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, Jonathan Bennett, Rachel McAdams

7 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lindsay Lohan	...	Cady Heron
Rachel McAdams	...	Regina George (as Rachel Mcadams)
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

Lindsay Lohan stars as Cady Heron, a 16 year old homeschooled girl who not only makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett), the ex-boyfriend of queenbee Regina George (Rachel McAdams), but also unintentionally joins The Plastics, led by Regina herself. Join Cady as she learns that high school life can and will be really tough.

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Plot Keywords:

high school girl | teacher student sex | miniskirt | high school | short skirt | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The slang term "fetch" (short for "fetching") was invented by Tina Fey. She didn't want to use an expression teenagers actually use because she didn't want it to become outdated later.

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Goofs

When Cady is imagining attacking Regina, Regina's nails are perfectly manicured before the attack, but when she is seen fighting Cady on the floor her nails are clearly not manicured and her character's leg is suddenly much thicker and manlier (obvious stunt double).

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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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Alternate Versions

In the Spanish dubbed version, the teacher speaking German speaks English.

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Connections

Spoofed in WWE: Clash of Champions (2019)

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Soundtracks

Love's Theme
by Barry White
Performed by Love Unlimited Orchestra
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

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!

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English German Vietnamese Swahili

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Queen Bees and Wannabes

Filming Locations:

Convocation Hall, University of Toronto-St.George Campus, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,432,195, 2 May 2004

Gross USA:

$86,058,055

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$130,126,277

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