“Thank U, Next” a cinematic masterpiece

Sophia Comas, Sports Editor

In the wake of her recent break up with ex-fiance Pete Davidson, singer Ariana Grande debuted her new music video for her single “Thank U, Next” Friday, featuring her and other celebrities in a parody of iconic 2000s movies.

The singer scraped up roughly 95 million views in the span of three days while also climbing up to #3 on Youtube’s trending page with her humorous take on movies such as “Mean Girls,” “Bring It On,” “Legally Blonde” and “13 Going On 30.”

Her fun spirit is mirrored in the video along with other members of its cast, giving a throwback to her days on the Nickelodeon TV show “Victorious” with a reunion of her and other cast mates. Grande makes her female power ballad match well with the scenes before her, especially when the movies that inspired her contributed to so much of what is seen now in teenage romance movies.

The video opens with Youtuber Colleen Ballinger recreating a scene from “Mean Girls” in which various students address rumors about character Regina George, who in this case is portrayed by Grande. Ballinger — who is eight months pregnant — uses her baby bump as a prop of sorts for her character in the video and helps set up the comic effect meant to accompany a sense of female pride.

Following Grande’s entrance she and other actresses remake the iconic Christmas dance scene before quickly moving on to scenes taken from “Bring It On.” While Grande brushes her teeth with actor Matt Bennett — who is famously known for his portrayal of Robbie Shapiro on “Victorious” — she sings of her troubles with love and how it impacted her life. Despite a topic that could’ve turned dramatic, Grande puts her main focus on growth and maturity rather than pettiness.

“Thank U, Next” quickly moves through other scenes taken from the movies, eventually ending on clips from the entire video that show Grande’s fun side. She goofs around with the other people in the video before the music cuts off, displaying her ability to laugh through anything.

Grande’s video was unexpected to say the least, but the biggest take away from a video like “Thank U, Next” is that cinematic magic doesn’t have to be channeled just through movies. Although inspired by them, “Thank U, Next” proves that it could almost be better than those movies themselves and breaks music video standards everywhere for something fresh and exciting.