Mean Girls Review
by Ronald O. Christian (ronc AT europa DOT com)November 3rd, 2004
Mean Girls (2004)
Directed by Mark Waters
Screenplay by Tina Fey (SNL)
Starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Tina Fey
4.5 stars of 5
Capsule review: The first Lindsay Lohan movie that you could see twice without your head blowing off your shoulders.
The toughest cinematic experiences remain the films my daughter (currently ten years old) drags me to. They're usually ill-made, embarrassing "teen comedies" of the squirming-in-your-seat category. Today's movie, "Mean Girls" was my punishment for dragging her to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
Usually, a "good" film in this category is described in terms like "I didn't gouge my eyes out". Positive features include: only half-hearted attempts at clawing off the armrest covering, nausea that wasn't actually vomit-inducing, and a total lack of bleeding from the eyes and ears. Recent examples include "Sleepover" with Alexa Vega and Lohan's own "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen".
It's important to keep this in mind to understand my personal surprise at declaring that "Mean Girls" was an enjoyable film and I actually want to see it again.
Mind you, it's not often you hear of a teenie-bopper flick earning critical acclaim, but even that isn't a good sign, as critics often fawn over films I wouldn't see for free. This film was a major exception.
Lohan plays a home-schooled teen dumped into a high school by well-meaning parents and convinced by her first acquaintances to invade a high-fashion clique and destroy it from within. Things get out of hand, as expected, but not for the usual reasons.
The plot isn't clear-cut good girl vs evil clique, and the characters have surprising depth. For instance, it's a matter of opinion whether Lohan's character got carried away, compromised her ethics to avoid blowing her cover, or was starting to enjoy the power and attention of belonging to an A-list clique. Although the narration her character supplies helps to fill in the gaps, her true motivation is never exactly spelled out. This, amid the general weirdness, gives the film a welcome connection to reality, where things aren't only good or only evil.
There are enough quirky characters (the vacuous beauty with telepathic breasts, the hapless side-kick with an edict memory for gossip, the punk artist living under a stigma because students can't understand the difference between "Lebanese" and "lesbian") to hold your attention while the plot is filling out. A lot happens in 97 minutes, and you have to pay attention to catch all the nuances.
If nothing else, the film serves as an illustration of every possible blunder parents can make in raising a teenager.
Lohan's character narrates the film throughout, either relaying her thoughts of the moment or offering cutting commentary. Hers are the best lines, and the casual, matter-of-fact delivery adds to the humor.
"Mean Girls" was scripted by Tina Fey of SNL from a non-fiction book by Rosalind Wiseman, author of several books on "helping your daughter survive the realities of adolescence". The script's non-fiction roots give the film a core sense of reality, of presenting true life in a humorous fashion, that rings true whilst it entertains. Mean Girls does for high school cliques what Office Space (1999) does for office workers. You either have to laugh or cry, so why not laugh?
4.5 stars of 5. A nearly perfect film. Highly recommended.
Ron
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http://www.iswizards.com
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