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Topic~ BCT's Epic 169 Movie Watch-Through (mostly '00s): Topic 1 [THE LIST] ~
BlueCrystalTear
10/03/22 11:39:20 PM
#48:


Couldn't decide what to watch last night. At least today's one of them "fixed date movies" so I didn't have to choose!

Mean Girls (2004)
Directed by: Mark Waters
Written by: Tina Fey
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Tina Fey
Previous status: Last saw 2019ish

"It's October 3rd."

Yes, Cady. It is. This is why one watches Mean Girls on October 3rd. But that's not a good enough quote for this.

"That's so fetch!"

That's iconic - something intended to become Millennial slang, which it indeed DID for a time. The love and care that went into this script is astonishing. Tina Fey really knew what she was doing. There are so many little details that she plants and they pay off later, such as "being hit by a school bus" comments early on, Damien's pink polo shirt, Mathletes rapping, the lunch in the bathroom stall, and many little things. There's also that this was set in the northern suburbs of Chicago - a blatant reference to John Hughes doing just the same. One little thing: There was a back building? What kind of Midwestern high school has more than one building?

The movie makes some good commentary on reality. Fickle people do whatever their idols - celebs or people they're jealous of - do since they're too insecure to make their own decisions. What _ does has to be cool, right? And that's wrong - maybe we should just be ourselves. This relates to the "solve the problem in front of you," and to not judge others and not ostracize each other. That school-wide therapy session was ridiculous - if only things worked like that in reality! Then again, there aren't school-wide melees in reality, since educators put the kibosh on that real quick. When I was in high school, four thugs started beating up a scrawny kid - a vice principal and two hall monitors were there in 15 seconds, long before it hit "all hell breaks loose" (the thugs were expelled). Principal Duvall wasn't very effective at quashing the drama, nor did he understand womanhood; it's also weird that it was just girls fighting and none of the guys tried to break it up or help their girlfriends. Regina would have realistically been expelled for throwing those notes everywhere - evidence for her being the prime suspect for the Burn Book, with the other three all blaming her like she blamed them. She said, she said.

I wrote a fuck ton of notes for this because I didn't wanna miss anything. I LOVE this movie. More than a page this time - but that's me doing it for a movie I already know, but I'm surprised at just how much I forgot. Let's go over most of these:
  • "Ashton Kutcher? Is that a band?"
  • Regina's little sister was a Plastic in the making in a hilarious way. Amy Poehler nailed Mrs. George being an enabler... and her dog sucking her tits was funny. Showing Regina's family really shows a lot about how her character became to be so narcissistic and cruel.
  • I noted that Regina dressed up with the bunny ears for the costume party and Aaron told her "You remember it's a costume party, right?" - it feels like a reverse of Legally Blonde when Elle gets tricked into wearing a similar outfit to embarrass her. I do wonder if that was deliberate.
  • The candy cane giving thing was WEIRD to me. Don't recall anything remotely like it in high school.
  • I'd forgotten about Santa's Helpers at the talent show. Cady saved the day when she started singing to recover. And... I'd forgotten how damn good of a singer Lindsay Lohan was pre-meltdown. This was so good and noticeable that it got her a record deal after many failed attempts. Another thing she put in the toilet, sadly.
  • Tina Fey's Mrs. Norbury is pretty awesome. She knew that Cady was tanking tests to talk to a boy, and it wasn't worth it. She knew Cady was responsible for the drug dealer comment, but couldn't be behind the entire book by virtue of being new. She's a logical person, so it makes sense that she's teaching calculus. I doubt there's another - my school had one Calc class, and I took pre-calc my senior year.
  • Janis is also complex - petty, yet brutally honest. Her calling Cady out was great, since Cady had become Regina. Really, everyone hates the Plastics deep down, either out of jealousy or spite. Something the movie makes known. Damien.. .he was just kinda there, but I liked how he was using the girls' bathroom and, uh, was disgusted by the kiss with Janis since he's gay.
  • I also note that Cady mentioned Madison, where I live - but I have no idea what Ladysmith Black Mambazo is. Looking it up, it's some South African vocal group, and this movie really spread their fame since their only renowned song before was a collaboration with Paul Simon in the 80s. I'll see them next time they're at Overture. Cady... well she just had a party. With spiked bunch. And mistakes. Whoops. (Aaron Samuels is pretty generic tbh)
  • The "we all got along in middle school" girl was so obviously an impostor. Middle school is worse than high school since that's when battle lines get drawn.
  • Gretchen was the only one to make no apology during the speeches. She naturally hit Karen with a thud, because nobody else cared to catch her. I'm sure Cady would've been caught for saying many of the same things Janis did.
  • Regina and Cady having a confrontation in the middle of the street was stupid and the consequences were deserved. The bus driver probably hated Regina too. So she "died" - that was quite the fake-out that completely changed the mood. But hey, this is a comedy, it owned it and mocked itself. Loved it.
  • Sending Cady to a public high school blew up in her parents' faces. She turned into someone she wasn't and they acted surprised. Gee, maybe that's because she has new influences, and the teenage angst makes her unable to know what to do with them. Like is normal. Not knowing what "grounding" is made her dad... comical.
  • The math geeks seem to go to the dance at this school. That's usually for everyone except the geeks. I certainly didn't go to any, but I couldn't get a date and I hate crowded noisy places that aren't concerts for bands I like or anime cons where lots of people have anxiety.
  • Lots of hilarious hook-ups at the end - Janis/Kevin in particular. Nice how everything got desensitized, and I wish that real high schools could create accepting environments like that. I think that was part of the intent despite this being a lot of laughs.
Also gotta commend the acting. Lindsay Lohan made Cady Heron a more definitive role for her than the twins in The Parent Trap, by handling both Cady's geeky side ("the limit does not exist") and Plastic side beautifully (damn shame Lohan threw her career away after this). The movie also gains a lot from us hearing Cady's thoughts, which more movies should do, honestly - it feels like a first-person perspective book where we relate to the protagonist far more since we get to hear their thoughts. There are things that are lost without that. But it's not just her. Rachel McAdams did a phenomenal job being a real ***** as Regina - casting against type worked flawlessly. Lacey Chabert was perfect as Gretchen Weiners and all her slips of the tongue - her loose lips sunk ships. Amanda Seyfried nailed Karen Smith being a total dumbass, looking like a deer in the headlights on the regular. "It's like I have ESPN or something" is so hilarious. Delivered flawlessly.

There's also the personal discourse here. Cady is by all means a people pleaser: She wants to be friends with everybody and be liked. She trusts too much and gets burned. I can relate a lot. I just want to be liked and understood. But, uh, I didn't spend my formative years in southern Africa.

Yeah, 5/5, will watch again October 3rd next year.

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Come check out my movie watchthrough topic:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80167031
... Copied to Clipboard!
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