It’s (almost) October 3rd.
When I realized 2019 marks fifteen years since the release of Mean Girls in 2004, my adolescence flashed before my eyes. 15 years since Cady Heron moved to the United States, thrown into the wild high school cliques of America that she compares to the plains of Africa, which she has just spent her entire life in. A dark comedy about a girl who feels like she’s better than the popular girls takes revenge sneakily and ends up causing school-wide drama – it’s Heathers, without the murder, faux suicides. It had not only been a source of one-liners to quote amongst my middle school peers but a comforting, familiar movie that reminded young girls that no matter how hard it is to fit in, it will all work out in the end. In some ways, watching again has dug up some of those feelings. In others, I was disappointed by empty sentiments and negative stereotypes provided by the script as well as the depiction of teenage girls.
I want to give the movie some credit. It has moments that still make me laugh, not just in a giddy, ignorant, immature way, but in an actual immature way. The performances are unforgettable and the actors give their all, especially Daniel Franzese, who delivers some of the most memorable lines like a yelled “she doesn’t even go here,” followed by a sly bow of his head. Loved by adolescent and adult women everywhere, it has also served as an iconic piece for the queer community. Cady’s two best friends, who are the only ones truly “there” for her, are a flamboyantly gay man, Damian, and coded-as-lesbian Janis, who both sneer at the uniform preppiness of “The Plastics” that Cady falls in with. Simultaneously, members of the queer community like to emulate and the vapid, excessive femininity of The Plastics while relating to and celebrating Cady’s friends. This is an interesting phenomenon as the Mean Girls alienate Janis and Damian for their expected and actual sexualities. I read this as a reclamation of the ridicule or simply othering that LGBT+ people have experienced in and out of school, as the emulation sometimes comes in the form of costuming, similar to a monster on Halloween. I feel like the queer fans of this film can change the bombshell look and language into an inherently queer and challenging version of a style typically seen as aggresively straight, and I’m happy that this film has brought about a cult audience that can interpret the characters in that way.
Mean Girls has a fairly positive message although the happy ending falls slightly flat – don’t change who you are for others, be true to yourself, and be true to your friends. The bullies aren’t heroes, but they find their own resolve and grow from their wrongdoings, as does Cady who ends up pushing away everyone around her through her involvement with everyone. I found that refreshing – they’re just kids, and the endings for even the antagonists don’t have to be horrific, and the fake-out bus crash fate of Regina George plays with that trope. However, the movie also depends on harmful and archaic stereotypes for laughs, not solely when portraying how ignorant and truly mean The Plastics are. Tina Fey’s screenplay depicts certain people from almost everyone’s public high school experience in a way that makes audiences either relate in their current life or become nostalgic in remembering their peers. The humor and depiction of these characters is sharp and even endears the typically unfavorable traits of groups like “nerds” or “sexually active band geeks”. However, the script also leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you realize jokes in the famous cafeteria scene surrounding “unfriendly black hotties” and “Asian nerds/cool Asians” were written by a rich, straight, cis white woman. A classist joke is made at the expense of impoverished children when a group of young farm boys with strong southern accents ruminate that God created the rifle to “fight the dinosaurs…and the homosexuals.” A table of “girls who eat their feelings” is compared to a table of “girls who don’t eat anything,” cracking another questionable joke at eating disorders. Even when it comes to The Plastics, any girl in the movie who dresses in a traditionally feminine way and cares about their looks is judged and poked fun at, as though they have no right to dress the way they want and they’re assumed to be giving into societal expectations. Sometimes there are opportunities that more ignorant films would have taken to make even more offensive jokes and the movie turns those moments into absurdity, which is nice to see, but we could all definitely due without casual racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.
In more technical terms, whoever did set design and costume design for this movie did a great job! The colors are vibrant and fun, and the costumes perfectly characterize iconic figures as well as minor characters or extras in the movie, fitting their personalities without saying a word. The sets are extravagant and fitting, and the lighting is exciting and eye-catching. I feel like these aspects of the movie don’t get much attention for why it’s become a cult classic and has stuck with audiences for so long.
So, aside from some definitely problematic moments, for the most part this movie deserves to be remembered. There are offensive jokes that shouldn’t be ignored that were likely more acceptable 15 years ago, it hasn’t dated much, either – I feel like it’s still relatable and can be passed on to viewers of all ages for years to come. As long as we’re aware of the issues in stereotyping, educate ourselves, and understand why they’re negative, we can consume media we enjoy in a healthy and mature way. It holds onto its charm for sure.
