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Mean Girls

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Mean Girls (2004)

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Reviews Counted:168

Fresh:141

Rotten:27

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: Funnier and more smartly written than the average teen comedy.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $85,974,306

Synopsis: In this survival-of-the-fittest teen comedy, high school is a dangerous jungle seething with teenagers who prey on each other like wild animals. The nonstop jokes are hilariously rewarding as they... In this survival-of-the-fittest teen comedy, high school is a dangerous jungle seething with teenagers who prey on each other like wild animals. The nonstop jokes are hilariously rewarding as they exaggerate adolescent vanity and satirize political correctness issues like race, class, and homosexuality. Here, the Plastics are the most popular girls in school. They wrote the rule book on Girl World, like always wearing pink on Tuesdays. And they're mean. So when pretty new girl Cady (Lindsay Lohan) arrives in school, the first thing they do is make fun of her. Then they try to win her over. Cady is torn between social cliques. She befriends the punky rebels Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese). But the guy Cady wants to date is friends with the Plastics--Regina (Rachel McAdams), Gretchen (Lacey Chabert), and Karen (Amanda Seyfriend)--so she has to be resourceful. Problem is, the two groups hate each other. Just trying to fit in, Cady jumps through hoops for the Plastics and becomes a mean girl in the process. Though her transformation is radical, when the final act of meanness is done, she learns a few valuable lessons. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE writer Tina Fey contributes the script and also stars as a teacher, quietly smirking at her own jokes throughout the antics. Directed by FREAKY FRIDAY's Mark Waters, MEAN GIRLS doesn't miss a beat, following the faithful formula of teen fare such as SIXTEEN CANDLES and HEATHERS. The soundtrack features songs by Blondie, Missy Elliot, Pink, The Donnas, and Janis Ian. [More]

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Amanda Seyfried

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, Tim Meadows, Daniel Franzese, Amy Poehler, Ana Gasteyer, Neil Flynn, Jonathan Bennett

Director: Mark Waters

Director: Mark Waters
Screenwriter: Tina Fey
Producer: Lorne Michaels
Composer: Rolfe Kent
Studio: Paramount Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Mean Girls

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
04/02/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Like Heathers with the edges filed down a bit...the kind of smooth, clever (and rare) entertainment that critics and audiences can all enjoy, guilt-free. [Blu-ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
06/19/09
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

The film boasts a solidly female cast, and its' a well cast film at that.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
04/18/09
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

Like the wannabes at North Shore, Mean Girls longs to take a step beyond the ordinary, but it takes the easier, more traditional route instead.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
04/09/09
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
10/29/08
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
12/27/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

It announces the arrival of Tina Fey into the ranks of smart screenwriters.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/27/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Lacks the genuine bile that made Heathers so bracing.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
07/19/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Props to Tina Fey for being the first cast member since Mike Myers in Wayne's World to survive her movie being produced by Saturday Night Live boss Lorne Michaels -- and not also have her movie completely suck.

Full Review Source: Lawrence.com | comment Comment
09/29/06
Eric Melin
Eric Melin
Lawrence.com

Mean Girls lacks sincerity, and instead acts like any teenage queen bee -- being cruel and picking on the weak -- only to then break its own rules and be hypocritical.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
09/27/06
Todd Hertz
Todd Hertz
Christianity Today

Happily, Fey and Waters gently tweak the studios’ usual high-gloss caricature of adolescence and aim for acutely hilarious and surprisingly empathic sociology.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Jessica Winter
Jessica Winter
Time Out

The stinging wit of first-time screenwriter Tina Fey gives Mean Girls a zest and zing few high school comedies ever muster.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

It is precisely intelligence, and Fey’s refusal to talk down to her audience, that elevates Mean Girls above most other teen movies out there.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Christopher Zinsli
Christopher Zinsli
Film Threat

Nails the “survival of the fittest” mentality that permeates high school social life.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

Has the truth-exposing agenda of Election and almost as much bite.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
10/01/04
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

Fey’s script is brilliant. Waters’ direction is inspired. This film has pace,...This is a funny, enjoyable film.

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
09/26/04
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

Tina Fey turns gag-me cliches into something fresh, edgy and laugh-out-loud funny.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
09/23/04
Mark Robison
Mark Robison
Reno Gazette-Journal

This movie should be required viewing for all adolescent girls and their parents.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment 1 Comment
09/21/04
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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