Mean Girls
Reviewed by Rich Drees

     Class struggle isn't just reserved for societal and political theory. It's a fact of every day life for high school students and its something cleverly skewered in the teen comedy Mean Girls.

     Having grown up in African bush country by her zoologist parents, fifteen-year old Cady (Lindsay Lohan) is apprehensive and a little naive about what to expect from her first day of high school. She certainly isn’t prepared for the school’s highly stratified social scene. At first, she befriends two outsiders Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese). However, when Cady attracts the attention of the Plastics, a trio of pretty, though snooty girls lead by Regina (Rachel McAdams), Janis encourages her to hang out with them and report back on what life with the Plastics is like. Hesitant at first, Cady agrees and quickly discovers how cut throat Regina can be to those she calls “friends”. After Cady expresses an interest in Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron (Jonathan Bennett), Regina steals him back before Cady has a chance with him. Angered, Cady, Janis and Damian devise a plan to bring about the downfall of the Plastics, but they haven’t counted on the viciousness of Regina.

     The script, adapted by Fey from the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, is a rather sharp skewering of the teen set social scene. While this is something that has been satirized before, Fey keeps the material feeling fresh and avoids many of the clichés that populate other teen comedies. Since Cady grew up in Africa, she often sees similarities between her peers' behavior and that of wild animals on the veldts of the Dark Continent. Fey's script also manages to keep things witty without getting too dark. (Think Heathers without the body count.) Mean Girls does have its edge dulled a bit towards the end when it goes for an "Everybody learns a valuable lesson" ending.

     The largely teen cast does excellent work in grounding the film with good performances. Lohan projects a careful balance of confidence born of growing up around adults and confusion over the strange world of teenagers she finds herself in. McAdams seems to relish the bitchiness of her character, but never takes it to a cartoony level. Fey contributes a slightly dotty math teacher to film. Another Saturday Night Live alum, Tim Meadows, appears as the school principal who gets a subtly hysterical Joe Clark/Lean On Me (1989) moment towards the end of the film.

     Parents of younger children who have enjoyed Lohan’s previous films should take note. This isn’t Freaky Friday. There may be some material in the film that might not be for anyone under junior high. (There are several jokes about a teacher having an affair with a student.) But for the rest, it just might plant the idea that there may be something worthwhile outside of their own immediate circle of friends.