The New Mean Girls Movie May Be Too Much For Younger Kids

The new Mean Girls movie is in theaters now, and it’s a whole lot of fun. Sure, there are plenty of us with strong feelings about the 2004 original movie and so our viewing was tinged with a bit of nostalgia — we remember how we felt when we first met the Plastics and their Queen Regina George, newcomer from Africa Cady Heron, and of course, Regina’s “cool mom” played by Amy Poehler. When the original trailer for the new movie came out, there was a comment about how it was “not your mother’s Mean Girls,” which had everyone losing their minds.

But the real question is, is it your kids’ Mean Girls?

Making fetch happen all over again, this time with singing.

The new Mean Girls movie was written by Tina Fey, just like the original movie back in 2004. This new version, though, is based on the Broadway musical version that Fey wrote along with her husband, lyricist Jeff Richmond. This time around, Renee Rapp plays Regina George instead of Rachel McAdams, while Angourie Rice takes over from Lindsay Lohan to play Cady Heron. As for Mrs. George, Regina’s mother, this time around Busy Philipps has taken on the Juicy couture-clad role.

Mean Girls is rated PG-13.

Yes, there are some powerful messages in the new Mean Girls movie about feminism and bullying and acceptance, but it is rated PG-13 for a reason. The official rating cites “sexual material, strong language, and teen drinking,” and it is true that there is some mid-level swearing in the film (words like “slut” and “dick,” for example). Not the f-word, mind you, but someone is called “fugly” which is F-word ajacent.

The sexuality might be a bit much for younger kids.

The sexuality in Mean Girls could be too much for tweens and younger kids, especially as the people being sexualized are actually teenagers themselves. The “hot” Halloween costumes worn by the Plastics and the negative conversations about body image, while intended to highlight how unhealthy they are, could have the opposite effect on kids who aren’t mature enough to understand satire. There is also a lot of bullying and peer pressure being put on blast in the film, but kids younger than 13 might not grasp that Fey is exaggerating certain moments as a way to call out this behavior.

How to watch the new Mean Girls movie

If you want to take your older kids to watch the new Mean Girls movie, catch it in theaters across the country now. Or you can watch the original on Paramount+ to see how things go. Because that way, you can just turn it off if it gets weird.