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Mean Girls
Paramount Pictures

Mean Girls reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 66 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.9 out of 10
based on 39 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 101 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sexual content, language and some teen partying

Starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Lizzy Caplan, and Lacey Chabert

Raised in the African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady Heron (Lohan) thinks she knows about "survival of the fittest." But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 15-year-old enters public high school for the first time and falls prey to the psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teenage girls face today. (Paramount Pictures)


GENRE(S): Comedy  
WRITTEN BY: Tina Fey
Rosalind Wiseman (book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence)
 
DIRECTED BY: Mark S. Waters  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: September 21, 2004 
Video: September 21, 2004 
Theatrical: April 30, 2004 
RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83
Portland Oregonian Karen Karbo
Sassy and sharp.
Read Full Review
80
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
There's a sly intelligence at work here -- in the writing, the filmmaking and the acting -- that makes it deeply pleasurable to watch.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Smart, funny, well-acted and visually lively.
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80
Slate David Edelstein
Fey's comic gifts mesh with Wiseman's first-hand research, and the wit becomes dazzling.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
The comedy is funny as hell. And yes, I mean hell, not heck.
Read Full Review
75
USA Today Mike Clark
Mean Girls has the same fancifully dead-on tone as the 1995 high-school comedy "Clueless" without the sweetness because, hey, these snits are mean.
Read Full Review
75
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The screenplay by Tina Fey -- head writer for "Saturday Night Live" -- is marvelously smart, though, and the ensemble cast is uncannily in sync with it.
Read Full Review
75
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
A vinegary fable with a Splenda aftertaste -- is a harbinger of hope not only for future feminist comedies of any grit but also for ''SNL''-staffed feature films that don't disproportionately suck.
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75
Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder
Though not a perfect comedy, it manages to be quite often laugh-out-loud funny. The film's strong cast, including scene-stealing "SNL"er Tim Meadows as the school principal, also helps smooth out most of the rough edges.
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75
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Likable Lohan doesn't exude the vulnerability that would give the movie true heart, and Fey, head writer for "Saturday Night Live," crafts better punch lines than plots.
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75
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
The plot is flimsy, but director Mark Waters (Freaky Friday) trusts Fey's tart dialogue to carry the day. Wise man. Fey subverts formula to find comic gold. She's a brash new voice in movie comedy. Boy, do we need her now.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Mean Girls dissects high school society with a lot of observant detail, which seems surprisingly well-informed. The screenplay by "Saturday Night Live's" Tina Fey is both a comic and a sociological achievement.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
The movie is always entertaining and frequently smart about the new ground one girl will break to humiliate another.
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75
Premiere Peter Debruge
Mean Girls depicts the kind of traumatic high school experience that might await spoiled rich girls who grow up in two-parent households with designer clothes and Escalades.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
As in "The House of Yes'' and "Freaky Friday,'' Waters keeps it wild but real, and the result is not only a series of lively scenes but lively close-ups: The big-eyed, expressive performances are just fun to watch.
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70
New York Magazine Peter Rainer
A smart little teen picture that, for a change, actually features recognizable teens.
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70
The New York Times A.O. Scott
The director, Mark Waters, working with a smart casting team, has assembled a superb group of players. Scene by scene you can't help being impressed by Mean Girls; it's like a group of sketches linked by a theme, with some playing much better than others.
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70
Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis
He (director Mark Waters) keeps the story light and bright, and he brings out real comic performances from his cast, including newcomer Seyfried, who plays her ditz with Judy Holliday charm.
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70
Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf
Bellyflops into the increasingly complicated American high school experience with a healthy reservoir of wit.
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70
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Results in an edgy comedy, where laughs stem at times from uncomfortable situations. In other words, Mean Girls lives up to its title.
Read Full Review
70
Variety David Rooney
This sassy if wildly uneven comedy navigates the treacherous high school jungle that separates cool cliques from wannabes, wading through some nasty behavior before delivering its moral message.
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70
Village Voice Jessica Winter
Director Waters and screenwriter Tina Fey (also cast as the voice-of-reason math teacher) aim less for the usual high-gloss caricature than acutely hilarious sociology, nailing the servile malice of 15-year-old girls.
Read Full Review
70
The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
The film lacks the discipline to stay on point all the time, but Fey and director Mark S. Waters (Freaky Friday) have fun with offbeat throwaway touches.
Read Full Review
63
ReelViews James Berardinelli
The limp climax doesn't undo the solid humor, wicked social commentary, and delicious satire that precedes it, but it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. In the end, Mean Girls isn't mean enough.
Read Full Review
63
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Isn't exactly original: This is basically "Heathers" for a new generation, its satirical edges dulled, if still sharp enough to sting.
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63
Philadelphia Inquirer Karen Heller
Alternately intriguing then not, and, like its subject, features a lot of lip gloss and girl-on-girl zingers. And like most contemporary movies, Mean Girls has no ending.
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63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Lohan, in her third lead role in a year, is a good reactive young actress, and London, Ont., native Rachel McAdams is excellently evil, a dose of poison in a pretty lacquered container.
Read Full Review
60
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
A high school comedy that is sharply observed and often terrifically funny, yet oddly misconceived.
60
The New Yorker Anthony Lane
It's all very well to satirize perfect white females, but if you're sick of their attitudes why single them out as protagonists in the first place? What happened to the Asian Nerds? Or the Unfriendly Black Hotties? Or the tired teachers? Why can't we see a movie about them? [10 May 2004, p. 108]
60
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Pleasantly acted and moderately funny, but it lacks the genuine bile that made "Heathers" (1987) so bracing.
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60
TV Guide Angel Cohn
Strikes a carefully calibrated balance between the film's darkly malicious sense of humor and its pastel sets and costumes.
Read Full Review
60
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Lohan is a warm and engaging presence, but she's completely outshone by the bad girls, and when they're offscreen, Mean Girls is an oddly restrained, barely plotted movie.
Read Full Review
60
Film Threat Christopher Zinsli
It is Fey’s refusal to talk down to her audience that elevates Mean Girls above most other teen movies out there.
Read Full Review
60
Empire Caroline Westbrook
Despite its shortcomings -- it’s still one of the better teen movies to come along in a while.
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50
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Beyond the philosophizing, Mean Girls is a standard collection of low comic jokes.
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50
Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
Wistful voiceover explains too much, and, even worse, interrupts the requisite Teen Movie Climactic Speech.
Read Full Review
50
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
All Fey does is apply a smattering of wit to the story.
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50
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Basically a watered-down collage of scenes from "Heathers," "Clueless," "Sixteen Candles" and numerous other teen flicks.
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50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Ellen A. Kim
The film can't decide between black comedy and bubblegum comedy, so it shoots aimlessly in between.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 101 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sarah G. gave it a10:
Brilliant film. Any person wanting to chill out or have a laugh i think you should watch it.

Pablo R. gave it a10:
One of my favorite movies. If your a teenager and you haven't seen it, more then 2 times in a row, you will get laughed. 3 best quotes from the 2 best people. "Shes a life ruiner, She ruins people's lives." "Hey get out of here, OMG! DANA DEVITO I LOVE YOUR WORK" and... of course "SUCK ON THAT! AYAYAYAYA!"

Ally M. gave it a10:
I LOVE this movie, it's soo true...and I know every line..its very good. It's probably the only movie guys and girls will watch and both love and dye laughing.

Lana P gave it a10:
This movie is the best! We are watching it in English and I love it! It's hilarious but oh so true!!

Myles #13 gave it a7:
A surprisingly decent chick flick... although the plot runs pretty close to most rom-com's, this one somehow finds the wit and humor that most of them lack. It's almost worth watching the second time. Take it from me... if you watch one chick flick, make 'Mean Girls' that one.

Anna R. gave it a10:
Absolutly fabulous! Loved the film, watched it exactly 57 times... Sick, I know, but it's worth it!

Joey gave it a10:
Fantastic movie!! Not just girls will love this film - guys will too! LOL (laugh out loud) funny but still is about real life situations.

Read more user comments...

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