7 Hours At A Private Mean Girls Screening & 2 VIP Parties
Is this what it feels like to be one of the Plastics?
Get in, losers: The cultural phenomenon of Mean Girls just welcomed its latest iteration. Starring Angourie Rice as Cady Heron and Reneé Rapp as Regina George, the 2024 film pays homage to its predecessors, Mean Girls (2004) and Mean Girls the musical. For an early look at the movie and a celebration of all things pink, I traveled to Atlantic City, New Jersey, for a private screening and two Mean Girls-themed parties.
Arriving at the Ocean Casino Resort on Jan. 10 at around 2:30 p.m., there was a fetch surprise waiting for me. My hotel room was stocked with Mean Girls memorabilia: a baby pink tumbler and ring light, a Mean Girls hoodie, and an empty Burn Book.
Ocean was also kind enough to supply me with fruit-scented bath goodies from Nectar Life. The salt scrub and whipped soap were the perfect for a quick freshening-up before a night of Mean Girls festivities — even if they caused me to spend a little too long lathering, and I had to rush my blowout to make the first event of the night.
5 p.m.: VIP Pre-Party
Turns out, the Plastics-approved accessories were just the beginning. When I arrived downstairs at the VIP pre-party, complete with on-brand cocktails and photo opps to celebrate the movie, everyone was embracing the Mean Girls spirit. Surrounded by PR pros and journalists, we spent most of the party trading obscure movie quotes and making Mean Girls predictions.
The party — held at one of the resort’s presidential suites — had two signature drinks on the menu: the Fetchtini and the Cool Mom Margarita. Because it was a Wednesday, both drinks were pink (duh).
The Fetchtini was made with Tito’s vodka, lemonade, Chambord, lime, and champagne — emphasis on the lemonade. The Cool Mom Margarita had Casamigos Blanco tequila, lime, Cointreau, simple syrup, and cranberry. Both cocktails were topped with a slice of lime.
The fruity bevs gave me flashbacks to the scene in the original Mean Girl, when the Plastics have happy hour at Regina’s house. At any moment, I expected Amy Poehler to pop out and offer to spike the cocktail with a little something extra.
There was also a table of little bites: sushi, shrimp cocktail, charcuterie, cupcakes, and macaroons. The Ocean staff decorated the table with cute signs, including references to “Thank U, Next,” the Burn Book, and “That’s so fetch.”
Drinks and snacks secured, I walked through the rest of the pre-party venue, taking note of all the Mean Girls details. The space was filled with nods to the movie: a DIY burn book and Polaroid camera for easy photography, a set of bright pink lockers, and a chalkboard filled with iconic Mean Girls quotes like, “Whatever, I’m getting cheese fries,” and “Is butter a carb?”
Accessorizing was encouraged; there were tables littered with Mean Girls beaded bracelets and temporary tattoos. It helped that most of the attendees were already sporting as much pink as possible. In my all-black outfit, I was one of the outliers, but I made sure to get a temporary tattoo to make up for it.
8 p.m.: Mean Girls Advance Screening
After an hour-and-a-half break for dinner at Ocean’s Amada restaurant, we headed to the theater. There, more rose-colored fun waited for us. Outside of the screening room, there were glam stations set up, full of sparkles and eye gems.
Without giving away too many details, the screening itself was 112 minutes of light-hearted fun. Admittedly, it was missing some of the edge of the OG film, but the plot followed the 2004 movie closely enough for anyone looking for a dose of nostalgia. Plus, there were enough updates to keep things interesting — and the writers even managed to add in a few new one-liners that might even rival the icon status of the original script.
10 p.m.: Exclusive After-Party & Drag Show
Once the film wrapped, we all headed to Ocean’s Nola’s Bar and Lounge for an after-party. Seated in the private VIP area, we had great seats to watch DJ Freezie mix. Not to mention, we had the best seats in the house for the Mean Girls-themed drag performance — and you can probably guess which Christmas-themed dance the queens perfected.
TL;DR: When it comes to Mean Girls festivities, I firmly believe that the limit does not exist. I might not be interested in going back to high school any time soon, but my brief visit to the world of North Shore High School was a grool one.
