The trailer for the 2024 adaptation of "Mean Girls" sparked immediate confusion. Is it a remake? A musical? A Gen-Z fashion show?
The answer is a bit of all three.
Christopher Briney, who stars in the film as Aaron Samuels, a stock character of an athletic heartthrob, says the film brings to life a world that is distinctly "different" from the original 2004 Lindsay Lohan-led comedy.
"I don't even know how to describe the visuals, it's sort of like this really long music video," he tells TODAY.com in an interview.
There's even, he argues, a bit of the "almost supernatural."
For example, in place of Lohan's narration that moved the plot forward, this time there are elaborate scenes of choreography and song that seemingly stop time. Cady's fantasies about Aaron feature back-up dancers and a romantic swing that replaces her desk mid-math class. When Regina is introduced, activity in the cafeteria literally stops, and the hauntingly slow repetition of "My name is Regina George, and I am a massive deal," echoes through a suddenly dimly-lit lit room.
The songs are all straight from the 2018 Broadway production of "Mean Girls," but don't expect Briney to sing. All of the song's originally performed by Kyle Selig for the stage production did not make it into the final film.
When Briney first saw that auditioning for the role required singing, he "didn't want to do that to the cast and directors." So he passed.
The role came back around — this time, with no singing requirement.
"I don't think it was changed for me," he said on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna Jan. 9. "I think it was like, 'We don't care. It's Aaron Samuels, he doesn't need to sing.'"
But one of the original songs helps explain why Aaron Samuels, originally played by Jonathan Bennett, keeps falling under Regina's enthrall. (If you recall from the original film, once Regina learns that Cady is crushing on Aaron —Regina's ex-boyfriend — she wins him back in a show of power, and he falls willingly.)
In "Stupid with Love (Reprise)," Aaron explains his relationship with Regina, singing, "With her I tried to be / Somebody cool," and, "That’s love, I guess / You try hard to impress / But end up acting like a tool."
Without this song, Aaron's motivations for dating and then getting back with Regina are more unclear.
"I talked to the directors about it because it doesn't make sense in some ways," he tells TODAY.com.
Briney has two theories. One, Regina George really just is that powerful.
"Specifically in this version, I think Regina is sort like, ethereal, and has powers," he says. "I'm so serious. She's just so powerful in this world that she just made him change."
Or, Aaron Samuels is, like most high schoolers, still figuring out how stand up for himself.
"In high school, it's really hard to fight for yourself. It's easy to be pushed and stepped on a little bit, and I think it takes a long time to learn how to stand up for yourself."
It's something Briney, a self-proclaimed "dorky" theater kid who was "pretty good at a lot of things, not really excelling at anything," can relate to.
"I think it's a weird thing to learn how to fight for yourself. It's something also I think people have to keep relearning," he says, especially when it pertains to the entertainment industry. "Every job is sort of hierarchal and you are always trying to please someone."
"I think it's a very human experience," he adds.
In short, we are all Aaron Samuels.
That universality is part of what has made the original film's legacy last so long. Briney says his background with the 2004 movie largely stems from vague memories of flipping through TV channels and finding "Mean Girls" on TBS.
"Whenever it's on, you watch it. You don't watch anything else," he says.
When it came to preparing for taking on the mantle of Aaron, Briney purposefully avoided watching the first movie and Bennett's original performance, though.
"I was really afraid of getting in the habit or instinct of trying to re-create what he did because he did such a good job with Aaron. You know, there's a reason this character has survived for so long," he says. "I don't know if I exactly set out to be different, but I set out to make it my own."
On set, the original film was impossible to ignore.
"I mean, everybody on set was quoting the original," he says with a laugh.
When it came to bonding with the rest of the cast, Briney describes it as a "slow burn."
"You just spend a lot of time doing nothing," he says. "They were always down to just like, laugh about it."
"Sometimes when you lay in a room for 16 hours and don't work, it sucks, but then other times you're like, 'Well, that's what making a movie is,'" he says.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
