“Mean Girls” brings cliques to screen
High school, especially for girls, can be compared to four years in a jungle where survival of the fittest is used to make it through.
After spending 12 years of her life in Africa with her zoologist parents, Cady (Lindsay Lohan) came back to the U.S. just in time to start high school and was already an expert on the concept of survival of the fittest.
As soon as Cady (pronounced “Katie”) enters high school, she discovers that the social code is much like the animal world. Cady must choose to be friends with both Damian and Janis (the outcasts) or the “Plastics” (the A-list clique). Ultimately, Cady decides to join the popular crowd, but at the same time, she spies on them for Damian and Janis.
The Plastics offer much of the comedy in the movie. Cady wants to destroy Regina George (Rachel McAdams), the leader of the “Plastics.” Regina’s comical portrayal of the most evil girl at school makes her the best character. Her followers, Gretchen and Karen, are stereotypical popular girls whose biggest concern is how many days in a week is acceptable to wear their hair in ponytails.
Though there is sharp detail to the set and the characters, the story moves a little too quickly. It starts off well but runs out of gas halfway.
The script, written by Tina Fey (a “Saturday Night Live” regular) is very witty. With the use of slang and constant chatter about nonsense, the plot is realistic. The girls in the movie ponder whether it is better to be in the popular crowd and be miserable or to be an outcast and be happier. The script also shows just how far one girl will go to humiliate another. This and other problems the girls face are very realistic and relatable to any teenage girl.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 15 2004. Filed under Other.
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