‘Thank U, Next’ salutes ‘Mean Girls,’ ’13 Going on 30,’ ‘Clueless’ and ‘Legally Blonde’
Warning. You’ll get whiplash if you bend and snap to catch all the cameo appearances in Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” video.
It pays homage to several iconic, female-centric movies of the last 20 years or so, including “Clueless,” “Mean Girls,” “Legally Blonde,” “Bring it On,” and “13 Going on 30.”
Yes, that’s Jonathan Bennett, who played Lindsay Lohan’s love interest, Aaron Samuels, in “Mean Girls,” walking the high school halls with Ariana in the role of Regina George.
Bennett obviously lives where time stands still because he hasn’t aged a day the last 14 years.
“The pop star couldn’t breathe new life into Mean Girls without incorporating Aaron Samuels himself,” gushed E! as it took count of the celebs and FOAs - Friends of Ariana - who show up in the video. According to Verge, more than 765,000 watched it debut on Friday.
Entertaintment Weekly published a “comprehensive guide” to all the pop culture references in the video.
Kris Jenner pops up in one scene. Jennifer Coolidge is back as the love-challenged manicurist who teaches Elle Woods how to do the “bend and snap” to get a guy’s attention.
But this is the “bend and snap” Grande style.
More wrist, less chest.
And her fans couldn’t be happier.