Norbury gather the female juniors in the gym to apologize to each other. To restore order, Principal Duvall and math teacher Ms. She avoids suspicion by inserting insults about herself, and blame is placed on Cady, Gretchen, and Karen. Realizing Cady's betrayal, Regina retaliates by distributing the contents of the Burn Book throughout school, inciting chaos among the girls of the junior class. Cady accuses Janis of being in love with her, and Janis declares her a "mean girl" and renounces their friendship. Janis and Damian confront Cady for lying to them about the party and remaking herself in Regina's image. Following a sharp drop in Regina's reputation, she is replaced by Cady as the new "queen bee".Ĭady throws a house party while her parents are away, and drunkenly admits to Aaron that she has been deliberately failing math class to make him help her, but he rebukes her for becoming as manipulative and image-obsessed as Regina. Cady informs Aaron that Regina is cheating on him, prompting them to break up, and tricks Regina into eating nutrition bars that cause her to gain weight. Regina further humiliates Gretchen during their dance performance at the Winter Talent Show, leading Gretchen to tell Cady all of Regina's embarrassing secrets. They make it seem as though Regina has sent " candy cane-grams" to Cady and Karen while excluding Gretchen. Regina tells Cady that she and Janis were once friends until she accused Janis of being a lesbian and ostracized her.Īfter their attempts to sabotage Regina's wardrobe backfire, Cady, Janis, and Damian plan to turn Gretchen against her. Feeling betrayed, Cady fully commits to Janis' plan to damage Regina's reputation. Regina offers to talk to Aaron on Cady’s behalf, but instead kisses him in front of her and resumes their relationship. When Cady is invited to sit with the Plastics at lunch, Janis persuades her to infiltrate the ruling clique.Ĭady becomes attracted to Aaron Samuels, a senior in her math class and Regina’s ex-boyfriend, and learns about the "Burn Book", a scrapbook the Plastics fill with cruel rumors about students and faculty. After an intimidating first day at North Shore High School, Cady befriends outsiders Janis Ian and Damian Leigh, who explain the school's various cliques and warn her to avoid the "Plastics": wealthy but insecure Gretchen Wieners, sweet but dimwitted Karen Smith, and " queen bee" Regina George. Sixteen-year-old homeschooled Cady Heron and her parents return to the United States after twelve years in Africa, settling in Evanston, Illinois. A musical adaptation premiered on Broadway in March 2018. The made-for-television sequel Mean Girls 2 premiered on ABC Family on January 23, 2011.
It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its direction, screenplay, humor, and performances especially lauded was Lohan's acting, who earned several accolades including three Teen Choice Awards and three MTV Movie & TV Awards, and in 2021, was listed as the 11th-best performance of the 21st century by The New Yorker. Released on April 30, 2004, the film grossed $130 million worldwide and developed a cult following. The film marks Lohan's second collaboration with director Waters, the first being Freaky Friday, released a year earlier. Filming took place from September to November 2003. Although set in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, the film was mostly shot in Toronto. Fey, screenwriter and co-star of the film, was a long-term cast member and writer for SNL. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels produced the film.
The plot centers on a naïve teenage girl navigating her way through the social hierarchy of a modern American high school after years of her parents homeschooling her while conducting research in Africa.
Fey also drew from her own experience at Upper Darby High School as an inspiration for some of the concepts in the film. It is based in part on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 non-fiction self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, which describes female high school social cliques, school bullying, and the damaging effects they can have on students. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried (in her film debut), Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Fey. Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey.