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Back Shelf Beauties
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Mean Girls On the surface, Mean Girls might appear to be another teen comedy, but it is much more than that. It is one of the most brilliant movies I have ever seen. The Mean Girls make Tony Soprano look like a kitty cat, and the movie will shock you with its smart comedy. Lindsay Lohan stars as Cady - a 16-year old who has been living in Africa with her zoologist parents for as long as she can remember. She was home schooled her whole life and sheltered from modern society, so the naïve Cady has no idea what awaits her when she begins to attend public high school, a kind of jungle she hasn't experienced before. Quickly, our young heroine learns about The Plastics - the pretty, stuck up, trend setting girls that everyone hates, but wishes they could be. They are Gretchen (Lacey Chabert) - the rich girl who wants to be the leader; Karen (Amanda Seyfried) - the dumbest girl in the history of the world; and Regina (Rachel McAdams) - the leader and meanest of the mean girls. Because Cady is pretty, she is accepted by The Plastics, but, after a horrible betrayal, decides to join with outcastes Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese) to take them down and give the mean girls a taste of their own medicine. Will Cady be victorious? At what price? We have been subjected to many teen comedies over the last few years, but none have reached this level of intelligence and humor. Written by Tina Fey (based on a scholarly novel by Rosalind Wiseman), Mean Girls is a subversive movie that attacks teen comedy clichés without alienating the core audience. Teens will see similarities in their life experiences, while adults will be able to appreciate how silly it is, but both groups can laugh. Fey fills the script with smart dialogue and a series of events that naturally and logically take the story to a great conclusion, but always finds a way to throw in something unexpected to liven up the film. It reminds me of the understated brilliance of classic comedies like Animal House and Caddyshack. On the surface, they are silly farces, but, underneath, something very smart is going on for those who can pick up on it. For Mean Girls, the movie makes a powerful message about modern life, being a teen, relating to your parents and exposing the horrors of high school life to anyone who forgot what it was like. For most of the cast, this is the best movie they have ever been in. Let's start with Lindsay Lohan, who gets a star vehicle that makes us forget Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (thank you!). Lohan uses her natural ability for comedy to play a 16-year old kid that isn't overly precocious or too grown up for her age. You'll love the subtle, growing changes in her personality as the movie progresses, and Lohan never overdoes it because the script doesn't make her reach for the laugh or the right emotion. McAdams deserves special kudos for her take on the manipulative queen who knows how to hide it, but still lets her evilness shine through at the right moments. Best of all, Fey has made sure the adults don't come off like total idiots. Most teen-oriented movies today reduce adults to imbeciles in a sad attempt to relate to kids in the audience and get a few cheap laughs (the moviemakers essentially tell the audience, "we're on your side, so buy more tickets to our movie while we fulfill your immature fantasies and delusions."). Yes, Mean Girls is full of adult characters who are funny and silly, but a few could be considered, get ready for this, role models! Mean Girls is a virtual make work campaign for Saturday Night Live cast members with appearances from Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, Ana Gasteyer and Fey herself, but they belong in this movie. Meadows plays his best role ever as the school principal who wants to stop the madness, and has a little crush on Fey's character, Ms. Norbury, the math teacher who wants the girls to grow up, stop the attacks on each other and take some pride in themselves. Think of Norbury as the voice of reason in a world gone wild, and you'll understand why Fey's script has the conclusion it does. Mean Girls is hilarious, brilliant and amazing. See it this weekend. Twice. 4 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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