Current:Home > reviewsTina Fey talks best new 'Mean Girls' jokes, 'crazy' ways that '30 Rock' mirrors real life -Blueprint Wealth Network
Tina Fey talks best new 'Mean Girls' jokes, 'crazy' ways that '30 Rock' mirrors real life
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-04-09 04:38:52
Spoiler alert! The following contains jokes and plot points from the “Mean Girls” movie musical (in theaters now). Stop reading now if you don't want to know.
The greatest moment in the new “Mean Girls” belongs to Damian Hubbard.
As Cady (Angourie Rice) and the Plastics gear up for a Santa-clad dance at the high-school talent show, we’re treated to a song from arty outcast Damian (Jaquel Spivey), who reverently croons a dramatic mystery number in French. When the stirring performance is over, Principal Duvall (Tim Meadows) clumsily grabs the microphone.
“That was Damian Hubbard singing the ‘iCarly’ theme song in French for extra credit,” Duvall says dryly.
“iCarly,” for the uninitiated, was a 2007 Nickelodeon sitcom starring Miranda Cosgrove. Damian’s brief but hilarious homage has been making the rounds on social media ever since “Mean Girls” was released last week.
It’s a favorite new joke of Tina Fey, who wrote the script for the new movie musical, as well as the 2018 Broadway show and 2004 original film that it’s based on.
“Oh, my gosh, that ‘iCarly thing,’ ” Fey tells USA TODAY. “The fact that made it in, and that (the movie) committed to it so hard. That probably brings me the most joy of all the new things. And Jaquel having his fan with him – he just had it on the day (of shooting), and we were just like, ‘Yeah, keep it.’ “
Ms. Norbury is married in the new 'Mean Girls' movie for one funny reason
Fey’s other favorite bit comes later in the movie, at a school assembly after Regina George (Reneé Rapp) has distributed pages of the Burn Book and sowed chaos among her classmates. Principal Duvall and math teacher Ms. Norbury (Fey) start bickering about things they need to do at home, unwittingly revealing that the two live together.
“The revelation that Tim and I are married, I put that in to satisfy my old (“30 Rock”) writing partner Robert Carlock,” Fey says. “That is just to entertain him.”
Carlock used to tease the actors that their characters were in love in the 2004 film, according to Entertainment Weekly, which helped inspire the new gag.
Tina Fey talks 'crazy' parallels between '30 Rock' and real life
Fey and Carlock's “30 Rock” surged in popularity last holiday season, thanks to a viral trend of people sharing their favorite clips from the razor-sharp NBC comedy, which wrapped in 2013 after seven seasons.
Real life seems more and more like an outrageous “30 Rock” episode: When the new “Mean Girls” trailer debuted, a Season 2 clip circulated on social media of “30 Rock” character Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) saying she won “best actress for a movie based on a musical based on a movie.” (Amy Poehler made a similar joke about perpetual remakes during Monday's Emmys, to which Fey replied, "There's nothing wrong with that!")
Maroney's award was for a fake musical version of Julia Roberts' "Mystic Pizza." "And now that's happening!" Fey says, referencing a recent stage adaptation of the 1988 dramedy. She also notes the similarities between a recent TLC dating competition and “MILF Island,” an absurd show-within-a-show on “30 Rock.”
“ ‘MILF Manor’ certainly was crazy,” Fey says. “It’s called ‘MILF Manor,’ but it’s set on an island. I did have a minute where I was like, ‘I sue you?’ (Laughs.) It feels like there’s often stuff like that, because we just had too many jokes.”
veryGood! (22416)
Related
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Sexual assault victims suing Uber notch a legal victory in long battle
- New Zealand immigration hits an all-time high as movement surges following pandemic lull
- Malaysia’s wildlife department defends its use of puppies as live bait to trap black panthers
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Rockets fly, planes grounded: Americans struggle to escape war in Israeli, Palestinian zones
- Incomes are falling in 17 states. Here's where Americans are falling furthest behind.
- 3 witchy books for fall that offer fright and delight
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Norway activists renew protest against wind farm on land used by herders
Ranking
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- Amazon sellers say they made a good living — until Amazon figured it out
- Russian authorities seek to fine a human rights advocate for criticizing the war in Ukraine
- Ashley Graham's Fave Bronzing Face Mist Is on Sale at Amazon October Prime Day
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- NASA reveals contents of OSIRIS-REx capsule containing asteroid sample
- Arkansas AG sets ballot language for proposal to drop sales tax on diapers, menstrual products
- Russian authorities seek to fine a human rights advocate for criticizing the war in Ukraine
Recommendation
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Black student suspended over his hairstyle to be sent to an alternative education program
Georgia high court reverses dismissal of murder charges against ex-jailers in detainee death
NHL says players cannot use rainbow-colored sticks on Pride nights
Trump's 'stop
2023 Fat Bear Week has crowned its winner – a queen that's thicker than a bowl of oatmeal
Voting begins in Ohio in the only election this fall to decide abortion rights
Prominent patrol leader in NYC Orthodox Jewish community sentenced to 17 years for raping teenager