Mean Girls (2004)

Director:

Mark Waters

Writers (WGA):

Rosalind Wiseman (book)
Tina Fey (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Welcome to Girl World.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Africa | Mathletes | Teenage Girl | Christmas

Awards:

7 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Méchantes ados (Canada: French title)
Queen Bees and Wannabes (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | German | Vietnamese | Swahili

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-7 | Germany:6 | India:A | Ireland:12PG | Netherlands:12 | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Germany:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The skirts for the Christmas talent show are made of plastic; the costume designer says they were made of that fabric to "represent the Plastics".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Regina complains to the principal and tosses copies of the Burn book in the hallway, this is supposedly the day after she discovers the prank where she was convinced to eat high calorie energy bars. Despite gaining weight, she appears as thin as she was before during this scene.

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.

Movie Connections:

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Soundtrack:

Misty Canyon

Fun & worth seeing

"Mean Girls" is a fun movie that can be enjoyed thoroughly by the adult set as well as its seeming target audience, teens. The flick opens up with Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) embarking on her first day of the jungle that is high school ever as she has been home-schooled in Africa her whole life. After some initial bumps in the road, she manages to befriend two "artsy" misfits, Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese). Surprisingly, however, she is also quickly welcomed into the Plastics, a group of uber-popular girls who seem to be simultaneously admired and resented by all. On Janis's urgings, Cady infiltrates the Plastics, and her mission becomes personal when the Plastics leader, Regina (Rachel McAdams), stabs Cady in the back.

"Mean Girls" is indeed an exaggerated version of reality, but its depiction of the brutality and ridiculousness of high school and the need to find and stay true to oneself within a social construct manage to ring true. It does not stray away from or gloss over the dark humor that high school inevitably draws out nor is it apologetic in its over-the-topness. The result is a hilarious, well-written/performed film that is unpredictable and worth seeing.

Lindsay Lohan shows us once again that not only is an actress with range and a deft comedienne, she is also extremely likable and charismatic. Other stand-out performances go to Caplan and Franzese as well as Tina Fey (who plays a teacher), Amanda Seyfried (as one of the Plastics, Karen), and McAdams. McAdams, probably best known as the title character in "The Hot Chick", is an actress who continues surprise me with her great comedic skills (don't believe me? Watch her deleted scenes from "The Hot Chick" DVD. I liked them better than the whole movie!!).

All in all, this flick is great fun and more well-done than might be initially expected!