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73-474: Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey . It stars Lindsay Lohan , Rachel McAdams , Tim Meadows , Ana Gasteyer , 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. Heron quickly befriends two outcasts ( Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese ), with

146-401: A 2014 skit for MTV . In 2013, a Tumblr called "Les Mean Girls" emerged, which coupled lines from the film with images from the 2012 film adaptation of the musical Les Misérables . The scene where Janis explains to Cady the cliques of their school is parodied in the 2008 superhero / teen spoof Superhero Movie , where Trey points out the different groups of cliques to Rick Riker. One of

219-533: 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, becoming a social pariah. To earn extra credit, Cady joins the school Mathletes at the state finals, answering the tiebreaker correctly to win the championship. The team arrives at the Spring Fling dance, where Cady is unexpectedly elected queen. She breaks the plastic tiara and distributes

292-442: A cookbook inspired by the film, called "The Burn Cookbook: Real Recipes to Feed Your Inner Plastic." The following year, he teamed up with Nocking Point Wines to release a limited rosé wine edition. Ariana Grande parodied the film in the music video for her 2018 song " Thank U, Next ". Actors Bennett and Stefanie Drummond appeared in the video. A clip from the film was featured in a 2020 Discover Card commercial, which aired during

365-460: A film. Michaels contacted Paramount Pictures , who purchased the rights to the book. As the book is nonfiction, Fey wrote the plot from scratch, borrowing elements from her own experience at Upper Darby High School and her impressions of Evanston Township High School and New Trier Township High School from her time living in the Chicago area, upon which the film's fictional "North Shore High School"

438-554: A freshwater well in Uganda . In 2020, the cast was honored with the Pioneering Spirit Award for their #MeanGirlsDoGood campaign. On October 3, 2020, Katie Couric moderated a virtual cast reunion to reminisce about the film. Organized in collaboration with HeadCount to promote voting in the 2020 United States presidential election , it was the first time the entire cast gathered since the 2004 premiere. Paramount Pictures released

511-582: A line by Karen, another character. Clothing designers have printed quotes and other iconic imagery onto clothing and various merchandise. The cast have reunited in video over the years on that day for various causes. In 2017, a GoFundMe was created to raise money for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting and the National Compassion Fund . In 2019, they collaborated with the Thirst Project to fund

584-558: A metaphorical piece to everyone in my category, especially Emma Mackey who's the best scene partner and best friend..." The second novel by American author Karen M. McManus , Two Can Keep a Secret , includes a reference to a line in the film, where the character Ezra refers to his school's prom committee as looking like "they wear pink on Wednesdays". In October 2024, the film will be released in North American theaters again by Fathom Events  for its 20th anniversary. To celebrate

657-526: A one-two-three punch in star Lindsay Lohan, screenwriter Tina Fey and director Mark Waters, and, indeed, it delivers a knockout". The screenplay was highly praised by critics with Peter Travers of Rolling Stone calling it "comic gold". In April 2004, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "as in The House of Yes and Freaky Friday , Waters keeps it wild but real", noting that "all

730-485: A planned release date of May 8, 2015, for a film adapted from another book penned by Rosalind Wiseman . The project was titled Mean Moms , despite not being announced as a spin-off of Mean Girls . Beth McCarthy-Miller was set to direct with Jennifer Aniston to star. However, in May 2014, New Line Cinema pulled the film from its proposed release date of May 2015. In 2018, Jonathan Bennett, who portrayed Aaron Samuels, released

803-406: A special collector's edition, in both its original 1.77:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1.33:1 fullscreen crop, including several deleted scenes , a blooper reel, three TV spots, the theatrical trailer, previews, and three featurettes. A Blu-ray version of the film was released on April 14, 2009. The film was later re-released on a 15th-anniversary Blu-ray in 2019. A limited SteelBook edition of

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876-443: A total worldwide gross of $ 129 million. Paramount said the audience was 75% female, and 50% was under the age of 18. Over 90% of moviegoers rated the picture either "excellent" or "very good", and positive notices remained strong even outside the target demographic; ratings were over 80% positive from men in their thirties. Mean Girls received largely positive reviews; critics lauded Lohan's and McAdams's performances and labeled

949-498: A trio of new "Junior Plastics" and wonders how long they will last, as she imagines them being hit by a school bus. The film's large cast also includes Molly Shanahan and Jonathan Malen as Kristen Hadley and her boyfriend, Ky Pham, and Danielle Nguyen as "Cool Asian" students Trang Pak and Sun Jin Dinh, and Daniel DeSanto and Diego Klattenhoff as jocks Jason and Shane Oman, Gretchen, and Regina's respective boyfriends. Dwayne Hill plays

1022-453: Is "evil", Cady comes to enjoy hanging out with the group at the mall and writing insulting remarks about their classmates and teachers in a diary 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, Cady fully commits to Janis's plan to ruin Regina's life. Over

1095-496: Is a limit to what we can achieve", before drawing upon a line from the film: "My answer is that the limit does not exist." Lord of the Rings and The Goonies actor Sean Astin bet the Irish leader "50 quid" to quote Mean Girls in his next speech. The sixth episode of the third season of How to Get Away with Murder included several references to the film, including Michaela Pratt using

1168-417: Is based. Fey named many characters after real-life friends. In a 2014 interview about the movie, she told Entertainment Weekly , "I tried to use real names in writing because it's just easier." Main character Cady Heron was named after Fey's college roommate Cady Garey. Damian was named after Fey's high school friend Damian Holbrook, who went on to become a writer for TV Guide . Minor character Glenn Coco

1241-436: Is considered one of the most quotable films of all time. In an interview about the film, Fey noted: "Adults find it funny. They are the ones who are laughing. Young people watch it like a reality show. It's much too close to their real experiences so they are not exactly guffawing." October 3 has been dubbed "Mean Girls Day" on social media, alluding to a line by Cady, the protagonist. People also celebrate by wearing pink based on

1314-690: Is named after a friend of Fey's older brother; the real Glenn Coco works as a film editor in Los Angeles. Janis Ian was named after singer Janis Ian , who was one of the musical guests on the first Saturday Night Live episode , in which she sang the song " At Seventeen ", which can be heard playing in the background when the girls are fighting at Regina's house. The film was originally going to be called "Homeschooled". Fey, Michaels, and Paramount's chairman Sherry Lansing wanted to cast Lindsay Lohan after seeing her performance in Freaky Friday (2003). Lohan

1387-473: Is unexpectedly invited to join the Plastics; Janis hopes to use it to collect information on Regina, whom she accuses of "ruining her life". Later that day, Cady becomes infatuated with her classmate Aaron; Gretchen warns her that as Regina's ex-boyfriend, he is off-limits. Regina discovers Cady's infatuation with Aaron and tells Cady she does not care about their relationship. Despite Janis's insistence that Regina

1460-788: The Brat Pack in the 1980s and early 1990s; and Sarah Michelle Gellar , Jonathan Brandis , Tatyana Ali , Neve Campbell , Chris Evans , Rose McGowan , Jennifer Love Hewitt , Heath Ledger , Britney Spears , Brandy Norwood , Kirsten Dunst , Shannon Elizabeth , Breckin Meyer , Seth Green , Tobey Maguire , Alicia Silverstone , Gina Ravera , Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen , Frankie Muniz , Hilary Duff , Lindsay Lohan , Rachael Leigh Cook , Drew Barrymore , Freddie Prinze Jr. , Drake Bell , Josh Peck , Amanda Bynes , Leonardo DiCaprio , Matthew Lillard , Gabrielle Union , David Arquette , Jamie Kennedy , Paul Rudd , Blake Lively and Hayden Panettiere in

1533-522: The Pillsbury Company released a limited edition of Toaster Strudel featuring pink icing and Mean Girls packaging to pay homage to its movie-claimed inventor's daughter, Gretchen Wieners. In October 2023, Nestlé 's Coffee Mate announced that a limited-edition pink frosting flavored creamer would be available from January 2024 to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary. In November 2023, Walmart unveiled its annual holiday campaign featuring much of

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1606-786: The Super Bowl LIV . K-pop singer Sunmi named her song " You Can't Sit with Us ", after a quote from the film. A Mean Girls -themed pop-up restaurant in Santa Monica called "Fetch" was announced in 2020 as well. Primark launched a loungewear range inspired by the film in October 2019. On October 3, 2020, the Young Veterans Brewing Company released a Mean Girls -themed beer called "Army Pants & Flip Flops". Several Mean Girls -themed events, merchandising products and screenings have been often organized and produced in homage to

1679-626: The White House tweeted a photo of President Obama 's dog, Bo , holding a tennis ball and captioning: "Bo, stop trying to make fetch happen". Taco Bell made a reply to the White House, also using one of the quotes from the film. In June 2018, the official Twitter account of the Israeli Embassy in the U.S. made headlines when it responded to a tweet by Iranian leader Ali Khamenei , calling Israel "a malignant cancerous tumor", with an animated GIF of

1752-510: The "Why are you so obsessed with me?" quote. In March 2019, Hillary Clinton tweeted a GIF of the same quote which went viral for being considered a response to Donald Trump . At the 2013 People's Choice Awards , Jennifer Lawrence referenced the film in her speech when she won Favorite Movie Actress. Multiple scenes have been reenacted and parodied by various celebrities throughout the years following its release, including Ed Sheeran , Iggy Azalea , Amber Rose and Waka Flocka Flame during

1825-443: The "generation-defining high school movie" not only captures the teenage culture of the early 2000s perfectly, "but it's also hilariously clever for being adapted from a non-fiction parenting advice book [...]  Mean Girls is great because it captures that cruel teen vibe perfectly, and it tries to deliver a nice wholesome message to fight it, which kids will laugh at, agree with, and then never do anything about." In September 2020,

1898-488: The 12th-best high school film of all time: "While Mean Girls is technically a comedy, its depiction of girl-on-girl cattiness stings incredibly true." In 2012, Rotten Tomatoes included the film in its "Top 50 Greatest Teen Comedies" list. In 2021, Marie Claire ranked Mean Girls as the best 2000s movie, calling it "the '00s pop culture staple". In 2020, Hornaday included Mean Girls at No. 8 in her list "The 34 Best Political Movies Ever Made". She wrote: "[I]n addition to

1971-615: The 1990s. His films, particularly the Teen Apocalypse Trilogy (consisting of Totally Fucked Up , The Doom Generation , and Nowhere ), are notable for capturing the disaffected attitudes of suburban teenagers of Generation X . Éric Rohmer , a pioneering director of the French New Wave , was notable for focusing on young adults or youth and their complications with love in a number of his films. Some of these works are La Collectionneuse , Claire's Knee , Pauline at

2044-455: The Beach , My Girlfriend's Boyfriend , and A Summer's Tale . Popular actors in teen films have included Annette Funicello , Hayley Mills , and Sal Mineo in the 1960s and 1970s; Molly Ringwald , Anthony Michael Hall , Brendan Fraser , Luke Perry , Johnny Depp , Christina Applegate , Winona Ryder , John Cusack , Michael J. Fox , Robert Downey Jr. , Matthew Broderick and members of

2117-420: The Burn Book to frame Cady, Karen, and Gretchen. Regina distributes photocopies 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. When Janis reveals her plan against Regina to the students' cheers, Regina storms out and is struck by a school bus, fracturing her spine. After realizing

2190-778: The box office, although not to the same degree as the original. A novelization based on the script, by author Micol Ostow , was released in September 2017 by Scholastic . Another novelization – written in the style of William Shakespeare – by Ian Doescher was released in April 2019, under the title William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls . Teen film Films in this genre are often set in high schools and colleges , or contain characters who are of high school or college age. Teen film genres include Additional types of teen films can be divided again into sub-categories. These can be found at list of teen films . Early examples of

2263-403: The classic romantic comedy teen film. A good example of the use of archetypes in the teen film was displayed in the 1985 film, The Breakfast Club . These archetypes have since become a larger part of the culture. The jock, cheerleader , and social outcast , among others, become a familiar and pleasurable feature for the audience. However, genres are dynamic; they change and develop to meet

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2336-422: The cliques is "Frodos" – kids dressed up as Hobbits akin to Frodo , The Lord of the Rings character, and another the "Scarface Society" – dressed up as Al Pacino 's character Tony Montana from the 1983 film Scarface . In June 2020, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar referenced the film during a COVID-19 lockdown news briefing. Varadkar stated that "some have asked whether there

2409-427: The eleventh best of the 21st century up to that point, praising her "blend of charisma and awkwardness, innocence and guile" as well as "faux-casual earnestness" she used for dialogue. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked Mean Girls as the twentieth greatest comedy of the 21st century, saying: "Tina Fey established herself as one of America's best comedy writers courtesy of this instant teen-movie classic, which boasts one of

2482-461: The entire film for free streaming on TikTok in 23 snippets to celebrate Mean Girls Day 2023. The hashtag "#meangirlsday" was one of the top trends on the platform that month. American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey has said several times that she is a fan, quoting the film in numerous interviews and TV appearances, including a 2013 episode of American Idol . Carey's 2009 single, " Obsessed ", begins with an interlude quote where she says, "And I

2555-425: The events of the film with the player taking the role of a new student who enters North Shore during senior year. It was followed by two other stories, Sorority Rush and Spring Break . On January 28, 2013, Fey confirmed that a stage musical adaptation was in the works. Fey wrote the book of the show, while her husband, Jeff Richmond , composed the music with lyrics by Nell Benjamin . Directed by Casey Nicholaw ,

2628-673: The expectations of their target audience. Herman Raucher , along with Robert Mulligan, popularized the genre with Summer of '42 (1971), and Raucher continued the trend by writing Class of '44 (1973). George Lucas has been credited for perfecting the genre by writing and directing American Graffiti (1973). The genre gained more credibility during the 1980s with the works of writer and director John Hughes . His legacy of teen films, including The Breakfast Club , Ferris Bueller's Day Off , Sixteen Candles , and many more, proved to be popular not only with audiences but also with critics. Gregg Araki filmed independent films in

2701-401: The film as Seyfried and Caplan's breakthrough roles. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 84% based on 219 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Elevated by a brilliant screenplay and outstanding ensemble cast , Mean Girls finds fresh, female-fronted humor in the high school experience." On Metacritic ,

2774-499: The film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore , gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, writing: "In a wasteland of dumb movies about teenagers, Mean Girls is a smart and funny one." Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post wrote that it "boasts

2847-614: The film was mostly shot in Toronto , Ontario, at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute and Malvern Collegiate Institute , as well as at Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey . Landmarks include the University of Toronto 's Convocation Hall and Sherway Gardens . Principal photography commenced on September 27, and concluded on November 25, 2003. Mean Girls: Music from the Motion Picture

2920-580: The film was released in September 2022. It was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the first time on April 30, 2024, in commemoration of the film's 20th anniversary along with the release of the 2024 film . In its opening weekend, Mean Girls grossed $ 24.4 million from 3,159 screens at 2,839 theaters in the United States, ranking number one at the box office and averaging $ 8,606 per venue. The film closed on September 9, 2004, grossing $ 86.1 million domestically and $ 43 million internationally for

2993-481: The film's 20th anniversary, Paramount collaborated with MGA Entertainment to feature Cady and the Plastics as limited-edition Bratz dolls. The collaboration collection will release each character on separate dates throughout October 2024, with Cady on the 3rd, Regina on the 17th and Karen and Gretchen on the 31st (Halloween). Mean Girls won and was nominated for several awards throughout 2004–05. In early 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema announced

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3066-588: The film's concepts. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels serves 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 set in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois , filming took place primarily in Toronto , Canada. Mean Girls premiered at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles on April 19, 2004, and

3139-418: The film. In August 2020, Screen Junkies released an Honest Trailers episode, calling the film "the best thing to come out of that era," with Screen Rant 's Daniel Gillespie saying: " Mean Girls remains entertaining, funny, and, most importantly, accurate. [...] That relevance almost two decades later proves that Mean Girls is deserving of its classic status," and Slashfilm 's Ethan Anderton writing that

3212-425: The following months, Cady, with Janis and Damian's help, manages to turn Gretchen against Regina and trick her 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,

3285-454: The genre in the United States include the " beach party films " of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Gidget series. Codes and conventions of teen films vary depending on the cultural context of the film, but they can include puberty , proms , alcohol , illegal substances, high school , parties, virginity , teen pregnancy , social groups and cliques , interpersonal conflict with peers and/or

3358-486: 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 teachers on her first day. She eventually befriends outcasts Janis Ian and Damian Leigh , who explain the school's various cliques , warning her about the "Plastics": the insecure Gretchen Wieners, the dimwitted Karen Smith, and the ruthless queen bee Regina George . Cady

3431-526: The line "you can't sit with us", Annalise Keating eating her lunch in a toilet cubicle after feeling like an outcast, Laurel Castillo wearing sweatpants on a Monday, and Simon Drake calling several other students "mean girls". In June 2021, actress Aimee Lou Wood mentioned the scene where Cady broke her Spring Fling crown in pieces and shared it with girls around her. She said: "Now, I said that I'd break [this award] into pieces and share it with everyone, It's solid, Daisy [Haggard] , It's solid! So I'll give you

3504-951: The mid-to-late-1990s and throughout the 2000s. Many of these actors were either pre-teens or teens themselves when the movies were made. Notable teen genre actors in the 2010s and 2020s include Maya Hawke , Leah Lewis , Leighton Meester , Zendaya , Noah Centineo , Timothée Chalamet , Zac Efron , Lucy Hale , Lucas Hedges , Tom Holland , Anna Kendrick , Katherine Langford , Keiynan Lonsdale , Ezra Miller , Evan Peters , Nick Robinson , Cole Sprouse , Amandla Stenberg , Emma Stone , Ashley Tisdale , Emma Watson , Charlie Heaton , Justice Smith , Shameik Moore , Hailee Steinfeld , Odeya Rush , Madison Iseman , Dylan Minnette , Storm Reid , Asher Angel , Jack Dylan Grazer , Charlie Plummer , Vanessa Hudgens , Sophia Lillis , Angourie Rice , Olivia Rodrigo , Finn Wolfhard , Lana Condor , Ramona Young , Liza Koshy and Mckenna Grace . Mathlete Too Many Requests If you report this error to

3577-507: The most quotable scripts of the past 20 years", while IndieWire ranked it as the fifteenth best comedy of the 21st century, calling the script "effortlessly funny, but what makes the film truly timeless has more to do with the actors' ability to find the human grace notes amid the absurd high school hijinks (Kälteen Bars, anyone?) and instant-classic one-liners ("That's so fetch"). It's a high school comedy with broad genre humor and specific insight into teenage anxieties, and for that, it stands

3650-606: The older generations, fitting in, peer pressure , and popular culture . The classic codes and conventions of the teen film come from American films. One of the most widely used conventions is an emphasis on stereotypes and social groups. The stereotypes most commonly used include: Apart from the characters, there are many other codes and conventions of teen film. These films are often set in or around high schools and places frequented by teens, such as shopping malls and themed restaurants. This technique allows for many different social cliques to be shown. These settings are typical for

3723-495: The only thing that fit her, Regina is banished and Cady becomes the new "queen bee". With her parents out of town, Cady throws a house party. She drunkenly admits to Aaron that she does not actually need math tutoring; he renounces her as being no better than Regina. Janis angrily confronts Cady for throwing a party instead of attending her art show, and declares that she has become as plastic as she pretended to be. Meanwhile, Regina discovers Cady's sabotage and pastes her own photo in

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3796-467: The original cast, including Lohan, Seyfried, Chabert, Franzese, and Surendra, reprising their roles as adults and recreating the film's scenes with modern twists. A game for PC was released in 2009 featuring characters specifically created for the game. In 2010, a Mean Girls video game developed by Crush Digital Media and planned to be published by 505 Games for the Nintendo DS handheld game console

3869-705: The original production premiered at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., on October 31, 2017, for pre-Broadway tryouts. The show transferred to Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre , with previews beginning on March 12, 2018, and official opening on April 8, 2018. The original cast featured Erika Henningsen as Cady, Taylor Louderman as Regina, Barrett Wilbert Weed as Janis, Grey Henson as Damian, Ashley Park as Gretchen, and Kate Rockwell as Karen. The show received positive reviews from critics, and

3942-412: The pieces to others in the crowd, makes peace with those she had wronged, and shares a slow dance and a kiss with Aaron. As senior year begins, the Plastics have disbanded; a fully-recovered Regina joins the lacrosse team to channel her anger, Gretchen joins an Asian clique, and Karen becomes the school weather girl. Reflecting on the relative social peace that has taken over North Shore High, Cady notices

4015-450: The role of Gretchen Wieners , but her mother declined as she disliked the script. Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens also auditioned for Gretchen. Jonathan Bennett was a last-minute replacement after the actor originally slated to play the role of Aaron Samuels was fired. James Franco had previously been considered for Aaron, and Penn Badgley , Jared Padalecki and Max Minghella all auditioned as well. Fey's decision to hire Bennett

4088-399: The role of Janis Ian . Lizzy Caplan was at first considered too beautiful for that role, for which Waters felt a " Kelly Osbourne -type" was necessary, but Caplan was chosen for being able to portray raw emotion. Evan Rachel Wood was offered a role in the film, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts, a decision she later regretted. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was asked to audition for

4161-446: The role of Karen Smith, but was told by the producers to keep looking. Amanda Seyfried originally auditioned for Regina, and although director Mark Waters thought she was "fantastic", the producers instead suggested her for Karen due to her "spacey and daffy sense of humor". Leighton Meester , Haylie Duff , Kate Mara and Megan Fox were also up for the role of Karen. America Ferrera and Kat Dennings were both heavily favored for

4234-971: The school's predatory gym teacher Coach Carr. Alisha Morrison plays "unfriendly" student Lea Edwards and Jan Caruana plays overweight student Emma Gerber. Wai Choi plays mathlete Tim Pak. Julia Chantrey plays Amber D'Alessio and Jacky Chamberlain and Olympia Lukis appear as disabled students Giselle Sgro and Jessica Lopez. Stefanie Drummond plays offbeat student Bethany Byrd. Tyson Fennell appears as Cady's childhood love interest Nfume. Alexandra Stapley portrays student Taylor Wedell and Laura DeCarteret plays her mother, while Nicole Crimi portrays Regina's younger sister Kylie George and Dan Willmott appears as Mr. George, Regina and Kylie's father and June's husband. Sharron Matthews portrays Mr. Duvall's secretary Joan and Clare Preuss plays Marymount Prep student Caroline Krafft. Tina Fey read Rosalind Wiseman 's Queen Bees and Wannabes and called Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels to suggest it could be turned into

4307-418: The streaming service Paramount+ . Reneé Rapp , who previously portrayed Regina as a replacement for Louderman in the musical from 2019 until its closure in 2020, reprises her role, while Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles from the original film. Ashley Park, who originated the role of Gretchen in the stage musical, makes a cameo in the film. It received mixed reviews from critics, and proved successful at

4380-400: The supporting performances go right to the edge of absurdity without crossing the line into random zaniness." Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying: " 'Fetch' may never happen, but 2004's eminently quotable movie is still one of the sharpest high school satires ever. Which is pretty grool, if you ask me!" In 2006, Entertainment Weekly had also named it

4453-469: The test of time." In October 2022, The Independent also included Lohan's role in a list of "outstanding performances", stating that she "gives a pretty flawless performance, dexterously balancing the film's irreverent comic tone with moments of occasional pathos." Mean Girls has become a pop culture phenomenon. Fans have made GIFs and memes of the film and posted them on various social media platforms, including Facebook , Twitter and Tumblr . It

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4526-554: 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

4599-477: The usual adolescent high jinks and catty comebacks, screenwriter Tina Fey managed to create an incredibly insightful taxonomy of hierarchical power as it is amassed, wielded and ultimately dismantled — all within the complicated context of high school politics, Queen Bee-enforced gender norms and internalized sexism. That's a lot to accomplish, even if we never exactly made 'fetch' happen". In March 2021, Richard Brody of The New Yorker ranked Lohan's performance as

4672-400: Was "a little intimidated" by her which made him like their dynamic. McAdams had originally auditioned for the role of Cady but was deemed "a bit too old" for the character. Kristen Stewart , Michelle Trachtenberg and Mae Whitman were considered for the role of Cady opposite Lohan's Regina George early on. According to casting director Marci Liroff , Blake Lively was the top choice to play

4745-406: Was announced, but was ultimately canceled before release. Nearly completed before cancellation, the game resurfaced in 2021 by YouTuber Ray Mona (also known as Raven Simone), who received a file for the game from an anonymous email. A full playthrough was uploaded to her channel on July 15, 2021. In 2015, Episode launched an interactive animated web story entitled Senior Year . It picks up after

4818-408: Was directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. in their feature film directorial debut , with Fey returning to write the screenplay and also produce alongside returning producer Lorne Michaels . Richmond and Benjamin also returned to rework their songs from the musical. The musical film was released theatrically on January 12, 2024, by Paramount Pictures, after being originally set to premiere on

4891-514: Was due to his resemblance to her longtime SNL co-star Jimmy Fallon . Lacey Chabert and Daniel Franzese were the last actors tested for their roles. Fey wrote two roles based on fellow SNL alumni Tim Meadows and Amy Poehler , the latter of whom Fey thought the producers would perceive as too young to portray a teenager's mother. The cast additionally ended up with a fourth veteran of the show, Ana Gasteyer . Although set in Evanston, Illinois ,

4964-467: Was like, 'Why are you so obsessed with me? ' ", a line from Regina. Carey's ex-husband, Nick Cannon , revealed that the song was inspired by the film. In September 2020, Fey quizzed Carey to prove how much of a "superfan" she is on Billboard 's Quizzed video series. Meanwhile, British band Wet Leg quotes the film ("Is your muffin buttered?/Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?") in their 2021 song " Chaise Longue ". In August 2013,

5037-517: 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. After being homeschooled for her entire life and having spent

5110-464: Was nominated for twelve awards at the 72nd Tony Awards , including Best Musical . An original Broadway cast recording was released on May 18, 2018. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the show played its final performance on Broadway on March 11, 2020, after one performance with a mostly new cast. On January 23, 2020, Fey announced that a film adaptation of the stage musical was in active development. The film

5183-420: Was originally set to play Regina George , but the casting team ended up feeling she was their strongest choice for the role of Cady Heron , and since executives feared the "mean girl" role would alienate her audience, she eventually agreed to play the lead. Rachel McAdams was cast as Regina because Fey felt McAdams being "kind and polite" made her perfect for such an evil-spirited character and Waters felt Lohan

5256-565: Was released by Rykodisc and Bulletproof Records on September 21, 2004, the same day as the DVD release. The album featured songs performed by the Donnas , Pink , Kelis , Samantha Ronson , Boomkat , Blondie , Katy Rose and Peaches amongst several others. Mean Girls was released on VHS and DVD in North America on September 21, 2004, five months after its theatrical release. It was released in

5329-421: 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,

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