Mean Girls

When Cady moves to the US after a childhood spent in Africa, she is introduced to the delights of high school. In an effort to take down head bitch Regina George (one of cinema’s greatest ever villains, might I add), Cady goes undercover and joins The Plastics. However, she soon finds herself becoming the one thing she swore to destroy.

Mean Girls is THE classic 2000s chick-flick. It’s got a sensational cast, it’s full of iconic quotes, and it proves to be relatable to anybody who’s ever been a teenager.

Sophie Cooper

Remember how it was to arrive in a new country and enter a new school with a new culture? You don't? Me neither. But it makes an interesting premise for a teen comedy, and with a smart screenplay by Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey and director Mark Waters, we have here a sincerely hilarious movie that does not belong to the 'just another high school rom-com flick' category.

Cady Heron's (Lohan) first day in an American high school isn't exactly her best experience, as she is the natural target for shuns and harassment. However, she soon begins to make friends: first with the 'coolest people she'll ever meet', Janis (Caplan) and Damian, who give her a social analysis map of groups to hang out with and to avoid; then with the Plastics, the rich Barbie lookalikes (the 'like, whatevers'). Janis has an idea - the leader of the Plastics, Regina George (McAdams), once played a prank on her, and she would like Cady to infiltrate the group and administer revenge. Well, we like Cady, so it gets a bit horrifying when their plans for revenge keep failing and Cady seems to be turning into one of Them…

Released at about the same time as Ella Enchanted and 13 Going On 30, this film did the best by a long shot, remaining in the US Top 10 for a couple of months after its initial release, sharing the list with Troy and Harry Potter. It's not difficult to see why, as Mean Girls makes an effort not to be clichéd, and is genuinely smart and funny.

Lohan is, as ever, a dependable actress, and McAdams may have brought the High School Bitch to new heights of bitchiness. The teachers in the film are (for once!) not portrayed as either silly or annoying. Cady's fantasy sequences of the school turning into a jungle safari (in reference to high school life) are funny, and in some ways, quite true. And, the story provides some of the most satisfying twists in any film.

A good film to enjoy with your kitchen mates and housemates? Definitely. And don't forget to bring those banana skins. Get mean.

Sebastian NG