Ramble: Jenny’s uncompromising condemnation of the movie musical Mean Girls (2024)

Robin Basil

I'm not even trying to be funny... there are people who like this musical? Like I know there MUST be some people who like it of course, but I thought it was common knowledge that it is horrible LOL. I didn't know it had a group of unironically passionate fans who think this is genuinely well-made. Anyway, I love your rambles Jenny, even when they're negative.

Alexis P Bevels I will see you in Court

Why couldn't have Regina just ripped out the pages of the burn book and pasted/threw them around? Just resting it on the floor is anticlimactic

Cúán Ó Meachair

I think the idea with the new Obsessy Les plot is that in a Gen Z highschool that wouldn't be as bad. Not cause Regina would be less of an asshole for outing her friend, just that this revelation would not result in the friend group siding with Regina and going against Janet. At least in my secondary (high) school which was fairly liberal, people would not really have cared and would have agreed that Regina had made a social faux pas in outing somebody for being gay. BUT I think they could have kept it, because it still would put a rift between Janet and Regina.

Cúán Ó Meachair

One example of a bad one is Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, which is really unfortunate because the songs are amazing. And so is Patti Lupone, unfortunately wasted on that production but luckily presented not too many years later with the amazing role of space Hitler on Steven Universe

Lord Inquisitor

Sad to hear you didn’t enjoy the frozen musical, I thought it was a great adaption - great vid anyway

Kara Kaspar

I’m actually a really big fan of the musical. I listen to it a lot… the movie was shockingly bad though

J Lee

yes please to more book/fic videos! I also love theme park content so i'm easy. :D

Elyse G

I think they cast the Cady actress because of her starring role in the movie Honor Society. She does an amazing job playing a mean girl who turns nice. I guess they saw that and thought she could do Cady then? She still can’t sing so idk, but she’s great in that other role

Jessica Ayala

No, I truly thought that Renée Rapp made a better Cady and the actress that actually played Cady could’ve been a better Regina if she could actually sing She comes across way meaner than Regina did the entire movie

Sam

~41 mins: Totally agreed! Especially as there feels like there are ways for Janis to be mad at Regina while a) having her be openly gay and b) updating why Regina did it to be less homophobic. Maybe Janis wasn't ready to be open except to friends at the time when Regina outed her? Similar to what Jenny said, maybe Janis hadn't fully grasped her own sexuality yet when Regina started saying it? Perhaps there were other friends Janis lost due to Regina calling her gay because they came from a family that is against it - y'know, a thing that sadly does still happen? So many ways you could de-homophobe Regina slightly while still capturing the spirit of the original.

Selcian

41 mins: yes exactly ! This is the problem that keeps happening with remakes of 90’s and early 2000’s films. Obviously some of the plot elements are going to be problematic in this day and age, but then if you choose to get rid of those plot elements subsequently the plot makes no sense

bri yoh

god im so happy to see ur face again (outside of the yt vids ive watched 2+ times each) thank u jenny for putting so much care into ur videos <3

Charlie Ruth Jarjis

I love your movie reviews!! Please can you do some theatre show reviews too?

cady

PLEASEEE keep posting theme park content i love when u talk about theme parks !!

Juice

I love theme park content, please theme park content ❤️

Octavian Schaefer

your book videos are amazing, one of the first videos of yours I saw was about that “Reylo Fanfic” and your witty sarcasm and incredulity while reading it was extremely entertaining.

InflatableBurger

Shrek the musical is actually really good.

The Raven and the Swan

I would love a Harlequin-themed theme park video if you ever choose to make one! And I enjoyed this video despite also enjoying the movie more than you did. XD Agree that Janice and Damien stand out as good; I really wish that I’d Rather Be Me was a better song, because the voice of Moana deserves it. Also, I saw someone make a comparison between the Reginas and point out that 2024 Regina feels more openly aggressive versus the original, and your point about her characterization here reminded me of that. Her mean girl is less the perfect passive aggressive girly girl and more the very cool (though still passive aggressive sometimes) impossibly hot girl. I don’t know how much of this was due to modern times and how much was due to the choice of actress; it’s been a long time since I watched, but one of the things that made Renee Rapp famous was her role as a rich girl in The Sex Lives of College Girls, where iirc she was kind of an abrasive character and closeted lesbian. So maybe Rapp is bringing a little of that character to her performance—though it’s been years and I could be misremembering. And that could explain the cool girl glamour (and the vague queer coding you see.) I personally, as someone who was fourteen when the 2004 film came out, glommed onto this one way more because the portrayal of Regina got to me, and I definitely felt like her allure, as filmed, gave her these…bad boy/bad girl vibes sometimes? Like I could kind of see Cady as being drawn to her even though that’s not the story. Anyway, I enjoyed what I read into it, but I agree it’s not the Barbie girl cool we might expect from a traditional mean girl. I also really like your idea that the Rapp is doing a walk based on lions; she does have that lioness vibe! (I think she tried out for Glinda too? (And Amanda Seyfried.) Ariana Grande did great but I want a peek into the alternate realm of that Glinda with Erivo’s Elphaba. As a sapphic I might have died.)

femfederation

make only theme park videos

yazzle

I love how everyone just forgot Aaron

Emily Griese

I've watched this ramble two or three times now and today I decided to actually watch the movie because I thought it would be hilariously bad but I shockingly found myself enjoying it. I'm surprised that people are saying it's worse than the stage musical because, at least as far as the musical arrangements go, I thought the production on the songs from the movie was stellar and the songs from the stage musical sounded awful by comparison. In that sense, I feel like they did a seriously impressive job with what they were forced to work with, changing the generic instrumentation on each track to not only better suit the character singing, but also to fit in well with the kinds of music you might hear on a modern teen's spotify playlist. Renee Rapp has an incredible voice, the Janice and Damien characters were fabulous and I really didnt have a problem with Cady's voice in the songs that were just her. I thought the soft airy tones fit her Act 1 character really well. I laughed out loud a few times, especially at the bit where they faked out Tina Fey starting to sing. The lyrics at some points were still embarrassingly bad, and I don't think there's anything that can be done to make "I'd rather be me" a worthwhile listen, but I was pleasantly surprised by the movie as a whole. Maybe my expectations were just so low that there was no chance of being disappointed, but I would be lying if I said I never want to watch it again.

anya k

I also think if you’re going to modernise mean girls you have to modernise EVERYTHING which means changing the whole story (bc the original one was so grounded in its time)

anya k

I do think this is funny but also it unfortunately kind of true. homophobia is a lot more detrimental to the social status of teenage girls than a boob job is

sean

I love that, because of the nature of this modernization, Regina (our villain) can't be homophobic, so we need a Fantastic Beasts 2 level backstory scene. But we still have Regina introducing herself by singing "and yes, THESE are real" as if speculating on teenage girls getting breast implants was something that was still socially acceptable in 2017 much less 2024. Like... if there was ever a way to scrub the movie of anything remotely problematic, bringing back Tina Fey in the writer's room was not the way to do it. (I love and respect her but so much of her humor and feminism is based on spite towards any woman who in any way resembles the "popular" or "girly" archetype)

sean

This musical bugged me so much. It was so interested in sanitizing/censoring the original movie for Gen Z that it sort of completely forgets what the movie was about. The storyline about being a millennial teenager - pre-social media in the social climate of 2004 - doesn't translate when you try and scrub it of anything that "hasn't aged well" and plug it into a setting that revolves around social media and the mid 2010s push for political correctness. Especially when it's still structured around a "not like other girls" mindset. Just a lot of ideas that don't coalesce.

jess f

IGNORE ANYONE SAYING THEY WANT LESS THEME PARK CONTENT IM SO SERIOUS

Marion Heisenberg

I ADORE your theme park videos because of how passionate you are about it.

MJ

It’s so affirming to hear that someone else also hates the original musical. The music sucks!

Isabella Basic

Right? I always loved that person as someone who is Lebanase and has people make that mistake

jamie!

proud to be a NYC tourist that saw a non-movie-adaptation broadway show

Lerb

Personally I don’t think there’s anything wrong with 2 theme park related videos in a row. I can only speak for myself, but a lot of the enjoyment I get out of your videos is that you’re clearly very passionate about what you’re talking about, and the subject is a bit more secondary to that. Happy holidays! ☺️

Jeremy Hersh

Any hot takes on whether it’s worth it to go to Uni Studios in CA if i ONLY want to see the little Nintendo land?

Alexandrea

Imo there’s no such thing as too much theme park content. And I love your book summaries

Char

Very excited for the Runaway Heart video! Create and release content as you like. You do you 💛

Claire Stump

Janis being a lesbian just takes away from the whole joke of the original movie. In the movie Janis tells Regina she’s Lebanese and Regina thinks she means she’s a lesbian 😭

Brent Knudsen

I’m very interested in the hat your porg was wearing!

Molly

Ok so finally finished this one. I never saw the Mean Girls musical bc I blamed it for killing the Heathers broadway transfer we all desperately wanted instead (my heart sill believes I'm right about this but I have no proof). I was actually thinking of watching the movie musical when it came out but then literally no one liked it so I didn't bother. Maybe morbid curiosity just kind of makes me want to watch it more now that I've seen it torn apart but I probably won't. Re: upcoming content, I first subscribed from loving the Troll book, and absolutely wish book readings would come back. I am only interested in theme parks and action movie franchises as much as I love hearing people talk about what they are passionate about, but consequently that means I pretty much enjoy whatever videos you make. I definitely love books and consuming so-bad-its-good media in their own right so love when that kind of content makes the rotation.

Virgo Summers

"we're tired of themepark content" i enjoy the themepark content the most because i dont know a single thing about themeparks and have never been it rocks they're insane.

Catherine Walker

Theme park content absolutely sounds fun and doubly so because it’s a book and your book videos are really fun too

Kimberly

Get tired of theme park content?! Never! I’d watch it in a heartbeat. Do what’s interesting to you and we are here for it. :)

Simon Penni

I love your theme park videos! the passion you have for them is palpable

Melissa Rust

I need to know more about that Charjabug!

Markus D

The Beetlejuice musical gives me such mixed feelings because I feel like the music is really good, but some of the lyrics, particularly comedic ones from Beetlejuice himself, feel a bit cringey. It reminds me of that observation you had in the Dear Evan Hansen videos about the gay jokes, which is that comedy in musical theatre feels several years out of date.

Markus D

This is just relevant to the intro, but I'm not over how there's a Hunchback of Notre Dame musical that uses the good Disney songs but adds in a bunch of great ones that don't clash with the originals for the movie (which I feel is really rare for movie-musical adaptations), but it's only ever been off-Broadway. It's genuinely one of my favourite musical albums to listen to. Also, it's not a proper Disney musical as much as it "uses songs from the movie". I don't think it was made by Disney.

Darren Pierce

Theme park content must never die. It's like eating doughnuts. You can't have enough.

Rose Tyler

Just wanted to add my vote for a video about the harlequin romance theme park book. I DESPERATELY want a video about the harlequin romance theme park book. Aside: I have never been big on theme parks because my crippling motion sickness makes it impossible for me to ride anything besides, like, the carousel ... but your various theme park videos have made me fascinated by the topics of theme parks. Keep 'em coming!

aquamelon

this was so annoying and you're absolutely right it's a microcosm of the lack of effort in the movie overall! and such a pointless error because literally no one would have noticed or cared if it had been the SAME equation from the first movie so... why didn't they just do that???

Rice G.

theme park content is most of why i follow you, so ill never be tired of that. im sure im not the only person, and i feel like you'll never make everyone happy, so you might as well work on what you want. But maybe im underestimating how many themepark heads there are in your viewerbase *outside* of patreon lol. Either way, a book review sounds fun, you haven't done one of those in awhile. Also unrelated to any of that: the fact that apex predator rhymes "lioness" and "with less" has always driven me insane why did they do that.

Rachell Hayes

I’d watch the video about a the book. A romance at old Epcot sounds perfect for a Jenny video.

Louis Z

This app never gives notifications for replies unless they’re replies to the first comment in the thread. You have to scroll through the comments to find your comment to see if it’s been replied to. Even more interestingly when you get blocked by the first commenter it makes the whole thread disappear but only for you. You can’t read your own comments or know if they’ve been replied to. You will get a notification of likes on the comments so you’ll know they’re still there just not for you.

Tiny Leaf

Regina absolutely wouldn’t be caught DEAD wearing e.l.f. She’d be rocking your Charlotte Tilbury and Gucci. She’s doing Sephora Shopping Hauls on the regular. Also ignore those people who tell you to stop doing theme park stuff!! I hate going to theme parks but I’ve watched yours countless times! Plus you always have a way of tying it all together that makes me want to listen.

Andrew Coleman

The thing that's emblematic of how sloppy this is compared to the 2004 movie is that the limit in the 2004 movie actually doesn't exist. In this it does. Someone cared enough to check 20 years ago and no one did here.

Deanna

Oh also holy shit them making Janice explicitly gay and also making that DEH character gay in the movie versions to avoid homophobia allegations is so cheap of them. And like... the way you bully queer women IS often by other women telling us they think we are in love with them.

Deanna

The only thing I disagree about is renee rapp not being good because she was in the OBC and I do appreciate that they prioritized a good performer/singer for at least that part.

Lambda34Delta

A harlequin romance set in a theme park sounds incredible and I would watch the shit out of that! My vote is 100% in favor of more theme park content, and like, just to be clear: I have never been to a theme park in my life, at most I have been to a few amusement parks as a child, let alone having been to any Disney theme park, and I have just absolutely zero context for 90% of what you talk about in theme park video. And I still watch them happily and also constantly rewatch them, including and especially the Patreon rambles on Disney world and specific rides and get super invested in everything you talk about there, because they are just genuinely that good and enjoyable and because you have so much love for and passion towards theme parks that it shows through in your work. Follow your heart and do what you love! I can absolutely say for myself that's what I'm here for, and I know the same goes for many others here.

Evan Linden

For what it’s worth, I like the new Christmas special bonus video, and I blocked Louis.

Sûs

Do you for real have a large bloc telling you to ease up on theme park content? Not to throw fans like me who were already here under the bus, but didn't like 99.8% of your new fans come from Star Wars Hotel and the other .2% from Evermore? And like even as an "older" fan, much as I love the movie/tv/book reviews, the theme park stuff has always been my favorite.

potatonaught

I'm on the side of more theme park content. You're my trusted sourse in all things theme park.

Mauricio

It's not just that Glenn Coco is not a joke in itself: It's the _middle_ part in the the set up for a joke (and none for Gretchen Weiners, bye).

Richard Morrall

I think she's genuinely the highlight of that first spiderman movie. The terrible school news broadcast was just so funny and authentic to the real experience of a school program like that.

LW

I think the lead is sort of an actress on the rise. She was in the Spider-Man movies, and people really loved her. Now she’s been in a few movies, but none of them have done particularly well to my knowledge. I do think that she’s considered sort of the teen movie star now, in the same way the guy who played Aaron is, or Noah Centeneo was a few years ago. I don’t think any of the movies this person has been in have been as well-loved as any that Noah Centineo was in or as The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Richard Morrall

The musical was already "Mean Girls but worse", so the fact that even fans of the musical didn't like the movie truly is ominous.

Jack fahey

I'm with all these Epcot romance freaks. Unless there's been any Realm Town developments!

meadowstream

Im also a theme park nerd so I love any video about any of them!!! <33

Jeremy Hersh

I feel like it should’ve been that Janice came out as a lesbian but then unexpectedly started a relationship with a guy, realizing she’s bi, and then Regina biphobically smears her for allegedly not being authentically gay enough/a clout chasing poser

Jennifer

I would absolutely love a video about that book! But also I think the best thing is for you to just follow what gives you dopamine. You are so good at what you do, the specific topic doesn't really matter!

Jeremy Hersh

Keep the theme park content coming! I don’t care about theme parks, havent been to one in over a decade, but your explorations of them are fascinating!!

Jay ❕they-them❕

I miss your book videos, I think that idea sounds so fun!

Yana

Please do a book video! I love old romances :))

Bruce Climas

Have a great Christmas Jenny...thanks for all the content this year 😊👍

Charlotte KL

I can only speak for myself, but I'm not tired of the theme park stuff at all!

Caitlin Connell

Fully agree with all points! I thought it was comically miscast, with only Janice and Damien being reasonable choices. I understand that people love Renee Rapp, but her insistence on playing herself as much as possible in this role was terrible.

Sir Jacob

callback to the church of the rock old spice joke OH HOW IVE MISSED YOU🥹

Alexa Galloway

yes to theme park book video!

Vanessa S.

i will never get tired of your theme park content

itsotter

I love the book readings so I'll echo all the support for Harlequin Romance

Sasha

Has any movie depicted teenagers' social media use in a way that wasn't completely cringe? On Regina-- I am definitely biased because I am gay for Renee Rapp but they might have thought that nowadays, the most popular girl in school is no longer the hyperfeminine girly-girl. In my high school (graduated 2021) the most popular girls didn't dress in pink with high heels—that probably would be mocked. But usually they were still fairly girly, pretty and sociable, and good at sports and school. I think Renee's cool girl vibe swung too far past that and underestimated the social power that femininity still has— maybe a feminine clean girl or old money aesthetic might be more accurate to what teenagers aspire to now? Although I am four years out and don't have TikTok so what do I know. I think because they made Regina's actions more toothless, Renee had to act tougher in order to seem intimidating at all. In the original she looks pretty but unassuming and you/Cady are surprised to learn how mean she can be. Here they introduce her with a song about how scary she is but don't follow through. Also, with Janis, I bet they thought that teens are now accepting of gay peers. Which is definitely more true than in 2004, but teens can still suck and it's realistic to make a storyline about homophobic bullying.

Dino

Go with your heart! Work on what you’re excited about.

Carl

I like your theme park content or really any content you are passionate about

Chloe B.

thompsons from iowa mentioned

poopee doodee

As for the Janis/Regina homophobic backstory change: Gen Zs (and online people in general) are very facetious about their bigotry. I can see a reality where people bullied Janis for being “obsessive” with some justification of wanting to stand up for privacy rights. When in actuality, she was attacked harsher because of homophobia

Gavin

1. Loved this, you gave so much context to a movie I was baffled by, having intimate knowledge of the source material but never touched the musical. 2. Runaway Heart sounds like an absolute BANGER video concept!

Oakoka

Do the harlequin novel, but please explain harlequin I hear it’s like a theme and they all have the same characters but that’s all I know about it.

Alex Andra

The remake was still written by Tina Fey so I’d like to believe she didn’t develop amnesia between the two, but alas…

Alex Andra

If you’re saying this having watched Trigger Warning and Trapped In A Island With Josh Hutcherson, totally fine, doesn’t have to be your cup of tea. However if you have not seen either of those videos PLEASE give them a try, they’re among my favorites

gently shake the bees

I love your book videos so I would be excited! Also, I enjoy your theme park content despite having little personal interest in theme parks, so even if your channel became exclusively theme park content I think I'd still have a good time

Dominic B

My take on the Janice backstory is that as a person being outed doesn’t necessarily equate to becoming an instant pariah, the writers needed Janice to do something crazy so the school would turn against her, hence the fire. They should have just changed it totally rather than trying to ‘update’ the homophobia to gen z standards which is just such a weird concept

Alex Andra

Ooh, thank you for this added context! That definitely sounds like a Tina Fey style joke.

Natalie Arnold

Context note from an old person: There was a whole THING in the 90s (think a bit before the time Ellen Degeneres came out) with lesbians who were public figures, like actors and such, but not publicly out as lesbians, would joke about being lebanese in an "if you know you know" sort of way. So lesbian viewers who were in on it could smile knowingly but nobody was getting excoriated in the press for being gay on TV. It was definitely A Thing. Kinda dated in 2004, like I doubt teenagers would have known this from a decade prior when they were toddlers, and definitely would not work for the updated versions! But still a thing people might want to know.

Nicole

always love theme park content and book content!!!

Jeanette Wall

Always happy to see more theme park content, tbh <:)

Jeff Chamberlain

There's even a 2nd degree "joke nudge/reference" in the movie that potentially bothers me even more than "I'm a mouse, duh", and it's in the same song! The whole opening with "maybe world peace should be first" works in the stage show because Karen fully leaves the stage and redoes her entrance. They kept it in the movie and she just restarts her TikTok which...isn't funny? Like...why not just cut it???

Ginger

Give me theme park content! lol

patrick

PLEASE DO A RUNAWAY HEART VIDEO

Ginger

I LOVE the broadway adaptation, but the new movie was just horrible. So glad someone agrees the movie was 0/10.

Kevin McGee

A big issue with Mean Girls: the Musical is that, if I recall correctly, there were rumblings about it for years, then Heathers: the Musical was a surprise hit Off-Broadway so Mean Girls was slapped together as fast as possible to capitalize on it.

E-Cat

Little Shop of Horrors

a. sharp

dont listen to the cop in your head jenny, the people not only want but demand as much theme park content as you want to make

Ariane Uden

What a great present

Mike Metzler

I actually wasn’t aware that there was a movie based on a play based on a movie other than The Producers.

Alice

Not really. If you’re doing Beyoncé, for example, the goal is be more Beyoncé than Beyoncé.

Evan Linden

I don’t know why you’ve got such an issue with me having an opinion that you don’t share, Louis. There are others in this thread who also don’t agree with me, but they didn’t get as riled up as you did. I’m no longer even a Patron of Jenny’s, just leave it— and me— alone.

Louis Z

Steve, that is not a fair way to ever refer to Jenny. This whole thread is absurd. Most of her rambles and YouTube videos have no negativity at all. When she is giving honest criticism she goes out of her way to compliment too whenever possible. She talked about what she liked about the starcruiser and the Church Play videos and Evermore. She even said nice things about Escape from Tomorrow. It was ridiculous for Evan to accuse Jenny of wanting to be negative based on a ramble she said she didn’t want to make specifically because it would necessarily be negative. She obviously liked making the defunct websites and abandoned animatronics rambles and those had no criticism of anything except an ice cream parlor that smelled funny.

Tzivia Kleinbart

This is going to hurt (I’m a fan of the Broadway musical, as dumb as it is).

Scarlett

My take on the Renee Rapp physicality was that she couldn’t let herself drop the “Renee Rapp” brand she’s been building and she had to remain chill and cool girl lesbian to maintain that brand. But your read about the lioness posture makes a lot of sense & I love how it goes with the whole apex predator thing! Also I think them trying to make Regina’s character more appealing is due to the “Regina was actually the victim” tiktok mindset of a few years ago

Sterling Desrosiers

i vote 100% yes for the book! (but also i love your theme park content)

Steve Ray

Play the videos on a laptop to record them on your phone, then watch the phone videos on the plane.

Steve Ray

The fault for that lies not in Jenny, but in us, her $5+ Patreons who never tire of siccijng Our Personal Parasocial Attack Dog (and the O-rig-i-nal Mean Girrrrllll of YouTuuuuube) against various people and media.

Steve Ray

Wouldn't that be straightwashing, queer eraure, or some similar crime against inclusion and/or authenticity?

Alex Andra

I haven’t read all the comments so not sure if I’m duplicating somebody else saying this, but the thing in the original movie about the rumor about Janice being a lesbian is in the end she tells her dance partner that she’s Lebanese, and we’re lead to infer that Regina misheard Lebanese as lesbian and that’s how the rumor got started. The joke was homophobia and racism and we lost both

Steve Ray

I think Jenny had it right with her "The Writers Didn't Want Regina To Be Problematic" hypothesis, but she didn't spell out the whole dilemma: Since the teens of today still feel a strong Duty To Denounce First, Lest They Be Denounced, either the kids in the movie would ostracize a phobic Regina, or the kids in the real world of the 2020"s would ostracize the movie and all involved with it.

Alex Andra

Clap like a seal got me lol

Anna Trzcinski

jenny, I could listen to you talk about literally anything for hours. and it would be cool to hear you do a book ramble!! that video sounds great 🙏

Anthony Aaaaaaaand Satan

Omg yes to Epcot love stories! Yes to more theme park content!! Theeemmmmmeee Paaaaarrrrks 😍😍

Molly Sisson

As a lover of the OG film and a hater of the stage play, this video healed me.

Steve Ray

We Patreons could and probably should make and share such a video all on our own, to spare Jenny bith the drudge-worh and the copyright strikes.

Steve Ray

Not to read anyone to filth out of turn, Ms. Alice, but don't a *lot* of drag performers depend on audiences mistaking recognition for talent?

Nick Riera

LOVE THIS

Emily Blau

mother has posted 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

Yechiel A

Jenny should totally do a video on Kingdom Keepers. It crosses so many boxes, being a YA series in the Disney Parks whose later entries even incorporated fanfiction into the story

jellybones

well now i feel like a hack jenny used clap like a seal like three times in the video.

Robert Sebastian

Wait who's tired of theme park content? That's what I subscribed for!

April Feldman

The Epcot romance book sounds amazing!!!! I would be interested in a video on that- also, I love your theme park videos so I’m definitely not sick of them! As a side question: how do you keep your plush collection from getting dusty? I have a few plushies and dolls on shelves, but I worry about them gathering dust and I’m not really sure how dusting a plush would work. Any tips? Also, thank you for your uncompromising take down of the mean girls musical movie and giving your straightforward thoughts on the source musical- in a way it’s refreshing to hear someone just point out things that they dislike about something without feeling the need to soften the blow and try to tone down their opinion because other people like the thing. It truly was uncompromising.

Eric

I watch both mean girls movies back to back and there was one joke where Karen puts a K on backwards cause she's using a mirror. Then checks by looking down and walks away happy since both look right and it was funnier than anything in the musical. I did like Gretchen's one Halloween song though, I thought it was filmed in a fun and realistic? way.

Amy Cooper

When it comes to the content, theme park or no etc etc, I’m really just happy to hear whatever. If it was retreading the EXACT same ground every time maybe I’d weary but I feel happy with the variety. Also, a book reading is something you haven’t done in a while, it feels like, and I have really loved those so- I’m in. Lol.

jellybones

i kind of think in general we need more snooty. noot noot.

jellybones

i am clapping and barking like a circus seal for this comment. pleeeaaaase. supporting disney is sooo wack. specially after theyre now openly refusing to put queer characters in stories.

meg

Great video as always- my feedback re: theme park content is that I really enjoy it, but am not interested in Disney anymore. Would love to hear more about all the weird/niche parks of the world!

party&bs

I'm a little tired of the theme park content, but a book video sounds exciting! I think the energy is different enough

Andrea Mae

I still haven’t watched the movie even though I am a big fan of Renee Rapp (I have a feeling this isn’t her best work lol) I think one of the other main flaws was that the marketing didn’t *really* indicate that this iteration of mean girls was gonna be the musical version. I found the trailers (at least the ones that I saw) quite vague. The only indicators of “musical-ness” was a few disjointed sound bites of World Burn which I don’t think was super clear. Myself and other theatre kids knew what it was gonna be but quite a few non theatre people in my life were very confused about a re-make of mean girls in general, and then upon finding out it was a musical, being kinda mad about it? lol All that being said, I don’t think the movie would have been great anyway, but whoever was doing distribution and marketing really shot themselves in the foot by not making it very clear it was a musical and I think heaps of people went into it in bad faith as well.

George

I thought it was fine. I’ve already forgotten it. But love the movie reviews, keep em comin!

Alex Clemens

I think you should make videos about whatever interests and excites you! Having enjoyed all of your videos, I trust your instincts.

Madison Hollinsworth

i am actually begging you to do a video about the epcot harlequin novel

era

99% agree but I must point out that there absolutely *would* be grown adults on tiktok making videos dunking on a child who fell down in a viral video.

Bees McBee

Saw the Musical already exists. Personally I think Hellraiser would make a pretty great musical since it’s mostly about interpersonal drama and internal conflict but also they could do some fun stuff with the special effects. We really just need more horror musicals in general tbh. I’ve heard Evil Dead is good but I haven’t seen that one yet.

Luis

Nice now I don't have to watch Mean Girls (2024) :D Ohhhh book reading vids are always fun no matter the topic! Also getting serious Anna from Frozen vibes from Jenny's outfit!

Grizzly Reviews

Sorry I don't mean to spam: I think the fault of both the musical adaptation and the movie musical adaptation was that it was Tina Fey who wrote both and she wrote herself into a corner of both have to have the exact same beats instead of adapting the story to make it work for the stage. I still love the Broadway show tho and the movie is a major guilty pleasure.

Grizzly Reviews

I agree with you that changing the singers of Apex Predator changes the context of it. In the original show it’s Janice and Cady who sing it showing their different perspectives of Regina and the Plastics. In the movie it’s just another extended sequence of them telling Cady what the school is like instead of her impulsive and curious animalistic observations. Also the act 2 opener was cut from the movie cause time, I guess. As was the act one closer which like really upset me. There is a big distinct change in act one and act 2 Cady that’s not gradual.

Emma Kavanagh

One of my favourite things about your videos is your enthusiasm so if you’re feeling like theme park videos are that, do that! I always enjoy those and I loved your book videos too so this sounds like a good crossover to me.

Bees McBee

I do find it real funny when Broadway fans act like it was somehow less commercial before the movie adaptation epidemic. It’s one of the most bougie mediums out there.

Stefan Hayden

I would have assume they would have changed the rumor about Janis being gay because it's a lot easier to be gay in high school then it was 20 years ago. But it's still not easy enough.

Cafe Equinox

I vote yes for book reading!

Bees McBee

Fun thing about Carrie is that the reasons it was bad had very little to do with it being a film adaptation. The things that went wrong behind the scenes there were much more interesting than it just being a cheap cash grab.

risa kim

i feel like complaining about you making theme park videos is like complaining about superman’s red trunks being apart of his costume; it’s your whole gig?? i personally will probably never go to any disney parks, and i’ve never consumed any star wars content, but i love your videos on them because of your love for the game. you’re passionate and you’re detailed the content is fun, but also, i associate you with theme parks and disney. your brand is theme parks, so i think complaints about a fucking theme park video on the jenny nicholson channel is nonsensical no offense. i kinda got heated there lol but it’s a stupid thing to bitch about. like go watch quite literally any other video essay and chances are 99.9% of the time you won’t run into theme park content. don’t come to the ice cream shop and get mad that ppl sell ice cream.

Tess C

Jenny, I'm sorry you had to sit through something you didn't want to. I made it about ten minutes into the movie and couldn't go on, so I appreciate your sacrifice! I think that the reason why I loved the original movie is because it rang true to my experience of female friendship in high school. I was a teenager in the 90s and so much of what Regina says and does was recognisable to me. E.g., she randomly compliments girls who are then beside themselves that she paid attention to them, then turns around and says how ugly that thing was to her friends. These little changes in behaviour are what made high school female friendships SO excruciating and difficult to navigate. I also think because Tina Fey wrote the script based on a non-fic book (Queen Bees and Wannabes), that's why it felt based in reality, even though it was hyperreal in other ways. One of the other things that rang true in the original movie was Regina saying how Janis was obsessed with her cos she was a lesbian, and this was exactly how the cool girls at school reacted to finding out other girls were gay. I agree with Jenny's assessment that they probably changed the story to make Regina less problematic. I think it weakens the story, because again it was so true to me: in the 90s, where I lived (Melbourne, Australia) there were definitely kids coming out and being treated ok to their faces, but then gossiped about behind their backs. The Regina/Janis friendship breakdown mirrored a lot of friendships I saw at school. I saw someone else comment that maybe it should've been set in 2004, and I think that would've worked. I do feel part of the failure of it is trying to make a late nineties/early 2000s story fit into today's world of social media etc. And I want to add that please make whatever videos YOU want to make, Jenny...if you're excited by something, then I think most of us will be excited too (I know I will). Merry Christmas!

Grizzly Reviews

I would also like to arguably say the Carrie revival does a really good job with it. Love its book and I think it’s a satisfying enough way to tell the story, even tho you can’t have much fun with the staging like you can with a cameras perspective.

Ri

I am always in favor of more theme park, or theme park-adjacent videos!

Grizzly Reviews

So as a fan of the musical itself, I was really looking forward to this movie. And Cady Heron aside I think this movie is amazing (I’ve watched it twice in theaters and 4 times with my Blu-ray). Suffice to say I will have the hardest time trying not to argue with Jenny while I watch this video 😂😂😂

ana

I'm so grateful for these absolutely correct takes. The death knolls of this musical were rung when the VERY FIRST SONG RELEASED wasn't sung by the ACTUAL LEAD. Baffling. Say you don't believe in your own project without literally saying you don't believe in your project.

Michael Gaymes

Man the Thompsons really be traveling don't they?

Megan Sharp

There is no such thing as too much theme park content! I think the book would be really fun and scratch more of the book urge then the theme park urge.

Louis Z

When someone is wearing a Christmas outfit as outstanding as Jenny’s it should be called sleigh slay

Erin

the Regina being high at the end thing to me really framed it as her being like lobotomised and therefore the evil is defeated

Cody

Epcot Book!!

blitzball

re: next video projects, I was kinda looking forward to one of your movie-related videos

Ann Parker

Also - joining the chorus in favor of the Epcot book! We love to see anything you want to explore in your areas of expertise. Those (few) who are tired of theme park content can skip it if they choose. I'm hype for it

Lindsey Pellino

i’ve never been to disney but because it’s jenny now i’m very hype for this epcot romance read through!

Ann Parker

Yes, and/or it would have been an interesting choice if they decided to imply that Regina felt insecure about being queer, so maybe in middle school she used Janis as a lightning rod for the negative attention she feared receiving herself if she came out (which works whether or not you make Janis a lesbian too). That would feel in-character for Regina as a skilled social climber and deep-down unhappy person.

Austin F

i mean. people do still get bullied in school for being gay. maybe not at every school or in every situation, but it's still a realistic thing for someone to get bullied for. teenagers will bully people for way more inconsequential things than their sexuality, because they're mean - mean girls, if you will. (and i personally still get insulted for my sexuality even now, and i'm not surrounded by a bunch of judgmental teenagers)

Ann Parker

I'm not a murderer in real life so I could never play Lady Macbeth

Casper Sturm

you could never make too much theme park content tbh

Eve Asher

Runaway Heart video sounds super fun! I'm personally down for as much theme park content as possible.

Ann Parker

I think the choice to not have new-Regina start the lesbian rumor about Janis was just a kind of unthinking "people might get mad at our movie" instinct. In the original, it's ambiguous whether Janis actually is gay or not (implied that Regina may have taken "lebanese" to be "lesbian"), but in either case her spreading the rumor in a "ew, she shouldn't be at my pool party" way is a clear & realistic homophobic act of bullying and social dominance enforcement. I think when remaking it, they either thought it was unrealistic that Janis being or being perceived as gay would really get her bullied nowadays, or they just thought that depicting homophobia in a character who later gets redeemed would make audiences just kind of blindly mad at the movie, even though it would be showing that as a bad thing. Either way it just kind of seems like weak writing to be too afraid to have Regina's actions have some teeth.

Alice

Sorry you didn’t like it, Jenny! I’ve never seen it myself, but I’m a drag performer & I know several songs from the musical are very popular. I must have seen girls do Karen’s sexy mouse song a dozen times.

Christopher E Musgrave

Oops, confused desert for savannah. Animal kid privileges revoked!

Joshua White

How did you know that a new Jenny review video is what I asked Santa for???

Ted Koutz

Hyper-accurate Epcot romance supports my writer friend's theory that you can put anything in a romance novel, however strange, as long as it fits the broad definition of romance.

John Alonzo

Hi Jenny, thanks for the review. The whole play felt like it was just trying to appeal to a certain fan base. Like at a meeting, some intern raised their hand and said "How about a play about Mean Girls?" and everyone was so tired so they said "Ok, why not, let's go home." Also, would love to see a review about Runaway Heart. The best videos are the ones you're excited to make. BTW, I never got the name of the giant Porg. We know the giant spider's name, Aragog, but what's the Porg's name?

!ydakra

do the book video!!!!!!

Jacki Schaefer

I agree- it’s the lack of visuals, I think. I love her comedic timing with cuts and references/callbacks

Amanda C

agreeing w/the comments here that we like hearing your thoughts on what you're passionate about! do what you will, and the audience will shift accordingly. you gotta make yourself happy first :)

Katie Kraynak

Happy Holidays everyone!! 🥰❤️

Mossy

I love the theme park content and would love to see your review of the epcot romance

Cameron Henry

I absolutely love book readings! A+ content to fall asleep to

Shred Cadmium

It's so it can't be added to playlists which has the drawback of making it searchable and so much more readily available to non-patreons

Niamh Julian

Merry Christmas Jenny! (And all) Theme park content is my favourite Jenny content!!! I watch the evermore videos/the pandora video whenever I need a happy little boost in the background. Your passion is the best part of your stuff - anything you're excited/passionate about would certainly be a great video

PurpleIsDebeste

I've only seen one clip from this movie and I haven't watched the ramble yet, but I really have no respect for this film because the clip I saw was them doing the song that introduces the mean girl trio in the broadway musical, and then them doing the scene that introduces them in the movie. They want to have their cake and eat it too, but doing double the intros is Awful for pacing, and the characterisations between the broadway musical ad the og movie are pretty distinct, so you just end up wasting my time with repetitive scenes that aren't cohesive at all

Laura Rodriguez

Happy Holidays, Jenny! I'm not sure about anyone else, but I would be happy to see something about Runaway Heart. If you think it is interesting enough to care about, I'm sure it will be interesting.

Matthew Abbott

Why is the YouTube mirror flagged as only for kids? 😭

Betsy

I never get tired of your theme park content, and I would absolutely be interested in a video about Runaway Heart!

virulencio

Also if so many people were tired of theme park content your videos wouldn't be getting millions of views, so don't worry about that so much. If you're excited about the book I think you're gonna make a really funny video about it that we will enjoy.

virulencio

Jenny I think your recent projects being so huge and time consuming have made you forget that we just... Like your commentary and point of view. I had as much fun watching this as any other ramble.

bees r

happy holidays jenny

Nurgleth

I think (seemingly) picking whatever topic grabs your fancy is one of the strengths of your channel, so I'll always support you following your heart! Personally, I don't find book review videos very interesting, I can't really put my finger on why, they just usually don't grab my attention. I'd still check it out, but that's my general opinion.

Breanna Palermo

I feel very validated by this review!

Samantha Castelli

I feel like if people don't want you to do themepark content they probably could just not watch the themepark content. Sounds like a cool video (and probably there isn't a big rabbit hole to accidentally fall into about it haha)

Alice Newstead

Appreciated the Waitress recognition 🥧 Groundhog Day is another great adapatation

Shammy

So glad I didn't have to watch this movie. Thank you for your service, Jenny! I would love to see a review of the Harlequin book.

Henri

I knew Jenny would hate the Carrie musical! Respect. 🙂‍↕️

Eric MacMillan

"Well, I guess that's it for this year!" "I guess that's the last video I'm gonna record tonight, I guess that's the end of that, nothing more to see here, that's the last of what I recorded"...OMG Jenny what are you cooking

JANINE DAVIS

Love this video, can we get an edit with clips one day? I refuse to watch the musical but I want to understand how bad it is lol

Ellie

As a gen z, I agree that people don't really get bullied for being gay at high school but people *did* in and before middle school so it would've still been believable

Fade Johanssen

I feel very reassured in my decision to hate this movie without watching it because you've basically confirmed everything I worried they would do lol. anyway I love theme park content and I really hope you do the theme park romance book it sounds amazing

Brianna R.

yes to the epcot romance book

Jimini

The writers' handling the whole Regina and Janice Backstory (if the link doesn't work properly look up something along the lines of "U wouldn't know ur gay - Cyberbully" on YouTube): https://youtu.be/0uzTWGRtOgg?si=C9JqjSAX6ZK-HQm3

Andrew van Baarsen

I knew you'd always have the best musical takes. This is one of my all time fav patreon videos

Zac Lipman

Mean Girls: The Musical 5/5 Stars. Certified Fresh. Hilarious Jokes! -Babies

BeatButton

who the hell would be tired of theme park content! let them suffer!!

Maggie and Justin

I agree with all of your thoughts haha like 100% and literally would watch anything you make haha you’re my body double chore buddy :) you have lovely interesting thoughts :) happy new year!

Neil Dutton

Who's tired of theme park content? I just want to talk for a second...

Louis Z

This was one of my rare snarkless comments. I don’t think reviewing great musical theater in this format makes as much sense as reviewing bad musical theater. If those other YouTubers you referenced are doing things differently and are talking about Sondheim on their channels then that’s a good thing. Every YouTuber should have the format and content that’s right for them and their audience. Jenny is the best of the best just as she’s always been. The only change I’ve noticed on her YouTube channel is the average length of videos has definitely gotten longer.

Elizabeth B

My jaw literally dropped when you said some people are tired of theme park content - I will never tire of theme park content lol

Aleks Howes

I will never be tired of the theme park content, go make that video on the trashy Epcot romance novel I will be watching minute 1

Madelyn Mahurin

I’m here for Jenny’s Uncompromising Creation of Theme Park Content (2025)

Sarah G

I think a huge chunk of the problems with the Mean Girls musical comes from modernizing it. Like making it a period piece of 2004 could have been an interesting way to introduce some new jokes, for one. Adding social media fundamentally changes the story so much that it can’t really be the same story. Same with more modern attitudes on queerness (you can’t really keep Janis and Regina as characters and their relationship the same and then just remove the homophobia when that’s…the whole thing), and on wealth/consumerism (I feel like rich mean popular girls in high school absolutely DO wear Shein and elf nowadays but that kind of makes Regina George not Regina George anymore, right??) Like make a spiritual successor about what a Mean Girls type story would look like in the 2020s but then it won’t be an adaptation and get all that nostalgia money… OR make a Mean Girls musical and go nuts with the 2000s fashion and cultural references and stuff. It’s so obvious to me??? The Back to the Future musical (which I know nothing about but people seem to like) is set in 1985 still!!

Throgmorten22

I love everything you make (including this ramble), and there's definitely no such thing as too much theme Park content from you :)

AmWa

Where's Buzzy was the first video of yours I ever watched - safe to say your theme park audience would be hyped to have a video on anything theme park related!

Ishrat

The movie musical sucked. One aspect that I thought was weird in the movie that wasn't mentioned here was the burn book timeline. They make a point that it hadn't been touched in years (so like, were the girls 13ish when they last wrote in it which makes the whole thing a lot less cutting) and also Regina was very against bringing it out again. At every moment they softened her up it was such a bad choice.

Monika

I think you should make whatever content excites you the most :)

Diana.H.

Happy Chrismukah! Work on whatever the f you want. Every strange thing you put out that I thought wouldn't make views has made a billion views. You being your normal self is perfect whatever you're talking about.

Andi F

I would LOVE a rundown of an Epcot romance... please never stop sharing your hyperfixations with us! Whether it's theme park content, weird media, whatever... it's so engaging because you're so into it!

Lars

What’s up with the Barbie video though? :-)

zoë solomon

I understand what you’re saying, but I’m a fan of Big Joel as well and I remember seeing him talk about something on either his main channel or second channel where it’s not really dynamic or interesting to talk about a subject affirmatively. Even if Jenny loved this movie, it would be more interesting to make a video of the top ten worst reasons people criticize it than a top ten list of best things in Mean Girls the movie musical. I think it’s just how the videos are framed, and this is how a critic operates. Either they have to criticize source material or a general response to source material—she’s a critic at the end of the day!

Kelley Rowe

The theme park content is the best, and the goofy romance novel top gloss only makes it better.

Reen

so here to end the year with hater energy. love the analysis as always!!

bug

I’ve never watched either version of the mean girls musical but I Love a bad film and being a hater, personally, so maybe I’ll check them out. Your crit was really interesting. I think vaguely queer but willing to utilize homophobic stereotypes to bully and or social climb Regina George could have been a change that makes sense, depending obv on how it’s written. but it sounds like it wasn’t really thought through. Like it could have been a good way to update the character even, and wouldn’t make her less of a bad person or less problematic, just less 2004. Being vaguely queer (but not an outright lesbian) as a femme girl is simultaneously cool and demonized and I think Regina threading that needle would be a way to illustrate her skill, and also like say something about her as a person. All of the mean girls I’ve ever known or interacted with or been group-adjacent to had a lot of homoeroticism going on. I do have to say, people, including/mostly young TikTok influencers do still wear velour juicy track suits, in a “y2k fashion” sort of way, though it’s still communicating a different thing than it was in the movie, esp if it was an unbranded SHEIN tier iteration of the fit. IMO, it still would scan as trying to seem youthful and cool, but in a lowest common denominator trend cycling via fast fashion hauls kind of way, which isn’t at all like the status symbol clothes wearing rich!mom character from the original film. Flaunting her plastic surgery, too, iirc. It would be like if she walked in wearing a visibly cheap bubble skirt or those tights with holes tied with bows or any other flash in the pan microtrend. I think could work if they did this, actually, and very much give Desperate, but at the cost of the Visible Wealth aspect of the character.

Lenore

I think the Epcot book idea sounds fun! Also people saying “we’re tired of theme park content” re your videos is like walking into McDonalds and being mad they’re selling hamburgers. As long as it’s something you feel strongly about (positively or negatively) I’m interested to watch it.

J

great analysis, i always love your breakdown of media - you have such a talent for noticing both meta and finer details, and then extrapolating on the greater themes. it is very satisfying to watch on the janice note, i think their reasoning was different. in modern times (gen z/alpha), at the non-conservative school they go to, being gay isn’t something that people would bully you for. so it wouldn’t make sense that janice got made fun of for that reason, they had to change it but i agree that if their reasoning was to avoid being problematic, then that is a huge mistep in the characterization of regina

Jamie Sands

my partner and I watch your theme park stuff on repeat and recently tried to complete your list of lame things to do at Disney world. Please keep theme parking!

Matt Bullions

Coming at this from someone who really liked the Mean Girls stage musical but hated the movie, I feel like a lot of my complaints in my review were outlined here. Lots of recycled jokes, lots of really shameless nods to the original that don’t mean anything. But my big problem was the way that the songs were reworked to sound like top 40 hits rather than Broadway songs and I absolutely hated that choice and it ruined the whole movie. That and the girl they casted for Cady.

Evan Linden

I don’t appreciate the snark, Louis. Jenny’s style of humor was my thing for years, but she’s pivoted recently. Most likely I’ll come back if she posts something that interests me again

Diego Bustamante

Personally, I would watch any of your videos (even more theme park content) as long as you are excited and passionate about it.

Aaron Claus

In terms of upcoming main content I think whatever you personally find the most interesting will get the best result theme park or no :)

Francesca Phillips

Well, I loved this video...and I have never seen the musical. I love watching you rant about anything :)

rocktopodes

As someone who's highschool did freaky friday, hard disagree on it being fine with its moments. They have 3 motifs and are terrified to stray from them to the point I hear them in my nightmares, it tries so hard to be relatable to teens but it fundamentally doesn't understand teens, and there's an entire song where the mom (in her daughters body) sings about how the pheromones her crush is giving off are making her flustered and feel things for a teenager. Awful awful awful!!!

some kind of gay cryptid

I wonder if they changed the ‘Janice is a lesbian’ subplot because teens today seem less homophobic/more accepting of queerness than they were 20 years ago. Obviously there’s still a lot of stigma and homophobia around in our culture generally, but I think it wouldn’t make sense to teens today (especially the teens going to see this movie) that a character would of course be bullied/ostracized by the entire school because someone said she was gay. Like, I think that would come across as this being a particularly homophobic high school, as opposed to a prototypical/average high school. I also suspect the movie/musical writers didn’t want their work to feel stigmatizing to queer kids, so they make a point to emphasize that it’s okay to be gay, while also working in some queer rep. Like, as a teenage lesbian watching the movie in the early 2000s, it *did* feel a little stigmatizing; like, the Janice being bullied was bad because she wasn’t *really* a lesbian and thus the bullying was unjustified (with the implication being that if she really is a lesbian, then it would have been fine). But I definitely feel like they didn’t think through the implications of what they were doing re: it’s okay that Janice was bullied for being gay because she *is* gay. So I guess it’s gonna be a sticky issue no matter what.

Juleshortstuff

Personally, I think you should just work on whatever video you're excited to work and talk on, audience input on this be damned. Part of the fun of watching specifically your youTube videos is hearing you excitedly and in depth talk about a topic that interests you because you talk about it in an entertaining way. Patreons put their finger on the scale for Patreon videos anyways (like making you watch a movie musical you had no real interest in making). Any video that you're excited to make because you feel engaged with the topic will ultimately be a better video (and a faster one) than one you're forcing yourself to make.

Katie

I was already searching to get my hands on a copy of Runaway Heart as soon as you said “harlequin romance set in Epcot”, so I for one would love that video (it’savailable on Internet Archive for free if anyone else is interested!). I’m sad to hear people have said they are sick of theme park content - I’ll watch whatever topic you want to ramble about but the primary draw for me has always been the theme park content.

apelsindipp

I love your themepark content, could never get tired of it !!!

robbie

Jenny thinking Sexy is the act 2 opener is so funny. No, that's just in act one... and they also made the questionable decision to make the final song in act one the revenge party song that does all of the Regina revenge stuff in one song so everything in Act 2 happens after Regina's fall. The actual act 2 opener was cut from the movie I think.

Terence Digan

Also, I adore your theme park stuff, you’re one of the best there is!

Terence Digan

My best friend/writing partner and I often talk about the seemingly endless string of movies adapted for Broadway and we’re both big fans of The Producers (itself an example of a good movie to Broadway adaptation). So every now and then, we joke about what movie we would adapt for Broadway if we were trying to pull off a Bialystock and Bloom. This has led us to imagining things like Saw: The Musical, The Human Centipede: The Musical Sequence and Commando: The Musical, among other things.

ignacia maría

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SAYING THE REGINA THING 😭 i also think the actress doesn’t work at all, but i saw a lot of people saying she was the sole thing that saved the movie, so i thought i was the only one who didn’t like her as regina 😭

Chad

I think adapting movies into musicals has an inherent problem, which is structure. Songs in musicals typically explain a character or push the story forward, but when adapting a movie, the movie already does those things without the need for songs. It’s not an insurmountable problem, but too many of them have songs that feel superfluous as they’re not really telling you anything new. Mean Girls definitely has this issue.

Andrew Sasala

This book video idea sounds fun!

Erica

Ur hair is so cute !

Luis

Best Christmas gift ever 😭

Em Ann

Just sitting over here hoping the Kennywood video is in our 2025… 😂

bluewolfie

to the "we're tired of theme park content" point... I am literally a 'theme park content please' girlie, so that is JUST FINE with me. you've got your audience!!

Neil B

I became a fan after watching your videos on Trigger Warning and the Rei is a robot script. Let's get a video on Runaway Heart!

Sarah Parker

I personally will be seated for any video, but especially for as many theme park videos you are willing to make

Uvtha

Interested in a video on the book, sounds fun.

alex

never tired of theme park content and i found the link to the disney harlequin novel so i'm going to read it and would love a video on it

Louis Z

Jenny didn’t pick the topic. The middle tier picked the topic. I could put “Jenny reviews Sweeney Todd (Broadway not movie version)” on the topic poll list but it wouldn’t win and for good reason. Would there actually be a point to her saying it’s a flawless masterpiece for an hour? That’s true and has been said many times before. Jenny isn’t about having a keen grasp of the obvious. Her videos aren’t supposed to be for everyone. If her style of humor and commentary isn’t your thing I still think it’s good you gave her Patreon a try anyway.

Rose Tyler

This is silly, because it's so beside the point, but: I adore "Catch Me If You Can," it's my favorite musical, and so I appreciated you saying that the songs didn't click for you and the musical was not personally to your taste -- rather than saying that it was a dreadful musical. Not that people can't say they found a piece of art bad; that's part of critiquing, of course. But, I dunno ... it's just nice to hear someone saying "this thing you love just wasn't for me" instead of "this thing you love is horrible" on the internet for a change. ;D (I appreciate the irony of saying this on a ramble that is about how awful the "Mean Girls" musical is, but it sounds like "Mean Girls" is actually just a poorly-done musical, so.)

Tuesday Sellers

Apex predator was sung by Janice and Damien in the original btw! I only remember cause it was the only song I thought was half decent after a cursory listen of the soundtrack. it still doesn't really make sense since that's Katie's lens through which she views the world, but I feel like you could make that work with some preamble. "You only understand the world by comparing everything to African wildlife? Then here's the metaphor for you! 🎼🎵🎶"

Ethan S

No such thing as too much theme park content (or Broadway related content for that matter)

Alys Newton-Gorry

For what it's worth I love seeing your theme park content - because it's something you're passionate about! I don't care at all about The Vampire Diaries but it's fun to watch a person be passionate about something, so I've seen your video several times. Thank you for another great ramble, see you in the new year! Merry Christmas!

bringle wingle

Omg it truly is a Christmas miracle 🤌🤌🙏🙏♥️♥️

Robert J Gannon

I think the biggest problem in the Mean Girls musical (stage and film) is that they did not find a real reason for Cady to sing. Regina has a sound, Gretchen has a sound, Karen has a sound, even Damien and Janis have sounds, but not Cady. Cady exists with no real musical identity as the leading character in a musical. At that point, just make her a spoken role reacting to the insanity around her.

MW

I think the biggest problem with the musical version is that point that the mean girls aren't mean because they wanted to make it more PC and not to be like...anti-woke or anything like that but the whole point of the 2004 movie is that they are mean. Like you are not supposed to think anything Regina (or Cady, later on) does or says is a good thing...and when you take all of that out it just becomes pointless. It's also really weird to me considering that Tina Fey was still a main writer/producer and as much as I have a soft spot for her she has not taken criticism of her bad takes (some stuff in unbreakable kimmy schmidt, etc) well so it's bizarre to me that she would so change the script to make Regina so unproblematic. Idk if any of what I said made sense just now

Carly Hattrich

Love your theme park stuff girl.

Louis Z

Jenny said nobody wears velour tracksuits anymore. Nobody? I’m not nobody, Jenny. I’m somebody.

Jackson Armona

I’m pretty sure Angourie Rice (the girl who plays Cady) is related to the director so…🫣

Jazz Me to the Moon

I discovered your channel through your book readings - I'd love to see you covering this one

Elijah Sorensen

I think it’s in your “Worst Musicals” video that you mention that Mean Girls would only be fun “if you lived in New York” I don’t live in New York but it stopped in my city on tour this year and I let my morbid curiosity and fandom of the original film get the best of me Suffice to say, Jenny, your original take was spot on—it was fun because of the little effort it took me to see it, but I literally haven’t thought of it ONCE since until this ramble Happy Holidays!

Lola

This explanation makes even less sense imo. I don't understand the concept of changing a character's motivations/behavior because of the actor's own identity? Renee Rapp wasn't playing Renee Rapp, she was playing Regina George!

Josh B

If that’s true, it might be a worse reason for changing the character. Like, playing a character who is different than how you normally behave is literally just acting

Spoon

if they wanted regina to be vaguely queer coded, they could've made the falling out between her and janice be something like regina kissed janice at a party "as a joke" (wink wink) or for a boys attention and janice was hurt by that. its one of the most basic lesbian tropes in media; they even did it in the most recent season of heartstopper 💀

David A Behlman

You thoughts on how the audience is expected to respond when they see something familiar is exactly how I felt watching those maddening “live-action” remakes. Arf-arf! 🦭

Evelyn Alvarado

I love the Runaway Heart video idea! I feel like your sense of humor really shines when you do book readings, they're always really fun. I'd love to see you do another one.

Emily Girouard

This movie is just so pointless to me, and thanks for spelling out WHY so clearly. Why remake a movie 20 years later, with no meaningful changes to the script (beyond caging jokes and characters in PC language), and adding in extremely low-effort musical interludes and references to the source material? Why not just....watch the original movie? I love many remakes, but this will never be one of them

Cynthia Eve

I believe that Renee Rapp (the actress who plays Regina George) is openly queer in real life so there was a decision made to not make Regina homophobic but I agree it definitely could of been written a different way. Also I absolutely adore your theme park content.

Brando

To see a The Critic reference in this, the year of our Lord 2024. Truly a gift.

Van Groves

Omg I can’t wait to show my mom this video we hated this movie

Guy Dineen

Also on behalf of the Sixers, I think the EPOCOT book video sounds delightful.

alex

i was absolutely obsessed with every video breaking down how bad this adaption was right after it came out, having your take on it really feels like the best christmas gift and a positive light at the end of a shitty year. thank u jenny

alex

LETS GOOOOOO

Odahcama

I prayed for this day!!!! 🙏😌

Carrie

1. Please do that book review. It sounds amazing. 2. This musical shows that some stories are best left when written because of the nature of a lot of the jokes haven't necessarily aged well.

MW

The terrible tv show from 2012 Smash is getting a musical this spring and when I go visit my friends in the spring I am determined to see it and I just want it to fall in the good category somehow but

Guy Dineen

Good lord. I feel parts of my soul ripping away just hearing about this musical. I can’t imagine actually watching it. Thank you once again Jenny for taking one for the team. Merry Christmas!

Melanie Atkinson

I would kill for a video on the Epcot harlequin romance, because knowing how convoluted and bonkers these plots get I can’t even imagine how the theme park plays into it. Plus, I even if technically your last couple of videos concern theme parks, I feel like the content itself is varied enough that I didn’t even clock that until you mentioned it

Becky

I feel like "constant" negativity is an overstatement. It may be that criticism of something you like hits you harder than discussions about stuff you don't care about as much, but I don't think anyone could say that videos like the ones about charmingly old fashioned websites or abandoned animatronics or favorite discontinued rides or dream larp hotels are negative. People who really care about a thing are the ones who have the most to say about it because they have strong opinions and lots of information. I'm sure I could make a video about, for example, 4th and 5th generation K-pop (which I love and care about very much) that might make other people in the fandom think I don't actually like it when really we just have different, strong, opinions. I couldn't make a video about professional soccer because all I have to say is that I don't know and don't really care. All this to say, as a former theater kid I disagree with you, but as a fellow human with agency over what I watch on the internet, I say you should watch what you want!

Geraint

Giant Porg somehow looks especially contemplative whilst absorbing the analysis.

FranticCashew

Who are the "I'm tired of theme park content" people? Not me. I actually don't like themeparks, because they are almost always in hot places and I am extremely sensitive to heat, but I'll listen to you talk about them until the death of the sun.

Samantha Ansley

The ‘Janis is gay’ plot point in the original is a HUGE joke that I learned from someone on TT. Janis is Lebanese in the original and Regina misunderstands. It is a line at the end of the film where original Janis mentions this to her prom date. Did the remake people not know this?

Evan Linden

No issue at all, we’re having a discussion and you haven’t been rude at all. I have decided to drop as a patron of Jenny’s, but I’m sure she’ll be fine without my two dollars

Victoria

As someone who didn't even like the original Mean Girls movie, all the hype around the musical was impossible to deal with. This was great though! And personally, I like all of your content, including all of your theme park content! Make whatever you want!

Dani Langlie

I haven’t felt that way but I can understand how it feels to have someone be negative or dismissive of something you enjoy, it doesn’t feel great! I still remember her saying, kind of joking but kinda not, that the vampire diaries was better than Buffy. Full body cringe 😆

Molly

Ok last thoughts then I'm going to stop blowing up your comments (sorry!). Which is that, unrelated to theatre at all, I tooooootally get wanting to consume less negative content. I have been trying to shift my intake more and more towards hopeful content + it's weirdly difficult. Like the addiction to doom scrolling is real, and also there is just way less positive/hopeful content. BUT I find it makes a difference every time I succeed. I hope you find more positive things to watch, + certainly no judgement here if that includes dropping this patreon subscription. Do what is best for you!

Austin F

also, as a gay guy, i was never out as a kid (and didn't know it at the time), but everyone assumed i was gay and i literally got beat up and outcast by the rest of my school because of it. so i really hope that the writers didn't actually think being gay would change the experience of bullying, because a significant number of people even having that opinion is a really sad thought to me :(

Evan Linden

I’ll say it again, I’m not a fan of the Mean Girls reboot movie. I did like aspects of the stage musical, which is why I didn’t skip this one.

Aaron M. Carpenter

Sorry, Jenny. I meant to switch my vote, but forgot. There is nothing worse than a crap musical, when you love musicals.

Maggie

Very glad to see this as the last ramble of the year! Such a bizarrely reductive movie, which is naturally what you're going to get when you have Tina Fey adapt an adaptation that she made of an adaptation that she also made. Such a poor reflection of the original movie, and a bad movie musical to boot. And whatever content brings you the most joy to make is what I want! Would love to see another book review/read-through from you, and if it's what you're excited about, then I'm all in. Thank you for all of the videos this year—have a great holiday, and see you in 2025!

Katherine Evans

Mean Girls the Musical has all the energy/vibes of Hunch the Musical

Molly

Hm idk I also work in theatre + this just sounds so much like a discussion I would have had in college. It's more like how we talked in my writing for musical theatre program rather than the backstage tech spaces I work in now. But that's mostly bc we don't have in-depth conversations about theater really. I am sorry you are feeling put down though. We used to have a rule in college of no discussion is allowed until in the car or fully off property of the show you just saw. Maybe this is just one you should have skipped?

S G Matthews

Yeah… the whole idea with changing what she did to Janice seems extremely suspect. I can tell you as a Non-Binary person that a big obstacle in accepting myself was dealing with “okay… if I’m Queer, than that means the kids that bullied me knew something about me I didn’t… even if they got the specifics wrong.” And that was extremely painful. As far as the Epic Romance…. It has been a long time since you’ve done a book… Could be fun 😊

Evan Linden

I disagree. There are plenty of compelling video essayists who talk about the positives in media (Kyle Kallgren and Biz Barclay come to mind) Again, I’m not saying I think Mean Girls is good, I’m just over the constant negativity in her videos.

Austin F

i appreciate the beetlejuice shoutout, as someone who's seen both the beetlejuice musical and the mean girls musical (the stage version). i didn't really enjoy the mean girls musical because i just felt very little during it. it wasn't the worst thing ever, but i was never that invested. meanwhile, the beetlejuice song "home" totally moved me to the point that i've listened to it hundreds of times in the 2 years since i saw the show

Knox

Thank you for a wonderful year of videos! So happy I became a Patron

Josh B

It's a bad musical, and it's fun to see something get deservedly eviscerated. It's also just difficult to do a compelling positive review of musicals or theatre in general because so much of the quality is dependent on seeing it in person. To reference a good musical she mentions in the Ramble, Jenny can say that the Lion King is a good musical, but no review will communicate how transcendent the opening number with all the amazing choreographed puppetry truly is.

Evan Linden

I guess the reason it bothers me is that newer videos of Jenny’s have the vibe of “let me talk about how stupid this thing is”. I’ve honestly considered canceling my Patronage because of it. And as someone who works in theatre, this one hit particularly badly

Dani Langlie

She compliments several good musicals in this video lol. I’m a HUGE musical theatre fan and while I am not quite as down on a couple of the musicals she dislikes (I think the Broadway Aladdin is mid but not awful), she’s also more positive about musicals I think are mid (Beetlejuice and Waitress!) she’s clearly a big fan, she just hates on the thing she loves as do most fans lol.

Molly

But honestly when I was deep into studying and analyzing musicals I could think of critiques even for musicals and performances I loved. You can also more specifically point out the things you liked. It's just having a more granular eye and more vocabulary to discuss what you're seeing.

Jet Puff

As soon as they couldn’t get Sabrina Carpenter in the lead they should have cancelled the whole thing

Molly

I think anyone who cares deeply about musicals and has thought a lot about them will have a lot of critical opinions more so than someone who is indifferent or actively avoids them. This was true of all of my cohort in musical theatre college. Just like if you care a lot about jazz music you can pick out the specific cadence or modality you didn't like, if you love cinematography you can easily call out and name specific issues with framing and eye line that a person who doesn't love those subjects might just say "something felt off about it." No one who doesn't love musicals would have this much to say.

Evan Linden

Lee

I just saw the Wicked film yesterday and couldn't figure out how I felt about it and this video helped

Junior

Any Jenny video is a good Jenny video. I’m looking forward to Barbie and all the other videos you’ve mentioned. An Epcot Harlequin Romance would be interesting at well.

Archvaldor's Warcraft Hacks Premium

I love the fact you couldn't find a porg-sized hat but gave the porg one anyway.

Alexis

I think in the original movie, the joke was that Janice was Lebenese, and when she told that to Regina, Regina thought she meant lesbian and stopped being friends with her. I think Janice mentions her ethnicity in one of the final scenes of the movie

Molly

The way I remember it, Mean Girls was already in development when Heathers was running, and I always thought that's why it didn't get transferred to Broadway bc producers assumed that's the more popular movie + Tina Fey is famous and worked on writing it (even though it does not seem she knows much about writing musicals). My friends were obsessed with Heathers back then, which is why I preemptively hated the Mean Girls musical and still haven't seen or listened to any version of it. It sounds like I wasn't missing out on much even if my boycott was done for petty reasons lol

Sophie B.

Will never be tired of theme park content, don't listen to the haters!!! Also that book sounds absolutely wild, the way I immediately ran to try and hunt down a copy myself — the cover alone! Happy Christmas, thanks for a year of great videos (:

Tagtraum0987

Work on whatever you like! Like, I enjoy 0 things about Star Wars etc. But I'm still watching your vids bc I find you very engaging

Megan

PLEASE do the book review, I may buy it no matter what

Dave Ruff

She's definitely not an A-lister (yet?), but I loved Angourie Rice (Kady) in The Nice Guys, where she plays Ryan Gosling's precocious teenage daughter, and I'm pretty sure her performance was very well received (Nice Guys is a criminally underseen movie, btw). When I watched it again on a plane earlier this year, I was wondering what Rice was doing these days, then I saw that she was in the Mean Girls remake/musical... and my goodness, the few clips I watched on YT were atrocious (not just by Rice, but pretty much everyone and every song). Anyway, I blame the writing/directing for Mean Girls, because Rice definitely has some good acting chops. But also, maybe don't cast someone who can't sing in a musical?

Anna Reves

Im so dumb, I was thinking about the heathers musical for the first 20min of this and was so confused. I had no idea they made a mean girls musical

Neal Chauhan

ITS TIMEEEE

Zoe Kim

Happy holidays Jenny!!

Jenny Nicholson

I think you're right (esp with casting the literal lead!), and I have some issues with Heathers but it's a way way better musical than Mean Girls, O'Keefe is kind of the king of taking a premise that sounds trashy but approaching it earnestly and adding some pathos to it

Hampus Skoglund

Thanks for this year Jenny!

Mel Curtis

I don't really care for Mean Girls as a musical either. I feel like it was really trying to capture and ride off the audience of the Heathers musical, which while not a HUGE success was a modest cult hit.

Adam Ashley

I mean you would be truly horrified if you knew what the actual act 2 opening song sounds like

Hannah Cobble

Loveee a deep dive movie review they’re so fun! Reminds me a little of the Dear Evan Hansen video which was so so funny <3

Dumb Fake Name

yes, dance for us puppet. *Jack Nicholson creepy nod*

Aya Duisheeva

you can download the videos through YouTube if you have premium, that's what i had to do.

Robert Romero Jr

I guess I’m one of those people who like musicals but never actually gone to see a musical theater play. I do like criticism Jenny but negative Jenny is a different beast. Hope you do more theme park content.

Sideshow Bob Stepping On Rakes

I hate the musical the movie is based on and cannot actually fathom how every English speaking person in the world doesn't think it's garbage. I am SEATED.

xX_cynder_bl0c_Xx

Thank you Jenny! Is there any way you can allow downloads so I can watch your videos on a flight?

eloise

it’s so weird and clearly cashgrabby to me that they’ve made a movie of a musical of a movie of a book. like come onnnn, nothing about mean girls warranted a musical retelling of that story. there’s 1 scene where people sing and it’s at a TALENT SHOW😭they should’ve left it at the first movie and let it just be the icon it is

Marion Heisenberg

I just started the video (so excited for it) , i just want to say this green color looks Amazing on you

Isaac Jordan

As someone who lives in Chicago and saw the first run of the Devil Wears Prada musical, I cannot express to you how ridiculously mid it was. Imagine the film Devil Wears Prada except all the fashion is terrible, Miranda Priestly is a perfectly reasonable boss, and Elton John wrote the soundtrack but gave it about 25% of the effort he gave to Gnomeo & Juliet

Jackson

Thank you for keeping me sane and entertained during two consecutive days of 14 hours of driving. I might have wrapped my car around a tree if it wasn't for your videos.

Hazel Singh

New Jenny video, right before Christmas, and it’s on a topic I’m familiar with and have lots of opinions about? This Patreon is truly the gift that keeps giving.

Jazz Me to the Moon

Happy holidays and happy new year y'all. Wish you the best

Nadine S

Ohhh, I just yesterday saw that it's availabe to watch. Looks like I know what I'm doing tonight.

soph

I have never been more ready for a video. My girlfriend and I had a roommate who was a classic Mean Girls-obsessed millennial gay musical theatre major and he dragged me an hour through a blizzard to the premiere of this movie. I could have died, all for the Mean Girls musical movie. I need revenge.

lyrium

jenny you look SO PRETTY in this shade of green!!!!! thanks for another year of great videos!

B Hair

Wooooo!!! New ramble!!! Happy Holidays Jenny and other fellow followers

Mark fas

I just watched this today haha. Yeah, it's pretty awful

Scorpiooo

Yay! I’m flying home for christmas tomorrow and so excited to have new Jenny content for the flight!!

rory

YAAAAY

huh

ty for the surprise christmas present, happy holidays everyone 🥳

Spublii

Merry Christmas Jenny!

Shane Scanlan

Yes! I was just wondering if we get this a little earlier this month. Thank you Jenny! Love your unique point of view

L Stutt

Best Christmas gift I could’ve hoped for ❤️