Well, everyone, today, in honor of a Broadway musical version of this story being released recently, we review a teen comedy that was released twenty years ago, and surprisingly has seemed to be successful enough to leave a legacy since then. I mean there’s been a sequel that aired on ABC in 2011, a Broadway musical version of the story, and, as of recently, a film adaptation of that musical that was just released in theaters recently. So now, let’s review the one Mean Girls film that started it all, and stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried.
Plot: When a high school student named Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), and her parents move from Africa to a high school in Evanston, Illinois called North Shore High School, Cady comes to discover how much of a culture shock it is to go from living life in a third world country to living in a rich country like America, where high schools have cliques, and other issues. Now, she becomes friends with a trio of females called The Plastics, consisting of the leader, Regina George (Rachel McAdams), her lieutenant, Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert), and the third female member, Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried). She also becomes friends with a female named Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan), and a gay male named Damian (Daniel Franzese). Because Cady’s friends with the Plastics, and Janis wants revenge on Regina for something that happened in 8th grade, Janis asks Cady to find out the secrets of Regina after Cady herself feels betrayed by Regina following an incident at a Halloween party. Throughout this whole process, will Cady still manage to keep her innocence in her spirit, or will she become heavily influenced by high school drama, and the friends that she has surrounded herself with?
Well, what can I say? Mean Girls does act like a typical high school teen comedy film. And yet, unlike with other teen films like 10 Things I Hate About You, Drive Me Crazy, She’s All That, and ones like those, Mean Girls has been capitalized on, due to getting a direct-to-TV sequel, a Broadway musical version, and things like that. So now, the question remains, is there something that’s actually special about Mean Girls, or is this film just overrated? Well, besides maybe Grease, I’m not sure that we have heard of a main, main character transferring from some other part of the world, and into high school in the U.S. That being said, if someone can name other teen films where something like that happened besides Mean Girls, and/or possibly Grease, please let me know! So, if that’s more on the unique side for this particular teen story, then that’s awesome! Well, with that said, it would seem as if Mean Girls does seem to tackle some potentially heavy subjects such as culture shock, gossip, wanting revenge on others, and why that’s not the best course of action, being careful of who you trust, and don’t trust, and topics like those. Did this film do an excellent job in tackling those particular subjects? In all honestly, though some of those topics could have likely been handled a little better, especially when it came to some of the characters that they were associated with, they did a fairly good job of handling them very well. Seeing as high school is filled with many teenage kids that end up being overly dramatic about many things, it was really great to see Mean Girls depict that whole deal very accurately. Next, the characters are developed really well, including main character Cady Heron, all three of the original Plastic members, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith, and even staff members of the North Shore High School that was depicted in this film, especially Tina Fey’s character, Ms. Norbury, and Tim Meadows’ character, Mr. Duvall, who was the principal of the school in this film. Okay, first of all, with a character like principal Mr. Duvall, not only did he know to be serious when needed be, but he also had a very good sense of humor, sometimes even at the most unexpected moments in this film. As for Cady George, this film did a great job with showing how naive she sometimes seemed to be about people, and not always realizing how hurt people can be by the negative actions of others. Then, there is the Tina Fey’s character, who, like the principal, also had a very good sense of humor. As for duo Damien, and Janis, they were really well fleshed out too. And of course, there’s the Plastics. All three of those members were really well developed too. First off, there’s Karen Smith, and Gretchen Wieners. Both of them, especially the latter, serve as examples of teens in high school who, though deep down have good hearts, but are afraid to show it due to being afraid of what others might think, or something along those lines. And, of course, there’s the Queen of the Plastics, Regina George. Man, did the writers do a phenomenal job of making her the Queen of Drama, so to speak. I mean making a big deal out of not wearing the right clothes on the right days, wanting to ruin the lives of others that she thinks might be out to get her by any means necessary, and more, she is an excellent example of someone who appears nice at first sight, but you would need to watch your back on. For reasons such as this, one can’t help but wonder if this film may have spawned quite a few follow ups is perhaps because this film does a swell job of showing what high school is like, and has been for probably quite some time. It was also nice to hear Lindsay Lohan narrate some additional dialogue for her character in terms of what she would experience, what’s happening in her friend’s lives, and more. One other thing! Did I forget to mention the incredible acting in this film. Man, did they do well with that, especially Rachel McAdams, and Lindsay Lohan. Honestly, if there were any flaws, it would be that the film could potentially be a little too inappropriate at times. Not quite R territory, but could sometimes come close to that.
And that’s my review for Mean Girls. It has really memorable characters that stand out, excellent acting, and has a really good storyline. It also has some really funny moments as well. It would seem that one of the main reasons that 2004’s Mean Girls stands out is because of how it handles it’s characters, developing the story overall, and teaching some really valuable lessons that kids, especially ones in middle school, and high school, could take away from in order to have a better understanding of what high school is usually so that they’re not so naive, and/or overly optimistic before going into that phase of life. If you haven’t seen Mean Girls yet, make it a point to. You would definitely be surprised by how well done a teen films like this ends up being in the end. So, hope you get to see this film, if you haven’t already.
Final Grade: A
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