Mean Girls (2004)

"Mean Girls" - Spirited but Not Mean-Spirited

by Homer Yen

(c) 2004

Nowadays, one doesn't expect too much from a

comedy that revolves around the environment of

high school. You can usually see the overused

cliches, the contrived romances, and the

far-reaching cliques coming from a mile away.

And your expectations for "Mean Girls" continue

to diminish even before the film begins as you

watch vapid previews that feature giggling girls,

Sponge Bob, and other offerings aimed at the

Mickey Mouse Club set. At whom is this film

targeted? It certainly seemed as if 80% of the

audience didn't yet possess a driver's license

and the other 20% supplied the rides to get them

there.

Happily, those concerns melt away within 15

minutes of the film's start as we meet up with

17-year old Cady (Lindsay Lohan). With her

parents working as anthropologists in Africa, she

was home-schooled. But now, they have moved to

Illinois. Cady is now challenged with a new kind

of environment that can be as dangerous as the

Serengeti. And that's the rite of passage

associated with suburban high school.

Cady starts off innocently enough, but eventually

becomes the victim of her own selfish desires.

It begins with her acquaintance with the goth

Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and her best friend, the

"too-gay-to-be-useful" Damian (Daniel Franzese).

We probably had a higher likelihood of

befriending people like these two rather than the

vain trio nicknamed the Plastics. The three, who

are high-maintenance, fashion-conscious,

hypocritical tarts, are comprised of the

manipulative Regina (Rachel McAdams); the

desperate-to-be-liked Gretchen (Lacey Chabert);

and airheaded Karen (Amanda Seyfried). Cady kind

of positions herself as a double-agent, first

allying herself with Janis/Damien, but then using

her poise to penetrate the Plastics.  

We begin to see a subtle transformation. Once

shy, she has manifested into a vessel of

meanness. And when she starts to feel slighted,

she does not hesitate to go on the prowl. In

girl world, the fighting has to be sneaky.

Plenty of tension develops as reputations are

damaged, relationships are torn apart,

friendships are tested, and the actions taken

create a one-way street towards purgatory.

There's definite beauty and brains to this film.

Partly, you can thank director Mark Waters, who

gives us the same kind of zeal and energy that

made his previous film, "Freaky Friday," such a

wonderful treat. Also credit Tina Fey (whose wit

has helped to elevate the Weekend News Update

portion of Saturday Night Live), who penned a

crisp adaptation of the non-fiction book, "Queen

Bees and Wannabes." The title itself begs that

the subject matter be made into a film as it

describes the jungle-like, high school atmosphere

and the territorial instincts that occupies the

students' minds.  

The project offers something of a sociological

study that is both biting and satirical. An

idea such as the map that illustrates how the

cafeteria is divided up into defined cliques is

unique. And the Burn Book, which details hatred

for various faculty and student body members

makes you wonder if you were a possible entry in

somebody else's Burn Book when you were in High

School. "Mean Girls" is quality material that

belongs in the same class as 1999s "Election" and

is the type of astute comedy that exhibits much

more intelligence than most other films of this

genre.  

Grade:        B

S:        1 out of 3

L:        2 out of 3

V:        1 out of 3

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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1277540
X-RT-TitleID: 1131931
X-RT-AuthorID: 1370
X-RT-RatingText: B