Review of Mean Girls (2004) by Filius S — 19 Jan 2016

When I first heard of Mean Girls I dismissed it as a typical teenage girl comedy. A sort of Clueless meets Sixteen Candles chick flick that simply wasn't aimed at my demographic. My friend who watches every pop-culture movie that comes out told me that it wasn't what it looks like, and that I should give it a shot. It took me a couple years, but at one point I finally did, and sure enough, that wily little fucker was right.

Mean Girls starts out with Lindsay Lohan narrating that she's going to public school for the first time at the age of 16, running headfirst into high school and all the lunacy that comes with it. The reason for Lohan's late entry into the public school system is a result of her parents living with her in Africa, meaning she's not just socially naive, but also culturally oblivious. After meeting a couple of weird kids in her class, she ends up hanging out with them and they teach her the ropes of how the school is spread out into cliques. The top clique among the girls is known as The Plastics: three Barbie doll-esque rich girl stereotypes who are led by Rachel McAdams who has a reputation for being a vindictive bitch.

One day, after being extended permission to join The Plastics, Lohan's friends tells her to do it and act as a covert spy. As she leads her double life like some sort of makeup and clothing obsessed Serpico, she ends up getting way too close to her targets, and ends up becoming just like The Plastics that she was supposed to hate. This is a teenage comedy starring a bunch of girls, so there's also a boy/romance subplot.

There's a couple factors that make Mean Girls work as a comedy, and chief among them is Tina Fey's brilliant script. The story is fast, well written, has funny dialogue, good jokes, and some surprisingly moving moments and lessons. Fey also plays a role in the film, showing that she can easily juggle both writing great dialogue and then turn around to deliver it, a feat that many comedians even struggle to pull off. The actors in general are all really good, from The Plastics, to Lohan, even bit characters that play small background roles become memorable and noticeable in the busy school. There's also a guy who I had mistaken as Don Cheadle for the first 30 minutes until I realized that he's actually the guy from SNL, and he does a pretty solid job as the principal. The movie manages to have a great pace, and good direction for a comedy, and is rounded out by a great soundtrack that even features Halcyon and On and On by Orbital, which is one of the best songs you can ever put in a film.

TL;DR - 8/10.

Better than it ought to be, Mean Girls combines memorable characters, good acting, a great plot, funny dialogue, tight editing, a solid soundtrack, and ends up becoming a fantastic comedy. It's definitely not the funniest movie ever, but it's better than a lot, and ends up being one of Lohan's best performances.