Plastic is back on the menu as Mean Girls makes its return to the big screen.
The film’s creator and Ms Norbury actor Tina Fey has been on the promotion circuit, adding to the already huge amount of hype that’s accompanied the run up to the much anticipated film’s release. While she’s keeping tightlipped about things like guest cameos and plot differences between the new “refreshed” version and the Millennial cultural touchstone that was the original, Fey has been happy to give us some personal details during her interviews. And, as it turns out, some of these give us a fair amount of information about how she came to craft the 2004 hit movie.
In a recent interview on the Today show, Fey briefly discussed her own high school experiences, as well as her feelings about the upcoming release, and the Broadway musical that’s been a smash hit everywhere it’s been produced. Check out our summary below if you want to know what Tina Fey was like in high school, and which Mean Girls character she most identifies with (hint: it’s not Karen).
What was Tina Fey like in high school?
This probably won’t be a shock to anybody, but Fey referred to herself as “a kind of theatre geek…absolute dork.” She also called herself a “good student,” which is clear to see for anyone who has laughed at her trademark smart, biting comedy, which made Mean Girls the hit it is.
The producers flashed a picture of Fey at her prom, at which point the star made a joke at the expense of her…questionable teen fashion sense. She also clarified that while she’d taken a picture with her brother in the dress, she hadn’t actually taken him to the dance, which would have made her almost too much of a stereotype.
Which Mean Girls character does Tina Fey most identify with?
Fey was pretty unequivocal when asked which character from the movie she was most liked, immediately stating that she identified with Janis. It wasn’t just the character’s positive attributes that Fey shared, as she confirmed when she added:
“I do think I talked a lot of smack about people…I thought that I was like, the victim in every situation, and really i was a monster.”
Then again, that sounds like the majority of teenagers in existence, so we won’t judge her too harshly for it.
Janis was originally played by Lizzy Caplan, and in the 2024 movie the role will be taken on by Auli’i Cravalho.
What else did we learn in the Today interview?
Although it was only brief, the Today interview covered a lot of topics. The comedian, actor, and writer spoke about how she and her team had “so much fun on the Broadway musical,” and revealed that the inspiration for the 2024 movie came to her during the pandemic. After the musical shut down, she became certain that she “wanted more people to see what we had made,” and began putting her plans into action.
Additionally, the star confirmed that the new film wasn’t a musical production filmed for the big screen, but more a film with musical interludes, describing the numbers as being done with “music video style shooting.”
Fey also discussed how some elements of the original didn’t quite hold up so well under a more modern microscope, admitting that: “20 years go past and you think ‘Oh I wish maybe we hadn’t said that.” (Take note, every male comic who believes that people not finding them funny is a product of cancel culture, instead of them simply being unfunny).
To make sure the script was suitably refreshed in other ways, Fey admitted that she sought the opinion of her teen daughter and her high school friends. They confirmed that the infamous Burn Book should still be a physical copy instead of something digital, and were also apparently instrumental in the casting of Christopher Briney as heartthrob Aaron.
Fey teased that there would be “wonderful surprises” for fans of the 2004 film, hinting at cameo appearances for some of the original cast. Was a recent Black Friday ad that reunited three of the original four plastics a sign of more to come?
The interview ended with Fey insisting that she wouldn’t be replacing Lorne “Stalin” Michaels at the head of SNL, despite the interviewers pushing her on it. For now, though, she can just bask in the glory of the return of Glen Coco.