Mean Girls is a
2004The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
teenTeen films is a film genre targeted at teenagers and young adults in which the plot is based upon the special interests of teenagers, such as coming of age, first love, rebellion, conflict with parents, teen angst and alienation. Often these normally serious subject matters are presented in a...
comedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies...
, directed by Mark Waters and starring
Lindsay LohanLindsay Dee Lohan is an American actress, model, and pop singer. Lohan started in show business as a child fashion model for magazine advertisements and television commercials...
. Written by (and co-starring)
Tina FeyElizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards...
, the film features a supporting cast of
Rachel McAdamsRachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. Her films include Mean Girls, The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, The Family Stone, Red Eye and The Time Traveler's Wife.-Early life:...
,
Amanda SeyfriedAmanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress and former child model. She is best known for her roles as Sophie Sheridan in the feature film Mamma Mia! and as Karen Smith in Mean Girls; she has also appeared in other feature films such as Alpha Dog and Jennifer's Body, and in the television...
,
Lacey ChabertLacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and vocal performer, best known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
, and
Lizzy CaplanElizabeth Anne "Lizzy" Caplan is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the CBS show The Class, in the 2004 film Mean Girls, and the 2008 film Cloverfield...
. The film also features several
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
cast members, including Fey,
Tim MeadowsTim Meadows is an American actor and comedian who performed on the TV show Saturday Night Live.-Life and career:Meadows was born in Highland Park, Michigan, the son of Mardell, a nurse's assistant, and Lathon Meadows, a janitor. Meadows' start in show business was as a member of The Second City...
,
Ana GasteyerAna Kristina Gasteyer is an American stage, film and television actress, best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Personal life:...
, and
Amy PoehlerAmy Meredith Poehler is an American actress and comedienne. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls alongside Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008...
.
Mean Girls has been praised as being Lohan's break-out film role.
Director Waters described the movie as "
Clueless meets
HeathersHeathers is a 1989 black comedy film starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty. The film portrays four girls in a trend-setting clique at a fictional high school in Ohio...
," the latter of which was written by his brother,
Daniel WatersDaniel "Dan" Waters is an American screenwriter and film director. He is the older brother of director Mark Waters.-Screenwriting credits:...
.
Mean Girls is a
2004The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
teenTeen films is a film genre targeted at teenagers and young adults in which the plot is based upon the special interests of teenagers, such as coming of age, first love, rebellion, conflict with parents, teen angst and alienation. Often these normally serious subject matters are presented in a...
comedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies...
, directed by Mark Waters and starring
Lindsay LohanLindsay Dee Lohan is an American actress, model, and pop singer. Lohan started in show business as a child fashion model for magazine advertisements and television commercials...
. Written by (and co-starring)
Tina FeyElizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards...
, the film features a supporting cast of
Rachel McAdamsRachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. Her films include Mean Girls, The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, The Family Stone, Red Eye and The Time Traveler's Wife.-Early life:...
,
Amanda SeyfriedAmanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress and former child model. She is best known for her roles as Sophie Sheridan in the feature film Mamma Mia! and as Karen Smith in Mean Girls; she has also appeared in other feature films such as Alpha Dog and Jennifer's Body, and in the television...
,
Lacey ChabertLacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and vocal performer, best known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
, and
Lizzy CaplanElizabeth Anne "Lizzy" Caplan is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the CBS show The Class, in the 2004 film Mean Girls, and the 2008 film Cloverfield...
. The film also features several
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
cast members, including Fey,
Tim MeadowsTim Meadows is an American actor and comedian who performed on the TV show Saturday Night Live.-Life and career:Meadows was born in Highland Park, Michigan, the son of Mardell, a nurse's assistant, and Lathon Meadows, a janitor. Meadows' start in show business was as a member of The Second City...
,
Ana GasteyerAna Kristina Gasteyer is an American stage, film and television actress, best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Personal life:...
, and
Amy PoehlerAmy Meredith Poehler is an American actress and comedienne. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls alongside Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008...
.
Mean Girls has been praised as being Lohan's break-out film role.
Director Waters described the movie as "
Clueless meets
HeathersHeathers is a 1989 black comedy film starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty. The film portrays four girls in a trend-setting clique at a fictional high school in Ohio...
," the latter of which was written by his brother,
Daniel WatersDaniel "Dan" Waters is an American screenwriter and film director. He is the older brother of director Mark Waters.-Screenwriting credits:...
.
Mean Girls is based on the non-fiction book
Queen Bees and WannabesQueen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence is a 2002 book by Rosalind Wiseman. It focuses on the ways in which girls in high schools form cliques, and on patterns of aggressive teen girl behavior and how to deal with them....
by
Rosalind WisemanRosalind Wiseman is an American author of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence, on which a large part of the plot of the hit comedy film Mean Girls was based...
, which describes how female
high schoolHigh school is the name used in some parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, Northern America and Oceania, to describe an institution that provides all or part of secondary education...
social cliques operate, and the effect they can have on girls.
Plot
The home-schooled daughter of zoologist parents (
Ana GasteyerAna Kristina Gasteyer is an American stage, film and television actress, best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002.-Personal life:...
and
Neil FlynnNeil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Janitor in the sitcom Scrubs.-Early life:Flynn was born in the south side of Chicago, Illinois and moved to Waukegan, Illinois at an early age...
), Cady Heron (
Lindsay LohanLindsay Dee Lohan is an American actress, model, and pop singer. Lohan started in show business as a child fashion model for magazine advertisements and television commercials...
) is unprepared for her first day of public high school at fictional North Shore High School in
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
. With the help of social misfits Janis Ian (
Lizzy CaplanElizabeth Anne "Lizzy" Caplan is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the CBS show The Class, in the 2004 film Mean Girls, and the 2008 film Cloverfield...
) and Damien (
Daniel FranzeseDaniel Franzese is an American actor. He has worked in film, TV and theater.Franzese was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, the son of Denise and Ralph "R. J." Franzese, a lounge singer...
), Cady learns about the various cliques, including the Plastics, an exclusive group of girls led by
queen beeA queen bee is the leader of a female group, a clique's leader, usually a popular young lady. Characteristics often associated to her are a pleasant appearance, charisma, skill in manipulation, and monetary power. She is sometimes portrayed as the Head Cheerleader, Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen, etc...
Regina George (
Rachel McAdamsRachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. Her films include Mean Girls, The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, The Family Stone, Red Eye and The Time Traveler's Wife.-Early life:...
), who was once Janis' best friend. Janis hatches a plan for Cady to infiltrate the Plastics and get revenge for what Regina did to Janis in 8th grade. Along the way, Cady learns about the "Burn Book," a top secret notebook filled with rumors, secrets and gossip about the other girls in school, and falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels (
Jonathan BennettJonathan D. Bennett is an American actor best known for his work in the 2004 film Mean Girls.-Early life:Bennett was born in Rossford, Ohio. He has a brother and sister, Brent and Lisa Bennett and is the cousin of actress Lori Moegling. His first try at acting was in a play in the seventh grade...
), who sits in front of her in
calculusCalculus is a discipline in mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental...
. She convinces Regina to eat high-calorie bars that her parents had given kids in Africa to help them gain weight, telling her that they will make her
lose weight.
In her efforts to get revenge on Regina, Cady gradually loses her individual personality and remakes herself in the image of Regina. Soon, her act becomes her reality, and she becomes as mean as Regina. Cady perceives the machinations of the high school students to be akin to the struggles for dominance among wild animals.
Eventually, Regina, upon discovering the truth about the bars she has been eating, strikes back by spreading the contents of her "Burn Book," around the school, which ultimately causes a riot as the class learn all of the nasty things others have been saying about them. Called into the gym, the girls are forced to listen to one of the teachers, Ms. Norbury. She makes the girls realize that all of them have been hurt by having mean things said about them, and all of them have said mean things about others. She has each girl confess and apologize to the rest of the girls. Janis confesses her plan to destroy Regina, causing Regina to storm out and get hit by a bus, for which the school blames Cady. Cady has lost all of her friends, her status, the guy she had a crush on, she's failing math, and her parents punish her. Cady also wrote a rumor that Ms. Norbury dealt drugs in the Burn Book, and, because another rumor in the book about a teacher turned out to be true in turn, learns Ms. Norbury will likely get fired. Cady then begins to try to make amends. She confesses what she did in order to get Ms. Norbury exonerated, and in order to make up for her failing math grade, she joins the Mathletes Team.
At the Spring Fling dance, Cady, in her Mathletes uniform, makes up with her true friends, and reaches a truce with the Plastics. She is elected the Spring Fling Queen, and gives a speech to her class that they all deserve it and are all wonderful in their own way. She distributes the pieces of her crown to her fellow classmates, and makes up with Aaron.
The Plastics break up, though. Regina returns to school and joins the lacrosse team as a way to channel her aggression; dimwitted, blond Karen (
Amanda SeyfriedAmanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress and former child model. She is best known for her roles as Sophie Sheridan in the feature film Mamma Mia! and as Karen Smith in Mean Girls; she has also appeared in other feature films such as Alpha Dog and Jennifer's Body, and in the television...
) becomes the local weather girl; follower Gretchen (
Lacey ChabertLacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and vocal performer, best known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
) joins the "Cool Asians" clique; and Cady stays on the Mathletes and continues to date Aaron. All the Plastics have gained mutual kindness if not friendship for each other, and Janis is dating Cady's fellow Mathelete Kevin Gnapoor (
Rajiv SurendraRajiv Surendra is an Canadian film and television actor, best known for playing Kevin Gnapoor in the film Mean Girls.Surendra was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; the son of Tamil immigrants.-Biography:...
).
Reception
The movie was generally well reviewed by critics,
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
gave it a rating of 84% "Fresh" based on 167 reviews. and a rating of 66 ("Generally favorable reviews") on
MetacriticMetacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
based on 39 reviews.
In an interview about the film,
FeyElizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards...
noted, "Adults find it funny. They are the ones who are laughing. Young people watch it like a
reality television showReality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors...
. It is much too close to their real experiences so they are not exactly guffawing."
Box office
The movie was declared an instant success after its opening weekend made the film $24,432,195 from 2839 theaters becoming the #1 film in America and averaging $8,606 per venue. Due to strong
word of mouthWord of mouth is a reference to the passing of information from person to person. Originally the term referred specifically to oral communication , but now includes any type of human communication, such as face to face, telephone, email, and text messaging.-History of word of mouth marketing:One of...
,
Mean Girls had a long life at the box office and finished its run with
$The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
86,058,055 in the United States making its worldwide total gross
$The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
129,042,871.
In the US, the film was the 24th highest grossing movie of 2004. The film was later nominated for the prestigious WGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the film was released on September 21, 2004, the same day as the DVD release.
- "Dancing With Myself
"Dancing with Myself" is a song by the band Generation X released in 1981, from their album Kiss Me Deadly. It was one of their first true hit singles. At the time of its release, the band shortened their name to simply "Gen X." Also of note, the band contained only Billy Idol and Tony James from...
" - The DonnasThe Donnas are an American all-female hard rock band from Palo Alto, California. They draw inspiration from The Ramones, AC/DC, and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not catharsis, fun rather than rage". MTV has...
(Generation XGeneration X were an English punk rock band, formed on 21 November 1976 by Billy Idol, Tony James and John Towe.-Career:...
cover)
- "God Is A DJ" - Pink
- "Milkshake
"Milkshake" is a song by American R&B singer Kelis from her third studio album, Tasty . Written and produced by The Neptunes, the song was released as the album's lead single, and became Kelis' biggest success to date on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, peaking at number three...
" - KelisKelis Jones , better known as Kelis , is an American recording artist, singer-songwriter, designer and socialite. She has also won one BRIT Award and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.-Early life:...
- "Sorry (Don't Ask Me)" - All Too Much
- "Built This Way" - Samantha Ronson
Samantha Ronson is an English singer-songwriter and disc jockey who presently lives in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:...
- "Rip Her to Shreds
"Rip Her to Shreds" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie, which features on the band's self-titled debut album .-Single information:...
" - BoomkatBoomkat is an electronic and pop music duo consisting of brother-and-sister Kellin and Taryn Manning. The group released their debut album Boomkatalog.One in 2003, and their second album A Million Trillion Stars in 2009....
(BlondieBlondie is an American rock band founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk rock scenes of the mid 1970s...
cover)
- "Overdrive
"Overdrive" is a pop rock song written by American singer-songwriter Katy Rose and Kim Bullard for Rose's debut album, Because I Can...
" - Katy RoseKaty Rose is an American singer, songwriter, producer, musician and actress. Her music styles vary from indie rock, electro pop, grunge, pop, lounge music and even techno....
- "One Way or Another
"One Way or Another" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie.-Song information:Written by Debbie Harry and Nigel Harrison for the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines , the song was released as a single in the US as the follow-up to "Heart of Glass". "One Way or Another" reached number...
" - BlondieBlondie is an American rock band founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk rock scenes of the mid 1970s...
- "Operate
"Operate" is a song written and recorded by Peaches. The song was released as a double limited vinyl aside with "Shake Yer Dix" to promote the release of her second studio album Fatherfucker. The song was featured in the movie Mean Girls and "Waiting..."....
" - PeachesMerrill Beth Nisker , better known as Peaches, is an electronic musician whose songs are noted for their use of explicit, sexual lyrics.-History:...
- "Misty Canyon" - Anjali Bhatia
- "Mean Gurl" - Gina Rene and Gabriel Rene
- "Hated" - Nikki Cleary
Brittney Rose "Nikki" Cleary is a pop-rock singer who was born in Albany, New York.Cleary first hit the pop market with the catchy song "I.M. Me" while still using her given name. Her debut album, Everything I Wished For, was released independently under the Free Falls record label in 2002 after...
- "Psyché Rock" - Pierre Henry
Pierre Henry is a French composer, considered a pioneer of the musique concrète genre of electronic music.Between 1949 and 1958, Henry worked at the Club d'Essai studio at RTF, founded by Pierre Schaeffer...
- "The Mathlete Rap" - Rajiv Surendra
Home media
The DVD was released in North America on September 21, 2004, five months after it opened in theaters. It was released in a widescreen special collector's edition and a fullscreen collector's edition, both including several deleted scenes, a blooper reel, three interstitials, the theatrical trailer, previews, and three featurettes. A Blu-ray version was released on April 14, 2009.
Sequel
A second film is in development with Paramount Pictures for a 2009 release in the United States and United Kingdom. According to the
Internet Movie DatabaseThe Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, video games, and most recently, fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media...
, the sequel has been written by
Leslie DixonLeslie Dixon is a Hollywood screenwriter.Dixon wrote screenplays for the films, Outrageous Fortune, Overboard, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Thomas Crown Affair, Pay It Forward, and Hairspray. She was nominated for a Saturn Award for her screenplay of Freaky Friday. Dixon is the granddaughter of...
, (
Freaky FridayFreaky Friday is a 2003 film based on the novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers. It stars Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman and Jamie Lee Curtis as her mother. In the film their bodies are switched due to an enchanted Chinese fortune cookie...
,
HairsprayHairspray is a American musical film produced by Zadan/Meron Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. It was released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2007. The film is an adaptation of the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, and loosely based from John...
) and
Gail ParentGail Parent is an American television and screenwriter, television producer, and author.Parent's writing career began with a 1971 episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show...
(
Confessions of a Teenage Drama QueenConfessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is a 2004 American comedy film based on the book by Dyan Sheldon. which was released on February 20, 2004, by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Sara Sugarman with screenplay penned by Dyan Sheldon and Gail Parent. The film was produced by Robert...
). Both have previously written for films starring Lindsay Lohan.
Pop Culture
R&B singer
Mariah CareyMariah Carey is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart...
expressed several times that she's a fan of the movie, using some quotes from the film in several interviews, most notably on
The Ellen Degeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres Show is a syndicated television talk show hosted by comedienne Ellen DeGeneres and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. The show features interviews with celebrities, games with members of the public, comedic monologues by the host and music performances. It premiered on...
in 2005 and in her official
TwitterTwitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers...
updates in 2009. Carey released the first single from her album
Memoirs of an Imperfect AngelMemoirs of an Imperfect Angel is the twelfth studio album by American R&B and pop recording artist Mariah Carey. Originally scheduled for release on August 25, 2009, the project was released on September 25, 2009, in Netherlands and Poland through Universal Music, September 29 with Island Records...
, called "Obsessed", which begins with an interlude quote where she says, "And I was like, Why are you so obsessed with me?" a line said by Regina in the film. Also, the male stalker (Carey) gets hit by a bus, another reference to Regina in the film. Carey's
husband
Nick CannonNicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, rapper, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host shows The Nick Cannon Show and Wild 'N Out and the fourth season of America's Got Talent...
debunked other theories and revealed the song was inspired by the film itself.