Mean Girls

 

1/27/25

Reality of high school

 

Dear viewers,

 

         The teen comedy Mean Girls has been around for over 20 years but hasn’t lost any of its 

 

touch, forcing other movies to step up their game. The two starring actresses, Lindsay Lohan 

 

as Cady Heron and Rachel Mcadams as Regina George completely bring the movie to life. 

 

Lohan has starred in countless movies, but is most known for her roles in The Parent Trap and 

 

Freaky Friday. McAdams is also a well respected actress who most notably played Allie 

 

Hamilton in The Notebook. Director Mark Waters perfectly portrays the struggle of fitting in 

 

which is relevant to many middle and high schoolers. Mean Girls deserves a good 4.7 out of 

 

five stars because of its well constructed plot and its outstanding portrayal of high school 

 

drama.

 

Cady Heron, a new kid from Africa has recently started high school after being homeschooled 

 

all her life. Upon arrival, Cady becomes friends with two kids, Janice Ian and Damian Leigh. 

 

However, Regina George, the so called “queen” of North Shore High and her two best friends 

 

Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith have decided to adopt Cady into their group called ‘the 

 

plastics.’ ‘The plastics’ are  commonly known as the most popular girls in the school, and 

 

backing out of their group would be life ending in the high school world for Cady. Although 

 

‘The Plastics’ might seem perfect on the outside, inside they are toxic. Earlier, Gretchen had 

 

promised to keep Cady’s crush a secret, but had then gone and told Regina everything. An 

 

example of this is when Regina George asks Cady “aren’t you so mad at Gretchen?” Over a 

 

three way call between Cady, Regina, and Gretchen while Cady thought it was just her and 

 

Regina. Although each group has a pro and a con, Cady has to decide who her loyalty lies 

 

with, Janice or Regina.

Every detail of Cady throughout Mean Girls shows the evolution of her as a person. From her 

 

clothes to her hair, everything changes based on her personality. All of these details are barely 

 

noticeable, but make a big difference in the movie. She goes from an innocent new kid, to a 

 

teenager trying to fit in, to a cold gossiping plastic, and then back to a sweet and loyal friend. 

 

Her personality changes slowly as she tries to fit in with her friends, until she realizes that her 

 

real friends liked her for who she is and she finally had enough confidence to show her true 

 

self.

 

Mean girls covers a major part of school, peer pressure. While Cady is a good person, joining 

 

‘The Plastics’ has made her one of them and she has to decide between what is the right thing 

 

to do and what will benefit her. While it may seem obvious to us from the outside, it isn’t as 

 

clear for Cady, who feels like she has to act like ‘the Plastics’ in order for them to like her. 

 

She goes from Janice to Regina, talking about the other person and pretending to be loyal to 

 

them, like a double agent. This relates to me because I have often felt pressured to have to 

 

pick one friend over another when in reality, I could be friends with both separately.

 

 

While Mean Girls might seem like lighthearted and funny movie, at its center is a valuable 

 

lesson; to stay true to yourself no matter what. While popularity might appeal in the 

 

beginning, true friends are the ones who support you for who you are, not for who they want 

 

you to become. This is one of many things the movie shows you. Mean Girls also 

 

demonstrates the consequences that you will face when true friends are abandoned, and in the 

 

end, you won’t have any friends at all. Wanting friends can take over the person that you are, 

 

and can completely change your personality when you want to fit in.

 

While Mean Girls is relatable, it can be a little repetitive at times. It has a lot of activity at the 

 

beginning and at the end, but the middle has the same idea behind it in a bunch of different 

 

scenes. There is also a lot of cursing that could have been left out of the movie. This makes 

 

Mean Girls less suitable for kids in elementary school. Younger kids might also have a hard  

 

time understanding the ideas and concepts of the movie because they are more complex.

 

Mean Girls is one of the most popular modern movies and it has a good reason. Although 

 

the movie might repeat a few concepts, it is an extremely well made movie that sends a good 

 

message, to stay true to yourself no matter what anyone else tells you. While it might feel like 

 

someone is taking advantage of you or forcing you to change, you are the only person that can 

 

truly control yourself and who you choose to be. Life will always put you in a plastic box, all 

 

you have to do is have the courage to break out.

 

Best,

Maddie Hioe