Mean Girls

Plot Summary

Teenager Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) was raised in the African bush and educated at home by her parents.  Now, back in America, Cady is the new girl in school.  Unfamiliar with her surroundings and baffled by the different cliques she realises that 'fitting in' and finding new friends is not going to be easy.  Cady may be familiar with the law of the jungle but High School has its own social hierarchy and pecking order and she needs to learn fast to stay out of trouble...

Review

It is fairly obvious who the target audience is and judging by the gangs of young teenage girls in the cinema the target audience had arrived.  The movie isn't covering any new ground but it's quirky enough to be a little different from other High School teen comedies.  It's also consistently funny with enough characters to keep things interesting.

All the kids at the school get labelled and fall into their own little cliques. Cady finds herself falling in with the "Plastics", an elite group of girls lead by Regina George (Rachel McAdams).  The "Plastics" are mean bitchy girls who look down on the less pretty or wealthy students.  When the "Plastics" aren't buying makeup and designer clothes they are gossiping and spreading rumours about their school mates.  Cady must deal with her conscience when she wants to be accepted by the "Plastics" but knows deep down that they aren't very nice.  The story is fairly predictable and the ending sees the mean girls seeing the error of their ways and trying to change for the better.

Lindsay Lohan who also starred in The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday plays the main character, Cady.  She definitely brings a bit of charm to the movie and has a screen presence that will see her in more substantial and mature roles in the future.

Bottom line:  Not a classic but for a movie of this type it's surprisingly funny and entertaining.

Lasting Thought:  Calling someone fat won't make you thinner.  Calling some stupid won't make you smarter.  Making fun of the opposition won't win the competition.

Reviewed by Niall Quinn, Premier Movie Reviews 2004.

RELATED MOVIE REVIEWS:  LINDSAY LOHAN:  Freaky Friday.

Genre: Teen Comedy

Certificate: 12's

Director: Mark S. Waters

~ Main Cast ~

Lindsay Lohan

Rachel McAdams

Lizzy Caplan

Daniel Franzesse

Tina Fey

Lacey Chabert

Amanda Seyfried

RATING

WORTH A WATCH