It is not merely Fey’s brilliant screenwriting that sets this film apart as a high-school classic. Unlike The Breakfast Club, Heathers, Thirteen or Clueless, it’s not enamoured with the internal politics of high school. At the beginning of the film, Cady – who was previously home-schooled in Africa – is presented with the cafeteria’s strict social hierarchy: varsity jocks, unfriendly black hotties, girls who eat their feelings, girls who don’t eat anything, and the Plastics – the coolest girls in school. Show It plays into that feeling everyone has at school: that they either are cool, or that they wish they could be. But soon after you leave school, you realise that everyone sucked: their clothes, their affectations, their terrible taste in music, the belief that you and your friends are the first people to do everything you’re doing. It doesn’t make any difference whether you were popular or not; schoolkids are probably the lamest demographic ever.  Plastic fantastic... LiLo and her Mean Girls. Mean Girls quietly goes about exposing this. The Plastics wear cheap makeup and pink track pants, yet tell everyone else what’s fashionable. The teachers, unable to control the student population, are revealed to have messy and miserable personal lives. Kevin G tries to offset his nerdy mathlete vibe by performing a gangsta rap at the school concert. Even the outsiders, Janis Ian and Damian, who consider themselves gatekeepers of the system, become obsessed with trying to overthrow it. The journey Cady goes on is not a transformation; she doesn’t end up cooler than she was. Rather, it’s a realisation that everyone sucks the same. When the Plastics’ bitchy Burn Book is revealed to the school (“Amber D’Alessio: made out with a hotdog”; “Kaitlyn Caussin is a fat whore who no one likes”), it shows that nobody is safe from the rampant bitching of insecure people trapped in a hell of their own making. Q&A What's your favourite coming of age film?Show Agree or disagree with our picks in this series? You can tell us about your favourite coming of age film via our form at this link – or in the comments below. We'll publish a selection of our favourite contributions alongside the final piece in the next few days. That’s why – spoiler alert – Mean Girls has the perfect teen-movie ending: Regina, queen of the pink-loving Plastics becomes a lacrosse jock, channelling her bitchy anger into athletic prowess. Kevin G and Janis cuddle up, having given up on trying to prove themselves. Regina waves cutely at the nerds. By the end, Cady hasn’t just found her place; she’s realised the entire regimented structure of high school doesn’t matter. And what is coming of age if not the realisation that everything you thought mattered six months ago is actually nonsense? What’s your favourite coming-of-age film? Let us know in the comments and we’ll publish a selection of your highlights to the final piece. While the whiteness of the text is glaring 20 years later, Tina Fey's razor sharp comedy (and significantly improved adaptation) remains a delight. The cast is firing on all cylinders and the jokes still land. Fetch did indeed happen. Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 26, 2023 Mean Girls didn’t revolutionize the teen comedy but gave it a smart new makeover... Full Review | Jul 18, 2023 The breakout star of the film, however, was Rachel McAdams, who practically steals the film as Regina, the head of the snotty “Plastics” clique of reigning beautiful girls. Full Review | Mar 4, 2023 Mean Girls is the perfect movie to watch practically any moment. Fun and bitter teen satire... [Full review in Spanish] Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 12, 2022 This film was and is popular precisely because it is so good. What does “good” mean here? Funny. Piercing. Insightful. Well-acted. 'Mean Girls' is good because it’s real. Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 15, 2022 Startlingly genuine when it comes to dialogue, stereotypes, coteries, and high school drama. Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Nov 6, 2020 Fans of teen films will find much to like here, and those who have not so fond memories of high school will chuckle with familiarity. Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 16, 2020 If Mean Girls the movie had a human form, it would easily be the most popular kid in school. And like the vicious gossip that spreads throughout high school, Mean Girls has become an inescapable part of the cultural consciousness. Full Review | Jul 27, 2020 Mean Girls is a funnier and more insightful movie than your average teen comedy. Full Review | Jan 28, 2020 Speaking to anyone who has survived the jungles of high school, Mean Girls has something for everyone. The refreshingly honest appeal of this film is ageless. Full Review | Nov 13, 2019 Like Heathers and Clueless, this box office hit turns out to be that rare teen flick that refuses to be pigeonholed as a teen flick. Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 5, 2019 This is an all-star cast at the beginnings of their careers and their talent is evident even at this early stage. Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Oct 3, 2019 A very funny teen comedy Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 16, 2019 When we think of the great high school comedies, Mean Girls is near the top of the list because it's so fetch. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 1, 2019 Mean Girls plays like the messed-up love child of filmmakers Hughes and Michael Lehmann in their 80s incarnations, which is like sooo in. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 18, 2019 Mean Girls is not only of the one most enjoyable films of the 21st century but it is also one that explores the wonderful comedic potential of women. Full Review | Aug 24, 2018 When the film is following the twists and turns of the mean girl schemes, it has an energy and a life that is fun and entertaining but it gets soft and sappy with a feel good finale that is pure grade A-bullshit. Full Review | Aug 25, 2017 Fizzes with peculiarly feminine evil, of the kind that comes dripping through a pillowy smirk garnished with baby-pink lipgloss. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 3, 2016 While Mean Girls has an uncertain hold on its plot and ends up pulling some of its punches and throwing in teen comedy clichés we have seen before, it's still enjoyable and thought-provoking for teens. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 26, 2010 Lindsay Lohan is more likely to die before 30 than to land another lead role as suited to her (likely squandered) talent. Tina Fey's script is an observant equal-opportunity offender about how high school remains a jungle of hormones and haughtiness. Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 19, 2010 Load More Do you think we mischaracterized a critic's review? How would you describe the movie Mean Girls?The plot centers on naïve teenage girl Cady Heron (Lohan) navigating her way through the social hierarchy of a modern American high school after years' homeschooling by her parents while they conducted research in Africa. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels produced the film. What do people think about the movie Mean Girls?Mean girls is a very unique movie in its own way, if you were to say the story of the movie out loud it only sound as another typical average teen movie, but the way its done is really really good and funny and makes it much better. What is the moral of the Mean Girls movie?Judging Others Won't Make You Better Than Them. This is perhaps the clearest lesson in all of Mean Girls: 'Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter. ' We all have our insecurities and the way to approach them is with self-love and positivity. Is Mean Girls appropriate for a 12 year old?Mean Girls is rated PG-13. The movie's PG-13 rating is for sexual content, language, and some teen partying. This film probably wouldn't be appropriate for kids or tweens, but it remains a solid choice for families with teens. Especially if it prompts a discussion on bullying and popularity. |
