regina has high standards, so he better be a fucking model). Briney is definitely a cutie, but gives off “smoldering badboy with a secret sensitive side” energy, which isn’t what Aaron should be.

The fantasy sequences (Stupid With Love, Revenge Party, October 3rd). I LOVE when movie musicals USE the medium to tell stories in a way that they can’t on a stage!!!

THE CHOREO!!! Everyone freezing then shaking in “Someone Get Hurt” AHHHH that entire number was HYPNOTIZING!!!!!!!!!!! My friend told me the choreographer’s name is Kyle Hanagami, so shout out to him. (also reneé rapp was so fucking hot while singing that oh my lord)

I will be calling my pimples “face breasts” from now on (avantika ilysm)

DAMIAN’S FRENCH COVER OF THE ICARLY THEME SONG 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

why was there a 0.5 camera shot of cady during revenge party 💀

“I’d Rather Be Me” was so much fun and I felt so fucking empowered. And the transition from the song to the bus was just *chef’s kiss*

“donut worry i am still your freend” 🥺

Lindsay Lohan cameo!!!!!!!!!

NOT ENOUGH RENEÉ RAPP 😭😭

Overall, the movie was not perfect, but the Broadway show already had plenty of flaws, so it’s understandably how that would affect the adaptation. I still a LOT of fun and would definitely see it again. Go stream Snow Angel by Reneé Rapp. i love women 🥰🥰🥰

[sunnyeatssteak]

rewatched the musical yesterday... and god... cady baby

i was a man possessed. i spent about 80 percent of my time talking about cady x regina. and the other 20 percent of the time, i was praying for someone else to bring it up so i could talk about it more

[maybeimamuppet]

what ifs, might haves, could have beens

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

She freezes in her tracks when she sees her. A cute floral skirt just past her knees, a t-shirt tucked into it, and some remarkably well matched Keds all convey an almost Miss Honey-esque vibe. But what gets Regina most is the hair.

That familiar strawberry blonde, falling in gentle ringlets a bit past her shoulders. It’s shorter now than it was back then, but she has the front pieces twisted back like a crown just like she did that first day they met.

She turns, her floral skirt whirling after her, and smiles instinctively as she sees the two of them. Her eyebrows raise high on her forehead as she recognizes Regina before her. “Regina? Oh my god, it’s so good to see you!”

Before Regina knows how to react, Cady’s wrapping her in a tight, friendly hug. She’s still a head shorter than Regina. Just like in high school. “Cady Heron. As I live and breathe.”

[dxntloseurhead]

throwback to this iconic tweet liked by renee rapp:

[sunnyeatssteak]

so I saw this screencap while scrolling tumblr and all I could think of was how cady looked like she was having the TIME of her LIFE and she's very real for that

I forgot the yellow sleeve aagh

[chisamayas]

top.... 6..... cadina headcanons, aaaaand go!

CADINA HEADCANONS ❤️🩷

- They love playing with each other’s hair! Cady especially loves braiding Regina’s hair, she’ll always fiddle with little strands of her hair when they’re next to each other and Regina never undoes the braids she makes, she lets them stay in her hair until the day ends. Regina loves combing through Cady’s hair and twirling little bits of it with her finger when Cady’s preoccupied with doing something else. Cady can be writing an essay or doing math worksheets and Regina will be standing behind her so that she can use her fingers as a comb for her hair.

- Regina loves cheese fries, and she usually gets them for lunch if they’re available. It’s pretty well known that no one is allowed to touch her food, but Cady is an exception! Regina doesn’t mind letting Cady sneak a few fries onto her plate, and sometimes she even orders extra so that Cady will be able to get a bigger portion.

- It’s hard for Regina to verbally say ‘I love you’, especially in the early stages of her relationship with Cady, and instead she shows her affection through gifts. Cady is showered with so many presents that she’s physically unable to keep track of all of them. If Cady shows even a little bit of interest in something (“Oh, that teddy bear is so cute!”), Regina will have that item wrapped up and ready for her before she can even finish the sentence.

- Regina loves dressing Cady up! She brings her out to malls regularly and finds a lot of joy in seeing Cady switch through all the different outfits she’s picked out. If Cady ends up liking any outfit Regina gave her to try on, she’ll buy it for her.

- Cady borrows Regina her mathlete jacket one day and Regina just never actually returns it. Regina wears it frequently at home, and when Cady’s scent starts to fade away from it, she’ll just bring it back to Cady’s house for a few days before taking it back.

- Post canon, Cady and Regina continue to wear matching necklaces! Regardless if they use the ones they had in canon or if they get a new pair, they’ll still have matching necklaces.

- Regina’s back acts up a lot, and Cady is always the first to notice when Regina looks like she’s in pain— so, she’s always fussing around her to help her find seats or to hold and support her! Cady also massages Regina’s back often to help with the pain.

Thank you for asking! 🫶💖

[chisamayas]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

“Kiss me.” Regina murmured, twirling Cady’s fingers between her own.

“What?” The sudden request caught Cady off guard, and for a moment she felt like her heart was going to pop like a balloon.

“I said,” Regina’s voice whispered back to her, sending a hot chill down her entire body. Cady was surprised she hadn’t completely folded over and collapsed. “Kiss me.”

Cady didn’t need to be told again.

(Cady meets Regina at a party after months of not seeing her. They play spin the bottle and end up together in a closet, alone.)

New Cadina fic up <33 thank you for reading as always! Happy Mean Girls (2024) day! 🫶