Lolita malgré moi

"Mean Girls" feels perfectly suited to Lindsay Lohan's talents. As the new girl in school (Cady Heron) who is trying to fit in, she is extremely likable. She becomes fast friends with Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan, who nails her performance. If you are not familiar with singer Janis Ian, check out her hit single "Seventeen") and Damian (Daniel Franzese), but gets sucked into a three-girls clique called the Plastics. With her allegiance split between the two factions, she finds herself becoming a person she does not like.

This film is notable for the break-through performances of Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried. McAdams plays Regina, the queen of the Plastics. It is a role that is similar to many that preceded, but still holds up.

Speaking of precursors, one might consider this film to be a rip-off of others that came before. Or it might be considered as merely referential. Or perhaps an homage. But however you chose to view it, it has definite references to "The Breakfast Club", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Clueless", "Risky Business", and other John Hugh's films.

The screenplay (adaptation) by Tina Fey is, at turns, clever and unsubtle. But it is a solid entry in the canon of teen comedies.

Though my own high school days are well behind me now, this film received enough acclaim that I was convinced to give it a try. Mean Girls did in fact prove to be a rewarding experience. The film made a ton of money and launched some of its young stars into orbit.

Our story deals with a previously home-schooled girl (Lohan) now having to brave a suburban high school for the first time. She is completely clueless as far as what it takes to be cool in this new world, but she is pretty enough to catch the attention of the most popular girls in the school. The "Plastics" as they are called take the young lady into their world and over time she becomes one of them. The more popular the young lady becomes, the more miserable her life becomes, however.

The film is very funny and it hits pretty hard with its depictions of the various cliques at modern high schools. Some would argue that the characters in this film are just stereotypes, but so are most real life high schoolers. Nearly everyone fit into one category or another even back in my school days, but things seem even more fragmented now.

Tina Fey has written an intelligent script, and thankfully the film was cast well enough to carry it. Lindsay Lohan is charming, but nothing too exceptional. Rachel McAdams pretty much steals this film, and she is likely the cast member who will have the best career of this bunch. I think it's safe to say her scream toward the end of act 2 is the best I've ever heard in any film.Lacey Chabert is also worth mentioning, and she seems worthy of some better roles in the future. Overall, there did not seem to be any casting problems.

Mark Watters keeps things moving along at a brisk pace, and it seems strange to see Lorne Michaels' name in the credits of any film this funny. From what I've heard, the film had to be trimmed of more than a few parts that would have given it in an R-rating. BOO!!!!!! Hard to argue with the box office totals, though! After watching this film, I was reminded of a similar group of popular girls at my high school. They called themselves the Senior Bitch Patrol, and behaved much the same way as the "Plastics." Only back then (88-91) it was mostly about the hair. The bigger the hair, the more popular the girl. All of these girls have gone on to live boring and pointless lives since those days. Go figure....

9 of 10 stars for Mean Girls. Too bad I never had any math teachers as pretty as Tina Fey!

Rosalind Wiseman wrote the novel that Tina Fey adapted for the screen. The result, "Mean Girls" is a statement about what it's like to be a student going through high school today. In fact, it presents an ugly side about how school, a place for lasting friendships, camaraderie, and just a place for learning is everything but that, according to what one witnesses. In fact, in order to navigate its cliques and groups, one needs a route map in order not to offend anyone. "Mean Girls" is directed by Mark Waters, who gives it a light touch.

At the center of the story we find Cady, a newly arrived girl who has lived in Africa and has been taught by her parents. Since they are back in the country, they enroll their daughter so she can have the experience of mixing with her peers. Cady, who is a sweet and naive girl unexposed to the real world, finds friendship with a pair of unpopular students, Janis Ian and Damian.

Cady is guided through the ropes by her new friends who suggest to her to penetrate the world of the "Plastic" trio who are the local fashionistas in their school. These young women live to dress for school; instead of studying, the trio has their own set of rules, which totally confuses Cady, who adapts, but she has no feeling for her new acquired friends.

Cady makes the mistake of liking one of the Plastics former boyfriend, the hunky Aaron. When she confesses it to Gretchen, this one tells her that is a no-no according to an unknown code of conduct because Aaron is Regina's former boyfriend, and she is to stay away from him. Cady excels in math, but she decides to play dumb in order to have Aaron like her. That develops into more than friendship until Regina intervenes.

"Mean Girls" will be loved by teen age girls, the audience for which the film is targeted. Lindsay Lohan is immensely appealing as the newly arrived Cady. Rachel McAdams and Lacey Chabert are Regina and Gretchen, respectively. Tina Fey plays one of the teachers in the school who is wrongly accused of being involved in drugs.

The film is fun to watch thanks to the young and talented cast in it.

My boyfriend has this on DVD so we put it on last night and watched it together. It is still good and has not dated at all.

The clique is indeed mean and one wonders whether high schools are like that today. I graduated high school a decade ago and don't remember such a mean environment, but then again that is the appeal and story of the film.

The girls are really hot and they flaunt it. Gretchen is the prettiest to me, but of course they are all handpicked to be pretty especially during their stage show.

In short, funny, mean, sexy and anyone who has attended high school is bound to identify to some degree. Fun film

This movie is an easy one to enjoy over and over again. I think how funny you find the story is relative to your age. As someone newly out of high school, I can tell you that the high school clicks portrayed in this film are a bit far-fetched. I have never heard someone say "you can't sit with us" or of being called "too gay to function". This movie is still simply witty and smart with a story line that is far different from the main stream movies that come out today.