Mean Girls (2004)

Cady Heron is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school, until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George.

Director:

Mark Waters

Writers:

Rosalind Wiseman (book), Tina Fey (screenplay)

Stars:

Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey

7 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lindsay Lohan	...	Cady Heron
Rachel McAdams	...	Regina George
Tina Fey	...	Ms. Norbury
Tim Meadows	...	Mr. Duvall
Amy Poehler	...	Mrs. George
Ana Gasteyer	...	Cady's Mom
Lacey Chabert	...	Gretchen Wieners
Lizzy Caplan	...	Janis Ian
Daniel Franzese	...	Damian
Neil Flynn	...	Cady's Dad
Jonathan Bennett	...	Aaron Samuels
Amanda Seyfried	...	Karen Smith
Rajiv Surendra	...	Kevin Gnapoor
Elana Shilling	...	Spelling Girl
Graham Kartna	...	Homeschooled Boy

Storyline

Raised in African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady Heron thinks she knows about survival of the fittest. But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 16-year-old enters public high school for the first time and encounters psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teenage girls face today.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | clique | africa | secret | teenage girl | 

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Taglines:

Mean. Meaner. Meanest.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and some teen partying

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Pictures

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English German Vietnamese Swahili

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chicas pesadas

Filming Locations:

Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$854,852 (France) (28 January 2005)

Gross:

$854,852 (France) (28 January 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, M.G. Films, Broadway Video

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tina Fey envisioned backgrounds for all of the characters. If any of the actors had questions about their characters she could fill in the blanks for them.

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Goofs

When Cady is watching the action around the fountain, the girl who takes the paper drops it. In the next shot, she's eating it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Chip Heron: This is your lunch, OK? I put a dollar in there so you can buy some milk; you can ask one of the big kids where to do that.
Betsy Heron: Do you remember your phone number? I wrote it down for you just in case. Put it in your pocket, I don't want you to lose it. OK? You ready?
Cady: I think so.

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Crazy Credits

The senior artist credit is misspelled "SENIOR ARTITST".

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Connections

Referenced in House M.D.: House vs. God (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Rip Her to Shreds"
by Deborah Harry and Chris Stein
Performed by Boomkat
Produced by Kellin Manning and Martin Pradler

User Reviews

So Fetch

Mean Girls isn't your average teen comedy, which you can tell are written by adults who have no insight into the social politics that revolve around teenage life, and who consequently divide everyone into two groups - cool (jocks and cheerleaders) and uncool (goths and science nerds). And it is this inherent understanding of teen life, that writer Tina Fey has applied to the film which makes it stand out, and such a pleasure to watch.

Cady Herron (played by Lindsay Lohan) is starting her first day of school - and she's 16. She's been home-schooled all her life (in Africa), and is totally unprepared for and untutored in the ways of an American high school. She quickly befriends Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese), two of the biggest social outcasts in school. However, after a chance encounter in the canteen with the plastics (teen royalty), otherwise known as Regina George (Rachel Macadams), Gretched Wieners (Lacey Chabert) and Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried), Cady's world begins to change dramatically as she is sucked in by the rules and cliques of Girlworld.

The dialogue in the film is sharp and witty, not the OTT Dawson's Creek or O.C. teen-speak. The teenagers actually look like teenagers, not like 30 year olds playing teenagers. And what holds the film together are the great performances from the actors. They're all perfect. Lindsay Lohan is perfect as Cady, the clueless girl who gets a taste of popularity and has to have more. Lizzy Caplan is a revelation as Janis, a punk character who would be sidelined either as a freak, or as a candidate for a makeover, in any other teen movie. But it is the actresses who play the plastics who truly stand out. Lacey Chabert is ideal as Gretchen, the insecure, 2nd-in command girl, who fakes her friendship with Regina just to be considered popular. Amanda Seyfried, as the ultimate dumb blonde Karen, has impeccable comic timing. And rising Hollywood star Rachel Macadams, as Regina George, is the stand-out in the film as the manipulative bitch who has to stay on top at all costs.

Mean Girls isn't just a film for teen girls and gay guys. Most of my (straight) male friends love it, and everyone I know who's seen it recognises elements of the film and the characters from their own secondary school experiences. Mean Girls is, as Gretchen would say (in keeping with "British" slang, even though I'm English and the term just doesn't exist!), that the film is just So Fetch.