Forget Hilary Duff. In the fickle world of teenage film icons it would appear that Lindsay Lohan has not only surpassed Duff but left poor Hilary eating her dust in the process. Just from reading the tabloids one could say Ms. Duff should be more concerned about that fact than whether Miss Lohan is dating her ex-boyfriend. Beginning with her appearance in Disney's remake of The Parent Trap, Lohan has shown that she can not only carry a film but has the ability to turn them into minor hits in the process. In The Parent Trap, she was able to play a dual role almost flawlessly. In Freaky Friday, she was required to take on the characteristics of an adult and handled it quite well. Having done two remakes, she then went into un-chartered territory with the original films Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and her most recent outing Mean Girls. Confessions died a quick death at the box office, while Mean Girls has gone on to become a minor hit having accumulated 82 million in receipts and still counting with only a seventeen million production budget.
Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) has been home schooled by her parents, Betsy (Ana Gasteyer) and Chip (Neil Flynn) all of her life. When her parents, move back to the states, she begins her first day of public school as a high school junior. High school life being a jungle in itself, Cady draws many similarities between the animals in the wild and the student animals running wild through the hallow halls North Shorewood and does it to the beat of jungle music playing in the background. She is befriended by a Goth girl Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and almost too gay to function Damian (Daniel Franzeze), who fill her in on the `plastics' so named because of their similarities to Barbie Dolls. The Plastics are led by Regina George (Rachel McAdams) referred to by Janis as "evil in human form that may seem like your typical backstabbing slutface ho-bag but is so much more". The Queen's court is the dim witted Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried) and the wealthy Gretchen Weiners (Lacy Chabert) who seems to know every secret known to man. When Cady, because of her own good lucks, is asked to become one of the Plastics by Regina, Janis goads her into becoming one of them so that Cady can find out all the dirty little secrets Regina and her crew have to offer. Cady soon falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett) but when Regina takes Aaron back, Cady's quest for digging up the dirt turns into one of revenge.
This may all sound rather predictable, but Tina Fey's screenplay does so much more than give us your typical teen angst comedy. In Fey's world there is a little bit of meanness in everyone, and being mean and spiteful is not just a character trait patented by Regina George and the Plastics. Cady, as it turns out, has her own Darth Vader buried inside of her, and when it rears its ugly head she doesn't hesitate using it to her full advantage. Lohan seems to excel in these chameleons like roles where she is required to portray a character that has one distinct personality one minute, but changes into something completely opposite the next. In Parent Trap she played twin sisters both unique in their own way. In Freaky Friday she went from being a typical teenager to an adult inhabiting a teenage body. In Mean Girls she runs the gamut from being a shy fish out of water to a girl who is capable of being every bit as dastardly as any of the Plastics. It is an uncanny ability that some actresses can only dream about.
I also appreciated the fact that Mean Girls does away with the `Super Teacher Myth' continually perpetuated in films ranging from To Sir with Love all the way up to last years Mona Lisa Smile. The teachers in this film are shown as being as normal as the rest of us, and have the same problems and foibles just as the students have to deal with their everyday problems. Tina Fey who wrote the screenplay also gives a marvelous performance as math teacher Ms. Norbury, who is divorced, broke from getting a divorce, and the only guy that calls her house is Randy from Chase Visa. It's a small but memorable role. Tim Meadows as Principal Mr. Duvall is also on hand, as the principal whom can't quite get a grip on how to deal with the backstabbing and one-up-man-ship which seems to have spread through the female school population like an out of control virus.
As for director Mark Water, I have no clue as to whether or not he has teenage daughters that he is cribbing from, but in both Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, he has shown an uncanny ability not to stray into the usual hodgepodge of hi-jinks that would betray most films of this type.
I'm sure a lot happens in Mean Girls that your typical teen age girl can relate to. It seems to offer some degree of insight into the never ending anxiety most teenage girls confront head on every day. The rest of us may have trouble relating to the message, but we can still enjoy the film for it's wry sense of humor, it's crash course in surviving the teen years, and the fact that it manages not to fall into the trap of being just another excuse for plastering the screen with endless raunchy comedic moments that in the end add up to zilch. I may not have been able to relate, but if I can't relate and still enjoy a film anyway I have no choice but to give you my grade and for Mean Girls, it's a solid B.
Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) has been home schooled by her parents, Betsy (Ana Gasteyer) and Chip (Neil Flynn) all of her life. When her parents, move back to the states, she begins her first day of public school as a high school junior. High school life being a jungle in itself, Cady draws many similarities between the animals in the wild and the student animals running wild through the hallow halls North Shorewood and does it to the beat of jungle music playing in the background. She is befriended by a Goth girl Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and almost too gay to function Damian (Daniel Franzeze), who fill her in on the `plastics' so named because of their similarities to Barbie Dolls. The Plastics are led by Regina George (Rachel McAdams) referred to by Janis as "evil in human form that may seem like your typical backstabbing slutface ho-bag but is so much more". The Queen's court is the dim witted Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried) and the wealthy Gretchen Weiners (Lacy Chabert) who seems to know every secret known to man. When Cady, because of her own good lucks, is asked to become one of the Plastics by Regina, Janis goads her into becoming one of them so that Cady can find out all the dirty little secrets Regina and her crew have to offer. Cady soon falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett) but when Regina takes Aaron back, Cady's quest for digging up the dirt turns into one of revenge.
This may all sound rather predictable, but Tina Fey's screenplay does so much more than give us your typical teen angst comedy. In Fey's world there is a little bit of meanness in everyone, and being mean and spiteful is not just a character trait patented by Regina George and the Plastics. Cady, as it turns out, has her own Darth Vader buried inside of her, and when it rears its ugly head she doesn't hesitate using it to her full advantage. Lohan seems to excel in these chameleons like roles where she is required to portray a character that has one distinct personality one minute, but changes into something completely opposite the next. In Parent Trap she played twin sisters both unique in their own way. In Freaky Friday she went from being a typical teenager to an adult inhabiting a teenage body. In Mean Girls she runs the gamut from being a shy fish out of water to a girl who is capable of being every bit as dastardly as any of the Plastics. It is an uncanny ability that some actresses can only dream about.
I also appreciated the fact that Mean Girls does away with the `Super Teacher Myth' continually perpetuated in films ranging from To Sir with Love all the way up to last years Mona Lisa Smile. The teachers in this film are shown as being as normal as the rest of us, and have the same problems and foibles just as the students have to deal with their everyday problems. Tina Fey who wrote the screenplay also gives a marvelous performance as math teacher Ms. Norbury, who is divorced, broke from getting a divorce, and the only guy that calls her house is Randy from Chase Visa. It's a small but memorable role. Tim Meadows as Principal Mr. Duvall is also on hand, as the principal whom can't quite get a grip on how to deal with the backstabbing and one-up-man-ship which seems to have spread through the female school population like an out of control virus.
As for director Mark Water, I have no clue as to whether or not he has teenage daughters that he is cribbing from, but in both Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, he has shown an uncanny ability not to stray into the usual hodgepodge of hi-jinks that would betray most films of this type.
I'm sure a lot happens in Mean Girls that your typical teen age girl can relate to. It seems to offer some degree of insight into the never ending anxiety most teenage girls confront head on every day. The rest of us may have trouble relating to the message, but we can still enjoy the film for it's wry sense of humor, it's crash course in surviving the teen years, and the fact that it manages not to fall into the trap of being just another excuse for plastering the screen with endless raunchy comedic moments that in the end add up to zilch. I may not have been able to relate, but if I can't relate and still enjoy a film anyway I have no choice but to give you my grade and for Mean Girls, it's a solid B.