Thursday, May 1, 2014

10 Years of Mean Girls


No, I didn't see Mean Girls 10 years ago when it first came out. I do remember it popping up in all of the little pre-tween magazines that I used to hoard, but I never saw it until it popped up on TV one day in 2007. I recorded it off the TV on one of those gigantic fossils we used to call videotapes. Unfortunately, the first three minutes cut out of my recording, so I never saw those first three minutes until I bought it on DVD a year later. Yet, I didn't need those three minutes. Mean Girls was, and forever will be, my favourite high school comedy of all time. Hell, probably even my favourite comedy of all time. Why?

Because 7 years since I first saw it, I'm pretty positive there hasn't been a day go by that I haven't quoted it in some way. Like seriously, there is a quote for every life situation:

When someone does well with something: "You go, Glen Coco!"

When someone asks someone else why they're white: "Oh my god Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white."

When you're a mother: "I'm not like a regular mom, I'm a cool mom."

When it's raining: "There's a 30% chance that it's already raining!"

When you don't want to go out with someone: "I can't go out *fake coughs* I'm sick."

When someone annoys you: "Boo, you whore."

Possible valedictory speech: "I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me...but I can't help it that I'm so popular."

When needing to do a rap: "Yo yo yo all you sucker MC's ain't got nothing on me! From my grades, to my lines you can't touch Kevin G! I'm a mathlete, so nerd is inferred, but forget what you heard I'm like James Bond the third, sh-sh-sh-shaken not stirred - I'm Kevin Gnapoor! The G's silent when I sneak through your door. And make love to your woman on the bathroom floor. I don't play it like Shaggy, you'll know it was me. Cause the next time you see her she'll be like, OOH! KEVIN G!"

Literally the entire script is quotable. The entire thing.




But why is it that Mean Girls stands the test of time and feels as fresh as it did 10 years ago? Why is it that we can quote it on a daily basis even after all of this time? Because Mean Girls is still very real. You may think that a film with such overdrawn caricatures such as a plastic surgery obsessed mum, the regulation gay best friend and the dumb blonde couldn't be aiming for realism in the slightest. However, it is the simplicity of the characters that makes this movie work so well. Each character is exactly who they are. Regina is the bitch. Gretchen is her loyal follower. Karen is the one who is too dumb to know what's going on. And Cady is built up by this.

Cady, for better or for worse, is the epitome of a teenage girl. No matter what people tell you, you can't be yourself at high school. Unless you're completely sure of what you wanna be. Cady is the one that gets gobbled up and spat out by everyone around her. Yes, this is a comedy. But it is also painstakingly true.


Oh, and let's not forget that it is based on a non-fiction self-help book. Just as everything is quotable from the script, everything also has a certain shred of truth to it. I'm not sure how much help it would provide as a survival guide for navigating cliques at school (my school wasn't even big enough to have a clique problem), but I'd say it is a pretty good place to start. It shows you the people to avoid, the mistakes to avoid, and how to tell if you have ESPN or something.

I could wax poetic for years on why Mean Girls is the best thing that ever happened to 12 year old me who stayed home sick from school one day and first saw this grace her TV screen. And it is still about the best thing that happens to 18 year old me watching it for the fiftieth time on a rainy afternoon in Christchurch. You know those movies that you grow up with? Mean Girls has left an indelible mark on my life in ways that I can't really explain. And even though I'm out of my high school years, I can honestly see me watching this movie for another ten years and my view wouldn't have changed.

All I can say is thank you, Mean Girls. Thank you for the quotes. Thank you for launching the careers of people like Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lizzy Caplan. Thank you for giving us Lindsay Lohan's best performance. Thank you for keeping it real.

But lastly, here's a question: how many of you have felt personally victimised by Regina George?


20 comments:

  1. This post is like totally fetch. Even though my high school existence was v. different from whatever is shown in this film, it's still goddamn relatable, man. Love the characters, the quotes and Glen Coco. Also just how smart this film is. People just don't get it here. They think I'm nuts but this film is as fabulous as Regina George herself and it WILL be awesome if it punched me in the face too.
    Also even though I have *obviously* felt personally victimised by Regina George, I still want to be her a little bit :P

    ReplyDelete
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    1. It is such a great movie Mean Girls. Though I love comedy movies and teenager’s movies, I watched this films so many times with my colleague of Quality Dissertation where we are providing Quality Quality dissertation writing service to students who are looking for academic help. This teen comedy proves there's still distance to be had out of a familiar formula - thanks to a sharp script and winning performances.

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    2. The Mean Girls film is based in part on Rosalind Wiseman's non-fiction self-help book Queen Bees and Wannabes, which describes female high school social cliques and the damaging effects they can have on girls. I am academic writer and provide Australia assignment help. I would like to share this realistic movie blog with my students who come to seek assignment writing help from me. Thanks for sharing this great post!

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    3. I see this movie, its nice story of Mean Girls, divides high school culture with a lot of watchful detail, which seems shockingly well-informed. The movie was directed by Mark S. Waters, who also made Freaky Friday, and I become a fan of them. Since I am a working at Elite assignment help and provide dissertation help London and would be happy to share this blog with my team members, who are also interested to read such kind of blog. Mean Girls received usually positive reviews, opponents praised McAdams' performance and labelled it as Lohan's and Seyfried's breakthrough performances.

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  2. Grool post! :) I absolutely love Mean Girls. I wasn't expecting to when I saw it in theaters 10 years ago, but this is easily my favorite high school comedy as well. I call it my favorite rom-com too, even though I'm not sure it qualifies.

    This movie is exactly how teenage girls act. The bit about "Halloween is the one night a year a girl can dress like a total slut and the other girls can't say anything about it." - I about died. That is SO true.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay - ten yays for 10 years of Mean Girls! I may not have seen it as often as some of you have but I still love it so much! And yes, so quotable. If only one lived in a English-language country.

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  4. You're so right to say that it is very relatable and realistic. All girls have been through the rigors of Girl World, either being a Cady, a Regina, or knowing either one. Your review of Mean Girls totally outdoes mine - Fantastic job!

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  8. I never observed those initial three minutes until the point when I got it on DVD a year later. However, I didn't require those three minutes. Mean Girls was, and everlastingly will be, my most loved secondary school drama ever. For hell's sake, most likely even my most loved satire ever. Dissertation Service UK

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