Mean Girls (2004)

Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Ana Gasteyer, Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, and Fey. The film follows Cady Heron(Lohan), a naïve teenager who transfers to an American high school after years of homeschooling in Africa. Cady quickly befriends outcasts Janis and Damian (Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese), with the trio forming a plan to exact revenge on Regina George (McAdams), the leader of an envied clique known as "the Plastics".

Fey conceived the idea for Mean Girls after reading the self-help book Queen Bees and Wannabes. The book describes female high school social cliques, school bullying, and the resulting damaging effect on teenagers. Fey also drew from her own experience at Upper Darby High School, in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, as an inspiration for some of the film's concepts. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels served as a producer; Fey was a long-term cast member and writer for Saturday Night Live. Principal photography took place from September to November 2003. Although the film is set in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, filming took place primarily in Toronto, Ontario.

Mean Girls premiered at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles on April 19, 2004, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 30, by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed over $130 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Waters's direction, Fey's screenplay, its humor, and the performances; especially lauded was Lohan's acting, which earned several accolades, including three Teen Choice Awards and two MTV Movie Awards, and in 2021, was listed as the eleventh-best performance of the 21st century by The New Yorker.

A made-for-television sequel, Mean Girls 2, premiered on ABC Family in January 2011. Mean Girls also spawned various adaptations, including a stage musical, which premiered on Broadway in March 2018, with a film adaptation released in January 2024.

Storyline

After being homeschooled her entire life and having spent the last twelve years in Africa, 16-year-old Cady Heron begins her first day at North Shore High School. She has trouble making friends and is put down by the teachers on her first day, although she does befriend outcasts Janis Ian and Damian Leigh. Janis and Damian explain the school's various cliques to her, warning her about the "Plastics", a trio of wealthy and mean girls consisting of ruthless queen bee Regina George, insecure gossiper Gretchen Wieners, and bubbly airhead Karen Smith. Regina, Gretchen, and Karen take a shine to Cady and unexpectedly invite her to join the Plastics. Upon realizing this, Janis hatches a plan to infiltrate the group and destroy Regina's reputation.

Cady becomes infatuated with her classmate Aaron Samuels. Karen and Gretchen warn her that, as Regina's ex-boyfriend, he is off-limits, though Regina assures Cady she does not care if Cady and Aaron date. Despite Janis's insistence that Regina is "evil", Cady comes to enjoy hanging out with the group, including writing insulting remarks about their classmates and teachers in a scrapbook called the "Burn Book." However, at a Halloween house party, instead of talking to Aaron on Cady's behalf, Regina kisses him in front of her and resumes their relationship. Feeling betrayed, an enraged Cady fully commits to Janis's plan.

Over the following months, Cady, with Janis and Damian's help, manages to trick Gretchen into revealing her secrets, break up Regina's relationship with Aaron (and spend time with him by pretending to need math tutoring), and cause her to gain weight by giving her high-calorie snack bars under the pretense that they are diet food. After violating the Plastics' dress code rules by wearing sweatpants on Monday, Regina is kicked out of the group and Cady becomes the new "queen bee".

While her parents are out of town, Cady throws a house party. She drunkenly admits to Aaron that she does not actually need math tutoring, and he renounces her for being as manipulative as Regina. Janis and Damian angrily confront Cady for throwing a party instead of attending the former's art show and declare that she has become as plastic as she pretended to be. Meanwhile, Regina becomes enraged when she discovers Cady's sabotage, and inserts fake slander of herself into the Burn Book, hoping to frame the latter along with the other Plastics.

Regina spreads the contents of the book throughout the hallways, inciting chaos. Principal Duvall and math teacher Ms. Norbury gather the female junior students in the gym to talk through their social issues. During this, Janis reveals her plan to destroy Regina to the latter's face and openly mocks her, much to the students' excitement. Regina furiously storms out, pursued by an apologetic Cady. While ranting at Cady, Regina is hit by a school bus and survives, but gets her spine fractured. Rumors circulate that Cady intentionally pushed Regina in front of the bus.

After realizing a comment she wrote in the Burn Book has framed Ms. Norbury as a drug dealer, Cady decides to take full responsibility for the book. Regina, Gretchen, and Karen are spared punishment, but Cady becomes a social pariah and is grounded by her parents. To earn extra credit, Cady joins the school Mathletes, moderated by Ms. Norbury and led by fellow student Kevin Gnapoor. At the state finals, she correctly answers the tiebreaker question, winning the championship. The team arrives at the Spring Fling dance, where Cady is unexpectedly elected queen. She breaks the plastic tiara and distributes the pieces to others in the crowd, makes peace with Janis, Damian, and the Plastics, and shares a slow dance and a kiss with Aaron.

The Plastics disband by the time senior year begins. A fully-recovered Regina joins the school's lacrosse team to channel her anger positively, Gretchen joins the "Cool Asians" clique, and Karen becomes the school weather girl. Cady begins dating Aaron and continues to hang out with Janis and Damian. Janis starts dating Kevin. While reflecting to herself on the relative social peace that has taken over North Shore High, Cady notices a new popular clique in the freshman class and wonders how long the "Junior Plastics" will last, jokingly imagining them being hit by a school bus.