There is no doubt that the Olympics has been dominating both our TV screens and our psyches ever since that spectacular opening ceremony last month. There is also no doubt that seeing athletes achieving the greatest moments of their careers is extremely inspirational. However, this post is not about that – as one of the ways that the Olympics has inspired me is by jolting my memory and reminding me of a film that is (or should be) the cornerstone of the chick-flick world. This occurrence happened by chance, after watching the running on Saturday and seeing athletes competing (all will become clear later on, don’t worry!)
If anyone reading this is racking their brains in order to work out which film I am referring to, I will put you out of your misery. I am, of course, referring to Mean Girls. I am slightly unsure of how Mean Girls can be compared to the Olympics (if anyone has any ideas, please leave them in the comments), so this will be a straight-up review of a film that is so jam-packed with memorable quotes, phone apps have been made especially for them.
The Plastics – in all their beautiful and bitchy glory!
If anyone has never seen Mean Girls, based on Rosalind’s Wiseman’s book “Queen Bees and Wannabes”, the basic story of it is that Cady Heron has moved from Africa to Illnois, and in turn has been brought from home-schooling to Evanston’s North Shore High School. She befriends Janis and Damien, who introduce her to the world of the American high school – a place where your table in the cafeteria is indicative to your social status, and a sexual conquest “only counts if you saw a nipple”. In this hazy world, she meets Regina George (the name of the Nigerian athlete – see I told you it will all become clear), Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith – known to the North Shore community as “the Plastics”. Janis and Damien then persuade Cady to become Plastic #4 in order to sabotage Regina and bring her reign as Queen Bee to an end.
With this, hilarity ensues, as the three of them come up with different ideas in order to get under Regina’s skin. However, the main premise of the film is Cady’s battle to not get sucked into the headiness of “Girl World”. This is what director Mark Waters and writer Tina Fey (who also does an impressive star turn as Cady’s teacher Ms Norbury) highlight perfectly in this film, as it shows – albeit in a slightly sensationalised way, a common trait within teen movies – what high school can be like for teenagers. Fey is not the only star who shines, as Lindsay Lohan’s portrayal of Cady’s different transformations with the film is one that will always be a blessing for her, as it catapulted from child star to household name (however now it can be for the wrong reasons). The film also has a great supporting cast in Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried, who play Regina, Gretchen and Karen respectively. As well as this, the previously mentioned memorable quotes are there in the bucket-load, with none more so than (in my opinion) Coach Carr’s take on sex education.
So, after eight years (yes – this film is now eight years old, how old do you all feel right now?), Mean Girls is a force to be reckoned. If you have seen it, you will know exactly what I am talking about. If you haven’t, all I can say to you is – boo, you whore!