Meninas Malvadas

Rosalind Wiseman wrote the novel that Tina Fey adapted for the screen. The result, "Mean Girls" is a statement about what it's like to be a student going through high school today. In fact, it presents an ugly side about how school, a place for lasting friendships, camaraderie, and just a place for learning is everything but that, according to what one witnesses. In fact, in order to navigate its cliques and groups, one needs a route map in order not to offend anyone. "Mean Girls" is directed by Mark Waters, who gives it a light touch.

At the center of the story we find Cady, a newly arrived girl who has lived in Africa and has been taught by her parents. Since they are back in the country, they enroll their daughter so she can have the experience of mixing with her peers. Cady, who is a sweet and naive girl unexposed to the real world, finds friendship with a pair of unpopular students, Janis Ian and Damian.

Cady is guided through the ropes by her new friends who suggest to her to penetrate the world of the "Plastic" trio who are the local fashionistas in their school. These young women live to dress for school; instead of studying, the trio has their own set of rules, which totally confuses Cady, who adapts, but she has no feeling for her new acquired friends.

Cady makes the mistake of liking one of the Plastics former boyfriend, the hunky Aaron. When she confesses it to Gretchen, this one tells her that is a no-no according to an unknown code of conduct because Aaron is Regina's former boyfriend, and she is to stay away from him. Cady excels in math, but she decides to play dumb in order to have Aaron like her. That develops into more than friendship until Regina intervenes.

"Mean Girls" will be loved by teen age girls, the audience for which the film is targeted. Lindsay Lohan is immensely appealing as the newly arrived Cady. Rachel McAdams and Lacey Chabert are Regina and Gretchen, respectively. Tina Fey plays one of the teachers in the school who is wrongly accused of being involved in drugs.

The film is fun to watch thanks to the young and talented cast in it.

I thought this a really entertaining film. With a spirited cast, a very good script, a good soundtrack and a nice romance what more could you possibly want? Lindsey Lohan is lovely as Cady Heron, better than she was in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. She is given great support from an excellent supporting cast, from the likes of Tina Fey and Rachel McAdams. The script was dark and humorous, my favourite bit was when all the girls start fighting after they discover that they are being badmouthed in a book. And there is always time for a romance that doesn't always interfere with the story. In fact, my only real complaint is that it gets a little sentimental, but apart from that, an enjoyable and engaging film, with a 8/10. Bethany Cox

My boyfriend has this on DVD so we put it on last night and watched it together. It is still good and has not dated at all.

The clique is indeed mean and one wonders whether high schools are like that today. I graduated high school a decade ago and don't remember such a mean environment, but then again that is the appeal and story of the film.

The girls are really hot and they flaunt it. Gretchen is the prettiest to me, but of course they are all handpicked to be pretty especially during their stage show.

In short, funny, mean, sexy and anyone who has attended high school is bound to identify to some degree. Fun film

Lindsay Lohan plays a teen girl trying to get along at a new high school. This time, she plays a girl home schooled in Africa, whose first experience at a public school is marred by a clique of nasty girls called the Plastics, who use gossip and other torture techniques to try to ruin her social life.

The story makes it sound like another generic teen film but this one is actually quite funny and realistic. The most cynical person will point out that this is a cheap rip off of Heathers and they are similar. While Heathers is a good movie, mean Girls is an even better movie. I think Mean Girls is very good for a number of reasons. First, the script is actually creative and smart. Tina Fey seems to understand that teens want comedies they can relate to and she did that with Mean Girls. Of course, there were a few lame scenes but nothing that kills the film. Tina Fey should leave SNL and focus on her career in movies.

Second, the acting is very good and convincing. Rachel McAdams offers the best and funniest performance as Regina. Her character is very mean (hence the title) yet I found it so hard to actually hate her. She has this charm that sucks the audience in on her and its so hard to hate her. Lindsay Lohan also gives a good performance as Cady. Her best scenes are with Rachel. They have very good chemistry together. The other plastics are played by Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried. They also give good performances and the scenes that have all the plastics together are very entertaining. The rest of the supporting cast are pretty good and Tina Fey also has a small role as Cady's math teacher.

Another reason why Mean Girls is so good is because it's actually funny for people over the age of 21. It's not just for teens but also for adults. Mark Waters is proving to be very good at directing harmless comedies like Freaky Friday and this one. He keeps the film short yet enormously entertaining. I really don't understand how someone could actually give this movie a one. I understand some people finding it over the top or stupid but it doesn't deserve a one. In the end, this smart and funny teen movie deserves to be seen. Rating 8/10

Though my own high school days are well behind me now, this film received enough acclaim that I was convinced to give it a try. Mean Girls did in fact prove to be a rewarding experience. The film made a ton of money and launched some of its young stars into orbit.

Our story deals with a previously home-schooled girl (Lohan) now having to brave a suburban high school for the first time. She is completely clueless as far as what it takes to be cool in this new world, but she is pretty enough to catch the attention of the most popular girls in the school. The "Plastics" as they are called take the young lady into their world and over time she becomes one of them. The more popular the young lady becomes, the more miserable her life becomes, however.

The film is very funny and it hits pretty hard with its depictions of the various cliques at modern high schools. Some would argue that the characters in this film are just stereotypes, but so are most real life high schoolers. Nearly everyone fit into one category or another even back in my school days, but things seem even more fragmented now.

Tina Fey has written an intelligent script, and thankfully the film was cast well enough to carry it. Lindsay Lohan is charming, but nothing too exceptional. Rachel McAdams pretty much steals this film, and she is likely the cast member who will have the best career of this bunch. I think it's safe to say her scream toward the end of act 2 is the best I've ever heard in any film.Lacey Chabert is also worth mentioning, and she seems worthy of some better roles in the future. Overall, there did not seem to be any casting problems.

Mark Watters keeps things moving along at a brisk pace, and it seems strange to see Lorne Michaels' name in the credits of any film this funny. From what I've heard, the film had to be trimmed of more than a few parts that would have given it in an R-rating. BOO!!!!!! Hard to argue with the box office totals, though! After watching this film, I was reminded of a similar group of popular girls at my high school. They called themselves the Senior Bitch Patrol, and behaved much the same way as the "Plastics." Only back then (88-91) it was mostly about the hair. The bigger the hair, the more popular the girl. All of these girls have gone on to live boring and pointless lives since those days. Go figure....

9 of 10 stars for Mean Girls. Too bad I never had any math teachers as pretty as Tina Fey!