Today is October 3rd, a momentous date in any calendar.
No, it’s not because it’s the day that OJ Simpson was found ‘not guilty’ (look it up on Wikipedia). The day that tea rationing came to an end in 1952 and Britain heaved a sigh of relief. It’s not even because it’s A$AP Rocky’s birthday.
No, readers. On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was.
Yep, that’s right, today is unofficially Mean Girls day. Your Twitter and Facebook feeds will probably be awash with quotes from the 2004 cult hit as people relive the glory of what is, possibly, the greatest film of all time. Yeah, Citizen Kane. I’m going there.
If you haven’t seen it, first of all, where have you been? Mean Girls is the story of Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, who arrives at a suburban Illinois high school after living in Africa and where she was home-schooled by her parents. It’s the first time she’s been in a real school environment and it’s a baptism of fire. She makes friends early on, Janis and Damien, who decide it would be fun if Cady tried to infiltrate the camp of the popular kids (or the Plastics as they call them) and sabotage their perfect lives. Problem is, Cady gets quite into it, replaces queen bee Regina, alienates her real friends and basically ends up in a big ol’ mess – but can she turn things around, solve the social madness at North Shore High and find her real friends? Clue – er, yes, but there are lots of laughs along the way, and some of the smartest writing to hit the silver screen – which is which we, and millions of other people, love it so much.
Whether you’re a part of the Mathletes, Plastics or one of the other brilliant cliques at North Shore High, here’s why Mean Girls is the best movie EVER.
It’s spot on…
So often, high school comedies from the States miss the mark a bit with Brit audiences, but Mean Girls has universal appeal because, it turns out, teenage girls are the exact same the world over. At one point, the school canteen is likened to an African watering hole for wild animals, and it totally makes sense.
… mostly because Tina Fey is a genius
Mean Girls was written by Thirty Rock star Tina Fey, aka the funniest woman ever to walk the planet. Tina read Rosalind Wiseman’s book Queen Bees and Wannabes (a parental self-help book letting oldies know how to survive the cliques, highs and lows of high school) and decided to give it a fictional spin, analysing the female hierarchy in high school. Fey brings her observational eye, warmth and humour to the subject matter to produce a film which isn’t just a laugh a minute – it’s captivating, memorable, touching and mind-blowingly brilliant.
So fetch
Mean Girls has brought a whole world of quotable lines to our lives. See ‘so fetch’, ‘I know, right?’ and ‘she doesn’t even go here’.
Regina George
Every teenage girl knows a Regina, head of the Plastic crew. They might even be a Regina. Every school has one. She’s usually gorgeous, mouthy and tends to surround herself with impressionable people who are a bit dim, a bit insecure and willing to do whatever she wants. Sounds awful, right? Yet everyone wants to be her friend. Regina is the ultimate mean girl, and watching her downfall as Cady feeds her protein bars and turns her friends against her is hilarious – but you can’t help but feel sorry for her. Rachel McAdams is absolutely perfect in the role.
It’s all about the girls
The main focus of this film is the ladies, as the title suggests, and these aren’t the two-dimensional women we’re so used to seeing on the big screen. Sure, there’s dopey Gretchin, wired-to-the-moon Karen, bitchy Regina and sarcastic Janis, but these characters have depth too. We see their flaws, their vulnerabilities, their loveable sides and the actresses who portray them tackle all of this with ease. Lindsay Lohan as Cady is perhaps, looking back, the biggest surprise of all. The red-headed Hollywood starlet took on the role of Cady and portrayed the two-faced wannabe mean girl with ease. She did vulnerable, geeky and downright bitchy all in one character and she did it really, really well. The standout performance of her career. Where did it all go wrong?
There’s a message
It’s a message that not many will take on, to be fair, but it’s there. Friends aren’t always friends. The high school class system is ridiculous. Whatever group you fit into, you’re a person underneath it all, whether you’re outwardly perfect or a proud geek. And at the end of it all, you should only hang out with the people who make you happy and who get you. Oh, and always look both ways before crossing the road…
