Mean Girls 2 reminds me of another poor quality sequel that I watched recently; Dream a Little Dream 2. The similarities are so vast, you could do a compare/contrast project for school on it. Both were released six years after their predecessors, both don't include many, roughly any actors from the first, both are low budget, and both are Direct-to-DVD. I'm surprised the DVD of MG2 doesn't include a preview of DALD2. It would be so fitting.
The original Mean Girls was just seen by me a few months back. In my review I stated "In terms of a teenage high school film, this was almost perfect. Its been a while since we saw a teen movie done well. With garbage like She's the Man, John Tucker Must Die, and other failed experiments gone wrong this was a breath of fresh air to see one done well." Looking back, it was a fantastic film. Just a few minor things prevented a perfect review. Now, the original Mean Girls has something even worse than a seventeen year old getting a zit in plain site; a lukewarm, poor sequel that branches off of the film.
The plot: Jo Mitchell (Martin) is a High School Senoir victim to her father's profession because she changes schools twice a year. She settles down her final High School year at North Shore High School, and has her heart set on Carnegie Mellon University. During her High School year she finds "The Plastics", the bossy bitches of school who make everyone else feel unappreciated while they live it up.
Along the way, Jo meets the outcast Abby (Stone). Abby has almost no friends, and upon arrival to her house one day, Jo is faced with a clean cut deal from her rich father where he offers her $4,000 for College to be Abby's friend through Senoir year. A shocking, but rewarding deal. Jo accepts.
Jo then turns down an offer of hanging out with Plastic leader Mandi (Walsh), and is now on the chopping block. Mandi witnesses Jo hanging with Abby and is shocked. Mandi makes Jo's life a living hell. Whats her plan? Well, Jo must've read an old year book about Lindsay Lohan's encounter with The Plastics because she does just what Cady did in the original; she tries to bring The Plastics down.
The rest goes as "The Big Book of High School Teenage Movie Clichés" says. Things start out good, go bad, then end good and happy. This shouldn't even be related to the original near-masterpiece Mean Girls was. It's just a poorly made television remake of a great film. It should've been called In the Race (anyone who's seen it will get the joke).
Meaghan Martin (Jo Mitchell) is Tess from the Disney Channel movie Camp Rock. Oddly enough, in Camp Rock, Meaghan played the girl she is trying to avoid in this film. She sets such an image for herself in that movie, and it's awkward seeing her in the role of the protagonist. Still, she could be replaced with Lindsay Lohan and it wouldn't change the lackluster script or inevitable low budget sequel feel this one currently possess.
The wit is also lost too. In the original film Mean Girls almost revolved around the way the girls spoke to each other. Whether waving their hips or making some sort of uncalled for comment, the girls showed no mercy and were hysterical. Jo drops some fair lines, but pretty much the whole wit-filled one liners were missing. I loved that stuff, where'd it go? Down the tubes along with the idea for a sequel to film that is 100% on it's own.
What a shame Mean Girls 2 doesn't live up to it's name. Instead it curses the franchise by adding an unnecessary "2" in the title. All it is is a remake of a film that doesn't need a damn sequel. It's clearly just a money hungry movie that doesn't care the reception it gets. Just as long as it makes a respectable profit.
Starring: Meaghan Martin, Jennifer Stone, Nicole Anderson, Maiara Walsh, Claire Holt, and Diego González. Directed by: Melanie Mayron.
