Mean Girls Reviews
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16 year old Cady grew up in Africa, but when her parents move to America she suddenly finds herself smack dab in the middle of another jungle, an American High School. There she is befriended by 'The Plastics', gorgeous, backstabbing Teen Royalty. The film portrays just how catty teenage girls can be, and just how much their meanness can hurt
Tina Fey did a great job on this script! I enjoyed the voice over narration by the main character as well as her noting the similarities between teenagers and wild animals in Africa. It was such a fresh style or writing and really cool!
The message of the film is a great one about not changing yourself to have someone else like you, and of how just much the nasty things you say about other people can hurt them. "You can someone an idiot and it doesn't make you any smarter"
The whole cast did a great job. Lindsay Lohan's portrayal of Cady was top notch, proving she totally deserves the 'It girl' attention she's been getting since the film came out. Rachel McAdams did a great job as Regina, managing to add a side to her character that to me at least made you hate her one minute but almost like her the next. I look forward to seeing her portrayal of a completely different character in 'The Notebook'. I enjoyed Lacey Chabert's portrayal of the ditzy Gretchen and Tina Fey did a great job as Cady's Math Teacher.
It was interesting to note how the film showed Regina's younger (maybe 7 year old) sister immitating Kelis' sexy dance moves in her 'Milkshake' video, and her practicing flashing guys. With Britney Spears and other stars insisting they're not role models it's great to see this film point out just how much effect they do have on young girls, even if they never asked to be role models.
I also liked that the film wasn't quite so crude as some previous Teen movies have been. Sure there was quite a lot of sexual content but overall it didn't ruin the entire film like it sometime does.
Bottom line: Mean Girls is a hilerious Teen film that I enjoyed just as much as my Mother did. Go check it out!
Review #2
I know what you’re thinking. Mean Girls is a B****y movie, It may be to most people, but for the critics of Chicago sun-Times, it certainly was a refreshingly interesting movie in, as they so blantantly put it “in a wasteland of dumb teen movies, Mean Girls is a smart and funny one” .
Mean Girls is set in the suburbs of Chicago, where Cady (Lindsay Lohan) who has moved from Africa will get a real public school education, having been home-schooled by her anthropologist parents for 16 years. Lacking of the ability to read social signs, Cady thinks it is god-send that she meets 2 ‘outcasts/Art Freaks’, Damien and Janis. They draw her a virtual map of the cafeteria terrain, pointing out the "Asian nerds," the "Varsity Jocks," the "Cool Asians," the "Unfriendly Black Hotties." Looking out over her new environment, Cady wonders whether she will ever fit in. Looking with her, you can only hope she doesn't.
It is then where she crosses paths with ‘the worst people you will ever meet’ aka The Plastics, led by Queen Bee Regina George and her wannabe minions, Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith. When Regina takes a liking to Cady and offers to take her under her wing, Janis and Damien send her to infiltrate the enemy pod and return with information. It is only later that Cady finds out that Janis has a personal history with Regina and that she herself will fall for Regina’s ex, Aaron Samuels. Of course, when Regina finds out, she re-possess Aaron, apparently so malleable you wonder what Cady sees in him.
After Regina repossess Aaron, Cady is set to take revenge on Regina, with the help of Janis and Damien who come up with creative ideas to make Regina gain weight and get Aaron to dump her. "It may look like I've become a b***h," Cady reassures in voice-over, "But that's only because I'm acting like a b***h."
The acting, led by Lindsay Lohan is convincing enough. Lindsay manages to fit in her role like a foot fits a sock. For film goers, newcomer Rachel McAdams’s portrayal of an evil Queen Bee is so credible you almost believe that Rachel’s actual personality is like that, which is the complete opposite. For Rachel McAdams, this was her breakout movie which set to make her gain recognition all over Hollywood. However, the supporting cast are not to be left out.
Directed by Mark Waters (Lohan's Freaky Friday director), Tina Fey's script (based on Rosalind Wiseman's Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence, a self-help book for mothers, a concept that only exacerbates the convoluted process of typing teens as objects of study) reveals the many ways that kids mimic even as they resist "grownup" behaviors. The girls' phone conversations, arranged in split screens to showcase their deviousness at any given moment, build to weird little climaxes, for instance, the discovery of a third party (another girl) listening in, and so some dire secret has been revealed.
Without revealing too much, Cady turns over a new leaf and says “When you get bitten by a snake, you’re supposed to suck the poison out”, she realizes she has now become a full-fledged member of girl world and decides to get out. Everyone, from parents to their teenage children, can learn from this movie which is an insightful and funny look at what is the most important thing in the world of Teenagers.
“ Calling someone fat won’t make you skinny, calling someone stupid won’t make you smarter.”
Review #3 - By Gayle
Director Mark Waters
Mean, Meaner, Meanest. Mean Girls.
After spending 15 years of her life with the animals in the bush country of Africa, Cady Heron(Lindsay Lohan) thinks that she knows best when it comes to “survival of the fittest”. But when Cady drops home-schooling and starts going to high school for the first time in 15 years, she has a whole lot to learn of “survival of the fittest” in girl world. She has absolutely no idea how “wild” things can be in “girl world”. This phrase now, is only a stressful surreal blur to this innocent 15-year-old.
When Cady enters high school, her looks earn her the attention of the “Plastics” and of course a place amongst them.
The “Plastics”; Gretchen Weiners(Lacey Chabert), Karen Smith(Amanda Seyfried) and the Queen Bee Regina George(Rachel McAdams), also the teen royalties of North Shore High School, are the prettiest but meanest people you would ever meet. Cady thought they were nice at first, but when she sees Regina locking lips and getting with her crush Aaron Samuels when she was supposed to put a good word with him, she is convinced that Regina is definitely pure evil and swears to take revenge. With the help of her friends Janis and Damien, Cady is bent on taking the Queen Bee down.
But as she plots and schemes, and spends more time with the “Plastics” only makes Cady turn into one of them. It doesn’t make her get Aaron, nor does it make her a happier person. It only turns her into cold, hard, shiny plastic.
What happened to the innocent Cady that we used to know? Will she realise what she has done? And if she does, will she be able to purge out the “Plastic” inside her? Will that pleasant Cady we knew come back again?
Mean Girls is such a meaningful story on the psychological warfare and unwritten social rules in girl world, illustrates in an interesting way the serious issue that average girls like us face today in this planet.
This show is packed with witty comments and also gave Lindsay Lohan a chance to show her talent. The rest of the cast were fantastic too. I couldn’t help but hate Rachel McAdams’ role so much. Tina Fey was great as well. Other plastics, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried definitely deserved a round of applause for being so ditzy and dumb in the movie, making me crack up in laughter with their speech and expressions.
Mean Girls, packed with humour, backstabbing and a whole lot of bitching, is rated PG13 for its sexual content, language use and some teen partying.
Other Reviews:
I LOVE THIS MOVIE! I have declared this my favorite movie of all time! Should others see it? YES! - Laura
This movie is very funny and if you like commedy you have to see it. I'm from Poland and there this movie was in cinema too. - Iwona, 13
Mean Girls, It's definely on my Top 10 movie list! There's been a lot of girl movies over the summer of 04! Lindsay Lohan does a great job of showing her loneliness at her new school! Good Luck Lindsay!
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