Mean Girls is making its arrival on 4K Ultra HD twenty years to the date since the iconic teen comedy was released in theaters.
The anniversary release comes in a collectible hot pink case with a limited-edition o-sleeve featuring the infamous Burn Book and includes a brand-new featurette entitled Mean Girls: Class of ‘04, as well as access to a Digital copy of the film.
What follows is my review from the film’s 15th anniversary in 2019 with some minor adjustments for this year’s 20th anniversary:
Mean Girls, the celebrated teen comedy written by Saturday Night Live‘s Tina Fey, celebrates 20 years following its release in theaters.
When zoologists Betsy (Ana Gasteyer) and Chip Heron (Neil Flynn) relocate to Evanston after a dozen years in Africa, it means Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) would have to enroll in an actual high school. No more home-schooling for their daughter. Cady is certainly in for a rude awakening upon arriving at North Shore High School. Making friends is easier said than done. Fellow classmates Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian Leigh (Daniel Franzese) soon educate Cady on the in’s and out’s of the school. Most importantly, the obvious warning of the Plastics and their Queen Bee, Regina George (Rachel McAdams).
Before we know it, Cady infiltrates the Plastics, including Gretchen Weiners (Lacey Chabert) and Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried). It’s only when Cady learns about Regina’s Burn Book in which Janis sets out on a plan to take her down. Reluctant at first, Cady signs on when Regina steals away Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett) from out in front of him. Chaos ensues until finally climaxing when Regina takes the book and spreads it all over the school. School principal Ron Duvall (Tim Meadows) and math teacher Ms. Norbury (Tina Fey) gather all of the school’s junior girls in hopes of restoring the calm. Calm gets restored but not until after Regina gets hit by a bus while Cady gets grounded by her parents.
Twenty years later, one can make the argument that fetch finally happened. Obviously, you’ll be wearing pink on Wednesday, right? Just as there are rules in the animal kingdom, there are rules for our favorite on-screen clique: the Plastics.
Tina Fey’s script is one that is very funny. You never know where you going to find influence for a film. In this instance, it’s a book by Rosalind Wiseman. Even 20 years later, this is a film that still manages to draw laughs–obviously some jokes do not age well but this just goes without saying. This is exactly why the film has a following to this day.
Everyone in this film is perfectly cast. Both Lohan and McAdams are perfect in their roles. McAdams probably isn’t where she is today without this film. There are number of SNL stars here and they add so much to the film. Whether it’s Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, or Amy Poehler, they add to the comedy at hand. The scenes featuring Meadows and Fey add another layer of humor because of their SNL chemistry.
When we think of the great high school comedies, Mean Girls is near the top of the list because it’s so fetch.
Bonus Features
- Mean Girls: Class of ’04—Tina Fey and cast from the new movie look back at the original film and discuss why it became a cult classic. NEW!
- Commentary by director Mark Waters, screenwriter and actress Tina Fey, and producer Lorne Michaels
- Only the Strong Survive
- The Politics of Girl World
- Plastic Fashion
- Word Vomit (Blooper Reel)
- So Fetch – Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by director Mark Waters and screenwriter and actress Tina Fey
- Interstitials
- Theatrical Trailer
DIRECTOR: Mark Waters
SCREENWRITER: Tina Fey
CAST: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, Ana Gasteyer, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Neil Flynn, Jonathan Bennett, Amanda Seyfried, and Tina Fey
Paramount Pictures released Mean Girls in theaters on April 30, 2004.
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