I’ve been getting a bit worried. Over the past few weeks the things (mostly films) that I used to like just don’t do it for me any more. I thought I was getting old, or loosing my sense of humour or something. I am happy to report that this is not the case. Mean Girls is as good, if not better than the first time I watched it.

Let me put this in context. I saw this advertised at my local cinema and really wanted to see it. It’s a teen chick flick, but it looked like loads of fun. My mate, a divorcee well on the road to retirement wasn’t so keen, in fact she flatly refused to even consider it.

Fast-forward a few months. I’m with another mate of mine, a guy my age (27ish), a canoer, into Green Day and Lost Prophets (as am I) with a lip piercing. We’re checking out movies to watch and he agrees to watch Mean Girls if I watch Shaun of the Dead. Deal. And you know what, he actually liked it too (more than I liked Shaun of the Dead)!

Mean Girls is based on the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman, whilst the screenplay was written by Tina Fey. It documents what it can be like for girls of school age (and older!) and how women often treat each other. It tells the story of Cady Heron, played by the beautiful and talented Lindsay Lohan who arrives at a public high school in America, having been home schooled in Africa. To say the move is a culture shock would be an under-statement. Cady soon makes a couple of friends in Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese) who soon start plotting the infiltration and demise of the ‘popular’ (plastic) girls, Regina George (Rachel McAdams), Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert) and Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried).

It is very cleverly written with some really wonderful one-liners and comedy situations. There are also some very real insights into what school life can be like and I found myself cringing in parts as I identified with the characters.

The casting is fabulous and there are very few performances that let the film down. Tina Fey’s portrayal of the maths teacher Ms. Norbury is very amusing. She isn’t like any teacher I’ve ever known!

Cady’s love interest comes in the form of Jonathan Bennett who plays Aaron Samuels. Again, the casting is spot on as I’m sure the majority of girls out there will find this guy SERIOUSLY GORGEOUS. His character isn’t the most developed and his performance isn’t outstanding, but he doesn’t do a bad job of it either.

I REALLY like this film. It’s funny and fun (I really need to work on my adjectives). It’s very clever, very humorous and offers great insight. I’m sure you will recognise someone from your school days in this movie, maybe you yourself were plastic (or still are). It’s a young film, but in my opinion it’s not JUST a chick-teen-flick, it’s a lot cleverer than that.

~~ Extras ~~

~ Commentary by director Mark Waters, screen writer and actress Tina Fey and producer Lorne Michels ~

Woohoo, commentary. My favourite bit. Just kidding. I’ve never listened to the commentary on a DVD, and I’m not about to start!

~ Featurettes ~

Only the Strong Survive – A regular short film (24mins) that discusses the film, shows clips and interviews with the cast, crew and writers. It’s OK, and fairly interesting if you like to know what goes on behind the scenes and the theoretical background behind the characters and the casting.

The Politics of Girl World – This is by far the most interesting featurette I have watched on a DVD to date. Rosalind Wiseman talks about how her book (Queen Bees & Wannabes) came about, the things she has learnt and what she does to help young people (‘The Empower Programme’ for example). The key points are illustrated by scenes from the movie, which just make them even more poignant and the movie even more meaningful.

Plastic Fashion – This featurette is about the costumes used in the movie, particularly those of the girls. It explains the rationale for each outfit, which is probably a bit too much information for the average movie watcher, but interesting if you like to know about attention to detail.

~ Word Vomit ~

This is an utterly charming way of introducing out-takes and bloopers. The term is taken from the film, and some of the out-takes are amusing, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch them again.

~ So Fetch – Deleted Scenes ~

Some of these are quite amusing, and worth a watch if you get a chance to and have nothing better to do (which apparently, I don’t).

~ Interstitals ~

These are three short trailer type clips that I assume were used to promote the film on television. They are quite good, and very short, so even if you’re really busy you can still check them out.

~ Theatrical Trailer ~

In contrast, the theatrical trailer is too long. It starts well but I feel that it gives too much away and just goes on and on and on and…. Oh, well, you get the picture.

~~ The Dull Stuff ~~

Director: Mark Waters
Writers: Rosalind Wiseman (book), Tina Fey (screenplay)

Mean Girls is currently available from Amazon Marketplace for less than £5, although you can also buy it from other DVD retail outlets.