Freeze Frame: “Mean Girls” (PG-13), “American Fiction” (R), “Lift” (PG-13), “Echo” (TV-MA)

Tina Fey’s hit 2004 comedy “Mean Girls” was adapted into a popular Broadway musical. The new movie is a cinematic version of that play. Angourie Rice leads the cast in the tale of a teen who rubs a nasty A-list student the wrong way when she falls for a certain guy. It justly skewers the high school caste system, but while the songs are well sung, they’re unmemorable. Shout out to KC native Bebe Wood who scores as one of the plastics. It’s modestly amusing, but this “Mean Girls” is a bit more plastic than the original.

Jeffrey Wright shines as a writer forced to compromise to sell books in the whip smart comedy, “American Fiction.” It has a lot to say about contemporary race relations, family bonds and the absurdities of the publishing world. “American Fiction” is easily one of the year’s best films.

Kevin Hart leads an international team of super-skilled thieves in the Netflix comedy heist movie, “Lift.” Hart plays an art thief who is blackmailed into attempting to steal $100 million in gold from a 777-passenger jet…in mid-flight, no less. Think of it as a goofy mix of “Ocean’s 11” and “Mission: Impossible.” If you can lift your disbelief for a couple of hours, “Lift” is a passable distraction.

The latest Disney+ Marvel series ain’t for the kiddies. “Echo,” a spinoff of “Hawkeye,” stars Alaqua Cox as a Native American woman who hones her skills to overcome her deafness and prosthetic leg and become a formidable crime fighter. It’s rated TV-MA for its adult material. “Echo” adds a crafty twist or two to the typical superhero formula.

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