As a big musical theatre fan, I was hyped for the release of 2024’s movie musical adaptation of Mean Girls, based on both the 2004 Lindsay Lohan film and the Broadway stage adaptation – but the fatphobia really let the side down.
Featuring iconic tracks like World Burn and I’d Rather Be Me, the musical promised to be everything I look for in a feel-good flick – uplifting, feminist and with enough pink to put the Barbie movie to shame. And for most of the flick, that’s exactly what I got.
The all-star cast were what made the movie so good. Pretty Girls songstress Reneé Rapp kills it as the new Regina George, while Cady Heron star Angourie Rice bears so much of a resemblance to her on-screen mum (The Office’s Jenna Fischer) that it left me wondering if they were actually related. Returning cameos from Tina Fey, Tim Meadows and Lindsay Lohan from the original 2004 flick provided a few in-jokes for the audience.
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Moana star Auli’i Cravalho provided a standout performance for me as Janis, belting out perfect notes and delivering lines with a deadpan humour that served the character well. Even Madmen actor Jon Hamm pops up as Coach Carr.
(Image: YouTube)
Only one aspect let me down. While Janis’ backstory was changed two decades after the original film’s release to tie in with more modern attitudes, the fatphobia was still rife throughout. 2004’s film sees Regina accuse Janis of being a lesbian and ostracise her from the friend group; 2024’s changes that to establish Janis’ same-sex romances and turn the argument into one involving her being ‘obsessed’ with Regina and setting fire to her backpack.
It’s a nod to the changing attitudes and how Gen-Zs are helping to stamp out homophobia. But when it comes to Cady feeding Regina Kalteen nutrition bars, which she claims will help her lose weight, the story is pretty much the same.
If you’re unfamiliar, Kalteen bars are for treating malnourishment. Cady lies to Regina and encourages her to subsist on a diet of the bars to help her get in shape, in order to sabotage the Plastics and get revenge on Regina for stealing Aaron back.
(Image: YouTube)
One scene sees Regina – played by the curvaceous Rapp – unable to fit into anything but sweatpants. She’s refused a seat at the Plastics table even after her tragic admission that nothing else fits her anymore, in an epitome of the ‘mean girl’ aesthetic.
But even afterwards, when Cady has her revelation and goes back to her pre-Plastic days, no apology is given over the gross depiction of fatphobia. The movie basically says, ‘This is okay, because Regina was putting on weight, and fat people don’t deserve kindness’.
It’s not as if she was ‘fat’ by anyone’s standards. In fact, Rapp’s own body didn’t change at all for the role – only how her character dressed. But there’s also the age old stereotype of fat = lazy – and that’s just not true.
Back in 2004 it was easier to get away with. But in a 2024 movie aimed primarily at teen girls, it feels like negligence, especially considering the comments Rapp has made about her own experiences with body shaming.
(Image: YouTube)
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She told The Guardian that she’s suffered with an eating disorder in the past, and said some people working on the musical would say “some vile f***ing things to me about my body”. She claimed her parents were so concerned that they flew out to New York to try and convince her to leave the film.
She added: “Eating disorders don’t just go away and like, you’re healed, like: ‘Sorry, I can eat again, ha ha!’ It’s a lifelong thing. There are battles with addiction and whatever everywhere. I still struggle with it, but at least my parents know that I’ve been taken out of environments that were really harmful to my sickness, which is awesome and a huge win. They worry like hell, but they’re chilling, I guess.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
