Mean Girls
3/4
poster

Details & Information from IMDB
Genre Teen
Year 2004
Duration 97 min
Rating 7.0 out of 10
Description: Her parents being zoologists, Cady Heron has never known what "high school" truly meant. She lived her first 15 years in the African jungle, home-schooled, living life with only her parents and the animals of the wilderness, knowing all of the rules of survival. However, when she moves out of Africa, she has to learn the rules of high school, a jungle in itself. She instantly makes friends with two sweet teenagers, Damian and Janis, who, in the terms of the high school, were in the "out crowd." Soon she meets the Plastics, the three crude, beautiful, popular girls, consisting of Regina, the unofficial leader, Gretchen, Regina's full-time follower, and Karen, "one of the dumbest people you will ever meet." They immediately let her into their group, but Cady, wanting to keep her first friends, is unsure. The two convince Cady to keep her relationship with the Plastics, only so that they can know their dark secrets. However, events turn for the worse when Cady falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels. When Regina finds out, she seeks revenge of Cady by taking Aaron back. When Cady finds out, what began as a game to discover secrets turns into a plan to destroy Regina. Now, Cady, Janis, and Damian plot together to bring Regina's status down. However, as Cady spends more time with the Plastics, she, too, begins to become one.
Comments: I knew nothing of this movie before I saw it. In fact I only went to see because I have a crush on Lindsay Lohan and I really liked her in Freaky Friday. So it was quite a payoff when it turned out to be quite fun film and nothing like the dreadful teen comedies we've suffered too much off in the past five years (making love to pies, losing ones' car and certain Scary Movies).

The story has Cady Heron go through her first day of school...at sixteen. She's been homeschooled all her life and lived with her parents in the African bush. She has known nothing of the deceitful, backstabbing and ugly world of high school. Upon arrival she makes friends with a level-headed goth and a fat guy gay. They instruct her on who is naughty, nice and full of vice. The 'in' group of the school are 'The Plastics' (because they're so fake), a trio of cheerleaders who make everyone's life hell.

The leader is Regina George, the nastiest girl in the universe and at her side and the dumb and airheaded Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith (played by the impossibly cute Amanda Seyfried). In order to take them down Cady must become one of them. She takes great pride in ruining Regina only to take her place. Much like Arnie did in Predator, she became a monster in order to destroy a monster.

With loads of observational humor and satire, Mean Girls ends up being a very intelligent movie, sort of a 'Clueless' that's not so nineties. A lot of attention is paid to character and performance, not something hastily thrown together and chucked out there. Originally it ended up with an R rating and had to be toned down. I would have loved to see that cut of the film.

Another interesting thing is that I've always though Lindsay Lohan looked like the character of Ginny in Friday the 13th Part 2. So it was weird when the movie was featured in Mean Girls and had Cady startle her pals watching it by bursting through the door as soon as Jason bursts through the window.

I will probably buy this on DVD (especially if the R-rated version is made available) when it comes out and I suggest you see it on the big screen. My showing was pretty packed and everyone seemed to enjoy it a lot.