Film Review: Mean Girls (2004)
There are countless films whose creators can boast of achieving great success at the box office, critical acclaim, or leaving a lasting mark on the era in which they were made. However, Mean Girls, the 2004 film directed by Mark Waters, often cited as the most significant teen comedy to emerge from Hollywood in the 21st century, leaves this author of this review feeling decidedly underwhelmed.
Mean Girls is based on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, which was written for parents of teenage girls. The script, penned by Tina Fey, a Saturday Night Live cast member and writer, draws heavily on Fey's own experiences as a high school student. The protagonist and narrator, Cady Herron (played by Lindsay Lohan), is a 16-year-old girl who enrolls in North Shore High School after spending twelve years in Africa with her parents, who are scientists. Having been homeschooled, Cady is unfamiliar with the social pressures and challenges of American high school. However, she quickly befriends two misfits, Janis Ian (played by Lizzy Caplan), a goth girl and artist, and Damian (played by Daniel Franzese), her openly gay friend. Cady learns that the school's social scene is dominated by the Plastics, a clique of three beautiful and popular girls led by the ruthless Regina George (played by Rachel McAdams), whom Janis despises. When the Plastics unexpectedly invite Cady into their fold, she agrees to help Janis by finding incriminating information and sabotaging the clique from within. However, Cady soon becomes a part of the Plastics, begins to enjoy their lifestyle, and eventually turns into a monster even worse than Regina.
Many critics at the time praised Mean Girls as a subversive take on the intricacies of American adolescence, likening it to Heathers and Election. To some extent, Mean Girls is refreshing due to its attempt to portray the high school experience from a scientific perspective, but ultimately, Fey's script fails to stray far from clichés and ends with a saccharine-filled finale that bears little resemblance to real life, thereby undermining the film's original satirical intent.
Mark Waters' direction is competent, and the film boasts an impressive cast that, in most cases, elevates the otherwise stereotypical characters. Lindsay Lohan, then 17, provides a lot of charm and talent to her role as Cady, making it easy for the audience to sympathize with a character who becomes increasingly questionable as the plot unfolds. Lohan's performance in Mean Girls solidified her status as a star and signaled that she could expect to continue her successful career as an adult. Unfortunately, her moment of glory was short-lived, overshadowed by personal problems that would fill tabloid headlines in the years to come.
Rachel McAdams, on the other hand, easily outshines Lohan as Regina, displaying incredible comedic talent that would later earn her an Oscar nomination. Amanda Seyfried appears in one of her early roles, albeit as a character who serves primarily as eye candy. Lizzy Caplan is more grounded in her performance, while Fey shines as the teacher, aided by her SNL colleague Tim Meadows as the principal.
Mean Girls was a commercial success, and its popularity transcended into the film's title becoming a popular phrase in vernacular and its images becoming a popular source of internet memes. In 2011, a television sequel, Mean Girls 2, starring Meaghan Martin, was aired, and the film was later adapted into a Broadway musical, which was subsequently adapted into a live-action film starring Angourie Rice and released in 2024.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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