| Mean Girls | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mark Waters |
| Screenplay by | Tina Fey |
| Based on | Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman |
| Produced by | Lorne Michaels |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Daryn Okada |
| Edited by | Wendy Greene Bricmont |
| Music by | Rolfe Kent |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million[2] |
| Box office | $130.1 million[2] |
Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Fey. The film follows Cady Heron (Lohan), a naïve teenager who transfers to an American high school after years of homeschooling in Africa. Heron quickly befriends two outcasts (Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese), with the trio forming a plan to exact revenge on Regina George (McAdams), the leader of an envied clique known as the Plastics.
Fey conceived the idea for Mean Girls after reading the self-help book Queen Bees and Wannabes. The book describes female high school social cliques, school bullying, and the resulting damaging effect on teenagers. Fey also drew from her own experience at Upper Darby High School, in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, as an inspiration for some of the film's concepts.[3] Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels serves as a producer; Fey was a long-term cast member and writer for Saturday Night Live. Principal photography took place from September to November 2003. Although set in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, filming took place primarily in Toronto, Canada.
Mean Girls premiered at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles on April 19, 2004, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 30, by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed over $130 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics,[4] who praised Waters's direction, Fey's screenplay, its humor, and the performances; especially lauded was Lohan's acting, which earned several accolades, including three Teen Choice Awards and two MTV Movie Awards, and in 2021, was listed as the eleventh-best performance of the 21st century by The New Yorker.
A made-for-television sequel, Mean Girls 2, premiered on ABC Family in January 2011. Mean Girls also spawned various adaptations, including a stage musical, which premiered on Broadway in March 2018, with a film adaptation released in January 2024.
- ^ "Mean Girls (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. April 28, 2007. Archived from the original on March 30, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Boxofficemojowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Tina Fey visits Upper Darby High for 'Mean Girls' promo". PhillyVoice. May 24, 2018. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- Brody, Richard (April 30, 2014). "Why "Mean Girls" Is a Classic". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
- Elan, Priya (January 29, 2013). "Why Tina Fey's Mean Girls is a movie classic". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
- "'Mean Girls' is still 'fetch'". CNN. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
- "Why Is Mean Girls So Quotable?". Slate. January 8, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- Kimble, Julian (April 30, 2014). ""Mean Girls" Is Everything (No, Really): How One Movie Summarized a Generation". Complex. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2014.