Mean Girls

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

"Mean Girls" feels perfectly suited to Lindsay Lohan's talents. As the new girl in school (Cady Heron) who is trying to fit in, she is extremely likable. She becomes fast friends with Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan, who nails her performance. If you are not familiar with singer Janis Ian, check out her hit single "Seventeen") and Damian (Daniel Franzese), but gets sucked into a three-girls clique called the Plastics. With her allegiance split between the two factions, she finds herself becoming a person she does not like.

This film is notable for the break-through performances of Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried. McAdams plays Regina, the queen of the Plastics. It is a role that is similar to many that preceded, but still holds up.

Speaking of precursors, one might consider this film to be a rip-off of others that came before. Or it might be considered as merely referential. Or perhaps an homage. But however you chose to view it, it has definite references to "The Breakfast Club", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Clueless", "Risky Business", and other John Hugh's films.

The screenplay (adaptation) by Tina Fey is, at turns, clever and unsubtle. But it is a solid entry in the canon of teen comedies.

"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!

This movie is an easy one to enjoy over and over again. I think how funny you find the story is relative to your age. As someone newly out of high school, I can tell you that the high school clicks portrayed in this film are a bit far-fetched. I have never heard someone say "you can't sit with us" or of being called "too gay to function". This movie is still simply witty and smart with a story line that is far different from the main stream movies that come out today.

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