Mean Girls (6/10 Rating)

Released July 25, 2004

Stream on Fubo, Paramount+, and Showtime. For rent/purchase on all major platforms.

Genre: Comedy

PG-13: Sexual content, language, and some teen partying

1h 37m

            “Get in loser, we’re going shopping.” A couple years ago, I noticed my now fifteen-year-old son, Jude, checking out a Mean Girls game while shopping. It took me by surprise because I had not shared this movie with him, but found out it is one of his favorite films. This just goes to show that this movie still holds up. It has spawned a sequel TV movie, that I can only assume is terrible, a broadway musical, and most recently a film adaptation of that musical. The musical was nominated for twelve awards at the 72nd Tony Awards, including Best Musical. However, the film adaptation of the musical is quite terrible and pointless. My son agrees. The original Mean Girls has become a classic, though. Written by Tina Fey and featuring many of her SNL costars, this movie is full of great comedic one-liners and started the careers of multiple actors, including Oscar nominated Amanda Seyfried (Mank) and Rachel McAdams (Spotlight). Lindsay Lohan was probably at the peak of her career, playing Cady, the formerly homeschooled new girl navigating her way through the cliques of high school. She befriends two outcasts who guide her through sabotaging “The Plastics,” the popular girls worshiped by the rest of the school…the Mean Girls, led by Regina George (McAdams). Eventually, Cady finds herself becoming a mean girl herself as their plan to sabotage falls apart and chaos engulfs the school. The movie dances between realism and satire, but it is all relatable to anyone that survived through the cliques of high school. Skip the newest iteration. It is almost the same script with a far less talented cast and Tina Fey and company phoning it in with much safer jokes. The only big difference is they add some forgettable musical numbers. Stick to your couch and enjoy this 2004 version. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s funny and…it’s pretty “fetch.”

Also released in April 2004: The Punisher, Hellboy, Home on the Range, Walking Tall, The Girl Next Door, The Whole Ten Yards, Kill Bill: Volume 2, Man on Fire, Laws of Attraction, 13 Going On 30, (follow @jlucia85 for these reviews and more)