ST. LOUIS — Making over $60 million in its first three weeks at the box office, the recent "Mean Girls" remake gained success thanks to two special St. Louis natives: Jon Hamm and Jenna Fischer.
Meanwhile, fellow St. Louisan Sterling K. Brown earned his first Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in "American Fiction."
5 On Your Side heard from Paramount Studios and medical experts about what a more modern and diverse "Mean Girls" cast may mean for the future of cinema and our homes.
"In 2004, we made the original 'Mean Girls,'" Tina Fey said in an interview for Paramount regarding the impact of the original film. "Over the years, I've realized these characters and this story have a much longer shelf life than anyone anticipated."
The 2024 adaptation was the No. 1 movie in the nation for the first three weeks after its release, and it came with some local star power.
Having both Hamm and Fischer in the 20-years-later remake has already made 2024 a cinematic milestone for the St. Louis actors.
"Everyone brings something new to the table," Bebe Wood, who plays Gretchen Wieners, said in an interview with Paramount about the "Mean Girls" cast.
The stacked line-up includes Ashley Park, Busy Philipps, Tim Meadows, Hamm, Fischer and Fey.
"It's the coolest thing ever," the lead actress playing Regina George, Renee Rapp, said in a Paramount interview. "(They're) insanely talented."
Playing opposite Rapp as new girl Cady Heron, Angourie Rice said, "It was really special" working with such "amazing actors."
Including Hamm, who taught drama at his alma mater, John Burroughs High School. Fischer went to high school in Webster Groves and still attends Blues games occasionally.
"They nailed the comedy," said Fischer, who plays Heron's mom, when talking to Paramount about the original film's impact.
When it comes to a musical and comedy film like this, movie experts emphasize that "humans want to be together," according to Greg Marcus who is the CEO of Marcus Theatres.
People "want to cry together," Marcus said. "They want to experience things together, and it doesn't need to be an event film. People just want to get out of the house. This is still the cheapest form of entertainment."
Major movie releases like "Mean Girls" have drawn even more people to theaters.
"It's so iconic and so timeless," Rice said.
"It's become such a part of all of our lives," Christopher Briney, who plays love interest Aaron Samuels in the movie, said with Paramount.
Especially considering "everyone knows the Trio in Pink," Auli'i Cravalho unpacked in a Paramount interview. This is a reference to characters Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith, now Karen Shetty and played by Avantika.
Cravalho has revamped the 2004 best friend role of Janis Ian through a more modern and ethnically inclusive character depiction of Janis 'Imi'ike.
With film studios moving toward more diverse casting, medical experts also say LGBTQ+ storylines could help the next generation's mental health.
"Film becomes a place where I can begin to imagine a life bigger than where I'm at," Dr. Katie Heiden-Rootes, an associate professor at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Family and Community Medicine, said.
Heiden-Rootes focuses her research on sexuality and sexual health as well as LGBTQ youth and young adults and their families.
She helps lead the Queer and Trans Wellness Clinic at SLU in addition to being an avid "Mean Girls" fan. Heiden-Rootes is looking forward to the future of having more inclusive films in the mainstream, two decades after the original aired.
"It's a really good thing for young people," Heiden-Rootes said who is also the assistant vice president of SLU's Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement. She is also a licensed mental health professional.
"Mean Girls" is still running in local theaters, including Alamo Drafthouse, Marcus Cinemas, and AMC Theaters, if you still haven't caught it on screen just yet.
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