Mean Girls

[StevePulaski]

The Plastics rule the High School in Mean Girls.

Rating: 3½/4 stars.

"In a wasteland of dumb movies about teenagers, "Mean Girls" is a smart and funny one." - Roger Ebert's review of Mean Girls.

Theres no other way to start a review of this film without saying something similair to that. We live in a wasteland of dumb, lame teenage movies. It seems like we havent seen a knowledgable teen film since the John Hughes era in film. This movie is somewhat exaggerated in points, but can be a real girls' high school experience. So after years of putting this film off, and not realizing what a big "cult film" it truely is, I did the thing most guys (or anyone nowadays) wouldn't do, watch a Lindsay Lohan movie.

Cady Heron (Lohan) is a sixteen year old girl who lived in Southern Africa with her zoologist parents. She was homeschooled all her life and now is attending North Shore High School in Evanston, Illinois. She quickly becomes friends with a gothic misfit named Janis and a odd boy named Damien. While becoming friends with them, she learn of Queen Bee, Regina George (Rachel McAdams) and her two minions Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert) and Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried) who are both just as spoiled as she is. When Cady is a quick victim of the group nicknamed "The Plastics" because they look like Barbie dolls, Janis and Damien want to use her as bait to find out what it is like being a Plastic. But the results become drastic and now Cady doesnt know how to live her life normally.

Director Mark Waters described this film as Clueless meets Heathers. Having not seen either film, though having knowledge of them it makes sense why its described that way. Lindsay Lohan is known for doing bad movies. The Freaky Friday remake was below average, Labor Pains was a decent, passable film, and Herbie: Fully Loaded was pure awful. Lindsay got a start in 1998 when she played double roles in The Parent Trap which was a decent film, but didnt live up to the original film. So "Blohan" outdid herself in terms of acting in this film.

In terms of a teenage high school film, this was almost perfect. Its been a while since we saw a teen movie done well. With garbage like She's the Man, John Tucker Must Die, and other failed experiements gone wrong this was a breath of fresh air to see one done well. It really felt like a John Hughes film that was originally set to be released earlier in the eighties, but somehow got delayed until 2004. It had a Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Cub, Brat Pack film that is hard to elaborate without sounding like an idiot, still the enjoyment level in this film was over the top and this was the most fun Ive had watching a Chick flick, Lindsay Lohan movie. Lets not forget the supporting actresses Amanda Seyfried, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler (who would later work in the 2008 Comedy Baby Mama) deliever Grade A acting just as good as Lindsay Lohan.

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey. Directed by: Mark Waters.