Justin: How ‘Mean Girls’ became the ‘fetchiest’ film of the 21st century

During a recent episode of “CNN Saturday Morning Table for Five,“ broadcast journalist and sports reporter Cari Champion compared Elon Musk to a ”Mean Girls” character who crashes a school assembly. The women at the table instantly got the reference; the men did not.

“You guys are like, ‘Excuse me? What movie is this?‘” said Champion, teasing panelists GOP commentator Melik Abdul and former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger — who both might have been more in the loop if she had cited a scene from “The Godfather.”

The 49-year-old Champion belongs to a demographic that will make up the bulk of the audience when the musical version of “Mean Girls” arrives at the Ordway next week, giving them an opportunity to revisit memories of the Tina Fey-penned film that debuted a little more than 20 years ago.

But they won’t be alone. The film, as well as the 2018 Broadway musical, resonates with fans who could be their children, making it one of the most enduring pop culture milestones of this century.

The film earned a modest $130 million at the box office and zero Oscar nominations, but its legacy has lasted a lot longer than bigger 2004 hits like “Shrek 2″ and “The Passion of the Christ.”

It’s gotten nods in pop hits (Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed”), music videos (Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next”), Super Bowl ads (Discover Card), TV shows (“How to Get Away With Murder”), toys (Bratz dolls) and novels (Karen McManus’ “Two Can Keep a Secret”).

Today’s teens, the ones who think Britney Spears is “old school,” treat “Mean Girls” like it was freshly baked.

“That’s for some great reasons and some not so great reasons,” said Nell Benjamin, who wrote the lyrics for the musical. “The great reason is that Tina is a comic genius. She has a talent for finding comedy in absurd and painful moments. The sad reason is that the story remains timely. Young women still have these enormous, weird pressures.”

The original film, which Fey wrote while she was still at “Saturday Night Live,” tells the story of Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), a 16-year-old trying to navigate high school after spending much of her childhood in Africa. In a voice-over, she compares the suburban mall to a watering hole in the savanna, where only the strong and savage survive.

Like Sandy in “Grease,” she decides that the best way to fit in is by burying her natural sweet nature and becoming one of the Plastics, a girl group much more heartless than the Pink Ladies.

But the decision doesn’t end with an upbeat round of “We Go Together.” Instead, it triggers the distribution of ugly rumors and hurt feelings. In many ways, it asks the same questions that run through “Wicked,” which came to Broadway a year before ”Mean Girls” hit theaters.

“How do you handle yourself when you have power?” said Benjamin last week in a phone interview from New York, where she’s putting the finishing touches on “Huzzah!” — a musical she created with husband Laurence O’Keefe about sisters trying to save their family’s Renaissance Fair. “How do you use power so that it doesn’t break the world?”

Some elements of the 2004 film will make you cringe — and not the way original director Mark Waters and Fey intended. There’s a startling lack of diversity and lots of body shaming and gay bashing.

The musical, which was adapted for the screen last year, gave Fey and her team a chance to make updates. There are more characters of color, less homophobia and a range of different body types (although main villain Regina George is still determined to lose three pounds).

The newer version also reflects the impact of social media; three-way phone calls are replaced by viral videos.

SJ Olson, who did the choreography for a Duluth Playhouse production last year, points to the number “Stop,” which includes the lyrics: “When you’re feeling attacked/that’s a feeling not a fact/don’t jump online and react/you really need to stop.”

“They entered facets of social media into the musical we didn’t really have in 2004,” said Olson, who will return to Duluth this summer to direct a youth production of “Cats.”

Olson admitted that a few cast members rolled their eyes at some of the millennial jokes. But the biggest challenge was coaxing them into committing to the story’s “meanest” moments.

“Some of the girls, especially those who were playing the Plastics, might have felt a little afraid of bullying peers because they didn’t want people to think they are like that in real life,” Olson said. “Their generation has a lens of empathy I didn’t necessarily see when I was in high school.”

Olson believes the 30 students who worked on the Duluth show ultimately enjoyed the story for the same reasons an older generation did.

“Tina Fey made way for girl humor,” Olson said. “They can be funny and stupid and ridiculous. That had a big impact.”

When: 7:30 p.m. April 8-11; 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 12; 1:30 and 7 p.m. April 13.

Where: The Ordway, 345 Washington St., St. Paul.

Tickets: $45-$160, ordway.org.