Review of Mean Girls (2004) by Brett S — 22 Oct 2013

Brett Steinbrink.

Mean Girls (2004).

Much like the teens in Mean Girls feeling victimized by Regina George's conniving ways in high school, so too have I felt victimized by the fact that it took me until 2013 to see this film. Mean Girls is one of those movies that people still quote on a daily basis, almost a decade later. I'm writing this review, in hindsight, of a time when Lindsay Lohan was still on-track to become a well-adjusted member of society.

Tina Fey's cleverly-written teen comedy goes beyond the typical high school drama in a way that most other films of its ilk don't. While all the typical tropes of the genre make their appearances, the concept is nothing short of clever. By now, most of us have seen the film, but I'll give a quick run-down for those of us who haven't. Cady (Pronounced "Cay-dee")is a new girl at school, having spent the first fifteen years of her life in Africa with her zoologist parents. She befriends a "goth" girl and a guy who is "almost too gay to function," and they start her on the path of attempting to bring down queen bee Regina George, who the entire school hates for her popularity. What follows is a scramble as Cady gets sucked into the world of the "Plastics" (Regina and her two best friends), and ends up becoming the head of the popular kids herself, all while losing sight of what was most important to her.

Where Mean Girls excels, though, is its unabashed need to bring all aspects of the school into the hijinks. The teachers are involved, the jocks, nerds, and "sexually active band geeks" and everyone in between. The girls have a "burn book" where they write terrible things about other girls in school, and after it leaks, the entire school goes insane. Tina Fey, as one of the teachers taking point on the fiasco, asks the eternal question: "Who here has been personally victimized by Regina George?".

I think what makes Mean Girls have lasting charm is the caricature of high school life, coupled with lasting lessons about being your own person and accepting others for who they are, as well. Though the cinematography and other technical elements of this film don't stand out by themselves, where it really shines is in Tina Fey's well-written and laugh-out-loud script.

Unfortunately, I find myself a little too removed from both the heyday of popularity for Mean Girls and the target demographic (read: teenage girls) to find it anything more than decent. "Oh it's so amazing! You have to see it!" I was told for months when some of my friends found out I had never experienced the film. At least now that I've seen this pop-culture reference goldmine, my female friends can give it a rest. "Finally, Girl World is at peace.".