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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Mean Girls
Paramount Pictures


7.9

based on 39 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 105 votes
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FILM:

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

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...

Portland Oregonian Karen Karbo

Sassy and sharp.

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.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Smart, funny, well-acted and visually lively.

Slate David Edelstein

Fey's comic gifts mesh with Wiseman's first-hand research, and the wit becomes dazzling.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

The comedy is funny as hell. And yes, I mean hell, not heck.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The movie is always entertaining and frequently smart about the new ground one girl will break to humiliate another.

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.

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.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

A smart little teen picture that, for a change, actually features recognizable teens.

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.

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.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

Bellyflops into the increasingly complicated American high school experience with a healthy reservoir of wit.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

A high school comedy that is sharply observed and often terrifically funny, yet oddly misconceived.

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]

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Pleasantly acted and moderately funny, but it lacks the genuine bile that made "Heathers" (1987) so bracing.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

Strikes a carefully calibrated balance between the film's darkly malicious sense of humor and its pastel sets and costumes.

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.

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.

Empire Caroline Westbrook

Despite its shortcomings -- it’s still one of the better teen movies to come along in a while.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Beyond the philosophizing, Mean Girls is a standard collection of low comic jokes.

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

Wistful voiceover explains too much, and, even worse, interrupts the requisite Teen Movie Climactic Speech.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

All Fey does is apply a smattering of wit to the story.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Basically a watered-down collage of scenes from "Heathers," "Clueless," "Sixteen Candles" and numerous other teen flicks.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Ellen A. Kim

The film can't decide between black comedy and bubblegum comedy, so it shoots aimlessly in between.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 105 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

kitty gave it a0:
Boring, dumb, and annoying!

James M. gave it a10:
I am a 17 year old guy and have never enjoyed any "chick flick" (for lack of a better term) in my life except for Mean Girls. I am disgusted that critics gave this movie such a low rating while raving on and on about Babel, a movie which anybody who is the least bit cultured will find ridiculously unintelligible. I guess thats what happens when Americans influence pop culture so strongly.

NyeshaF gave it a10:
You are a freaking poopooing dummy if you didn't at least give it an 8. it's actually a pretty good movie and has a great message. i own it. i own you too if you didn't like it. psssssssh

Anonymous gave it a10:
This movie never gets old, Tina Fey and Lindsay Lohan are HILARIOUS! Totally 100% worth seeing. One of my favorites.

Bridget O. gave it a10:
I think that this movie is OK, and my friend said it was awesome, here she is. This movie let you know what kind of maen girls that you could find in your grade and I just loved it!

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!"

Mean Girls Paramount Pictures

Mean Girls
Paramount Pictures