On a cold Saturday afternoon I walked into the AMC Evanston theater, expecting to see a terrible remake of the 2004 classic film, “Mean Girls.” Instead, I left the theater feeling unsatisfied—unable to make fun of it nor able to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I had seen many videos online claiming that it was painfully cringey and disappointing. While I agree with these statements, the movie did have some redeeming qualities.

Jenna Fischer, best known for her role as Pam on “The Office,” plays Mrs. Heron in this remake. She is the mother to Cady Heron, the protagonist of the film, who is played by Angourie Rice.

This casting was truly remarkable. Maybe it’s just me, but these actresses look so similar it’s creepy. I knew I was going to love Fischer as Mrs. Heron because her acting has been amazing ever since her on-screen chemistry with John Krasinski. But I never realized what a striking resemblance Angourie Rice has to her. Great choice on this one, producer Tina Fey.

But despite her incredible resemblance to Fischer, Rice was not the right pick for Cady Heron. Her voice sounded overly auto tuned throughout the films, but especially in the song, “Stupid With Love.” Maybe I’m being too critical, but I would’ve preferred someone with a slightly stronger voice in this role. Sabrina Carpenter, who played Cady on Broadway, would’ve been a better pick.

This was not the case for the iconic Janice-Damian duo. Auli’i Cravalho’s voice is not only perfect for this role, but the character of Janice fits the actress so well. In addition, Jaquel Spivey added just the right amount of sass needed to play Damian, with the iconic line, “She doesn’t even go here!”

I may be a little biased on this point due to my love for all things Renee Rapp… but she really did carry the entire movie on her back. Hearing the song “World Burn” may have been the highlight of my entire month. Renee Rapp’s voice is angelic and absolutely made for this role, since she made her broadway debut as Regina at just age 19. I couldn’t imagine anyone else as the new Regina.

Though costuming is a seemingly small aspect of the film, over-the-top outfits are essential to the “Mean Girls” franchise. I was outraged at seeing Regina George in loose pants and a corset top that could’ve been bought off any fast fashion website. The plastics, and especially their queen bee, should only be seen wearing mini skirts and bright pink heels. Instead, the costume designer, Tom Broecker, made an attempt at modernizing the movie with a trashy version of Gen Z fashion. Not only do these outfits not represent current trends whatsoever, but this strays from the iconic style the original film is known for.

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As much as I love E.l.f. products, their marketing team definitely overdid it with the product placement. In the scene where Regina admits to actually liking Cady while in a neck brace at prom, the camera settles on the new E.l.f. lip oil for a full five seconds. Along with this shot, several products could be seen on Regina’s vanity and in other scenes throughout the film. Not only was this corny, but it’s totally unrealistic. E.l.f. prides itself on being an affordable makeup brand, one which Regina George would never use since she’s depicted as an avid consumer of luxury products. I can imagine her using Charlotte Tilbury contour and Dior lip oil, but definitely not drugstore products.

As part of the movie’s effort to relate to Gen Z audiences, it incorporates TikTok videos into several scenes. Avantika Vandanapu, who plays Karen, is seen filming a TikTok while singing about the traditions of high school Halloween. And when Regina messes up the talent show dance, she goes viral and starts a chain of videos laughing at her failure. This addition to the original storyline was pointless and the TikToks only added to the movie’s cringe factor.

The most obvious change from the original is that this film is a movie musical. However, the directors decided to add in aspects of both the movie and the broadway musical, creating a strange combination of the two. It cut a few iconic songs and had some strange choreography choices, but what upset me most was the song choice for the talent show dance. The iconic “Jingle Bell Rock” song was replaced by the song, “Rockin’ Around the Pole,” and although this was the song featured in the Broadway musical, it felt wrong to see the plastics dance to a different song than the original movie.

Overall, the new “Mean Girls” movie didn’t live up to the original movie’s legacy, though it wasn’t as terrible as social media made it out to be. The casting, especially Renee Rapp as Regina George, is pretty much the only thing the directors got somewhat right. I’d recommend seeing it as an adventurous outing, but definitely not if you’re looking for a cinematic masterpiece.