Mean Girls

Mean Girls writer Tina Fey

Tina Fey read Rosalind Wiseman's Queen Bees and Wannabes and called Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels to suggest it could be turned into a film. Michaels contacted Paramount Pictures, who purchased the rights to the book. As the book is nonfiction, Fey wrote the plot from scratch, borrowing elements from her own high school experience and her impressions of Evanston Township High School, upon which the film's fictional "North Shore High School" is based.[5]

Fey named many characters after real life friends. In a 2014 interview about the movie, she told Entertainment Weekly, "I tried to use real names in writing because it's just easier."[6] Main character Cady Heron was named after Fey's college roommate Cady Garey.[7] Damian was named after Fey's high school friend Damian Holbrook, who went on to become a writer for TV Guide.[8] Minor character Glenn Coco is named after a friend of Fey's older brother; the real Glenn Coco works as a film editor in Los Angeles.[6] Janis Ian was named after singer Janis Ian, who was one of the musical guests on the first Saturday Night Live episode, in which she sang the song "At Seventeen", which can be heard playing in the background when the girls are fighting at Regina's house.[9]

Lindsay Lohan originally read for Regina George, but the casting team felt she was closer to what they were looking for in the role of Cady Heron, and since Lohan feared the "mean girl" role would harm her reputation, she agreed to play the lead. Rachel McAdams was cast as Regina because Fey felt McAdams being "kind and polite" made her perfect for such an evil-spirited character. According to casting director Marci Liroff, Blake Lively was the top choice to play the role of Karen Smith, but was told by the producers to keep looking. Amanda Seyfried originally auditioned for Regina, and although director Mark Waters thought she was "fantastic", the producers instead suggested her for Karen due to her "spacey and daffy sense of humor".[10] Lizzy Caplan was at first considered too beautiful for the role of Janis Ian, for which Waters felt a "Kelly Osbourne-type" was necessary, but Caplan was chosen for being able to portray raw emotion. Evan Rachel Wood was offered a role in the film, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts, a decision she later regretted.[11] Mary Elizabeth Winstead was asked to audition for the role of Gretchen Wieners, but her mother declined as she disliked the script.[12] Ashley Tisdale also auditioned for Gretchen.[13] Jonathan Bennett was a last-minute replacement after the actor originally slated to play the role of Aaron Samuels was fired. James Franco had previously been considered for Aaron as well.[14] Fey's decision to hire Bennett was due to his resemblance to her longtime SNL co-star Jimmy Fallon.[15] Both Lacey Chabert and Daniel Franzese were the last actors tested for their roles. Fey wrote two roles based on fellow SNL alumni, Amy Poehler, whom Fey thought the producers would not accept because of being too young to portray a teenager's mother, and Tim Meadows, and the cast ended up with a fourth veteran of the show, Ana Gasteyer.[9]

Although set in Evanston, Illinois, the film was mostly shot in Toronto, Ontario, at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute and Malvern Collegiate Institute, as well as at Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey.[16] Landmarks include the University of Toronto's Convocation Hall and Sherway Gardens. Principal photography commenced on September 27, and concluded on November 25, 2003.[17]

In its opening weekend, Mean Girls grossed $24.4 million from 3,159 screens[21] at 2,839 theaters in the United States, ranking number one at the box office and averaging $8,606 per venue.[2] The film closed on September 9, 2004, grossing $86.1 million domestically and $43 million internationally for a total worldwide gross of $129 million.[2] Paramount said the audience was 75% female, and 50% was under the age of 18. Over 90% of moviegoers rated the picture either "excellent" or "very good", and positive notices remained strong even outside the target demographic; ratings were over 80% positive from men in their thirties.[22]

Lohan's performance in the film was lauded by critics and was listed as the 11th-best performance of the 21st century by The New Yorker.

Mean Girls received largely positive reviews; critics lauded Lohan's and McAdams' performances and labeled the film as Seyfried and Caplan's breakthrough roles. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 84% based on 190 reviews, with an average rating of 7.00/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Elevated by a brilliant screenplay and outstanding ensemble cast, Mean Girls finds fresh, female-fronted humor in the high school experience."[23] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore, gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[25]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, writing: "In a wasteland of dumb movies about teenagers, Mean Girls is a smart and funny one."[26] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post wrote that it "boasts a one-two-three punch in star Lindsay Lohan, screenwriter Tina Fey and director Mark Waters, and, indeed, it delivers a knockout".[27] The screenplay was highly praised by critics with Peter Travers of Rolling Stone calling it "comic gold".[28][26] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying: "'Fetch' may never happen, but 2004's eminently quotable movie is still one of the sharpest high school satires ever. Which is pretty grool, if you ask me!"[29] In 2006, Entertainment Weekly had also named it the 12th-best high school film of all time: "While Mean Girls is technically a comedy, its depiction of girl-on-girl cattiness stings incredibly true."[30] In 2012, Rotten Tomatoes included the film in its "Top 50 Greatest Teen Comedies" list.[31] In 2021, Marie Claire ranked Mean Girls as the best 2000s movie, calling it "the '00s pop culture staple".[32]

In March 2021, Richard Brody of The New Yorker ranked Lohan's performance in the film as the eleventh best of the 21st century up to that point, praising her "blend of charisma and awkwardness, innocence and guile" as well as "faux-casual earnestness" she used for dialogue.[33] In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked Mean Girls as the twentieth greatest comedy of the 21st century, saying: "Tina Fey established herself as one of America's best comedy writers courtesy of this instant teen-movie classic, which boasts one of the most quotable scripts of the past 20 years",[34] while Indie Wire ranked it as the fifteenth best comedy of the 21st century, calling the script "effortlessly funny, but what makes the film truly timeless has more to do with the actors' ability to find the human grace notes amid the absurd high school hijinks (Kälteen Bars, anyone?) and instant-classic one-liners ("That's so fetch"). It's a high school comedy with broad genre humor and specific insight into teenage anxieties, and for that it stands the test of time."[35] In October 2022, The Independent also included Lohan's role in a list of "outstanding performances", stating that she "gives a pretty flawless performance, dexterously balancing the film's irreverent comic tone with moments of occasional pathos."[36]

The film won and was nominated for a number of awards throughout 2004–2005.[76]

A novel based on the film, by author Micol Ostow, was released in September 2017 by Scholastic.[77] Jonathan Bennett, who portrayed Aaron Samuels, released a cookbook inspired by the movie in 2018 called "The Burn Cookbook: Real Recipes to Feed Your Inner Plastic."[78] The following year, he teamed up with Nocking Point Wines to release a limited rosé wine edition inspired by the film.[79] Ariana Grande parodied the film in the music video for her 2018 song "Thank U, Next". The actors Jonathan Bennett and Stefanie Drummond, who were originally part of the film's cast, appeared in the video. A clip of Cady Heron from the movie was featured in a 2020 Discover Card commercial which aired during the Super Bowl LIV.[80] K-pop singer Sunmi named her song "You Can't Sit with Us" after a quote from the movie.

A comic book sequel to the film, titled Mean Girls: Senior Year, was written by Arianna Irwin and released by Insight Comics in September 2020.[81][82] A Mean Girls-themed pop-up restaurant in Santa Monica called Fetch was announced in 2020 as well.[83] Primark launched a loungewear range inspired by the film in October 2019.[84] On October 3, 2020, the Young Veterans Brewing Company released a Mean Girls-themed beer called "Army Pants & Flip Flops".[85] Several Mean Girls-themed events, merchandising products and screenings have been often organized and produced in homage to the film.[86][87][88][89][90]

In August 2020, Screen Junkies released a Honest Trailers episode on the film calling it "the best thing to come out of that era," with Screen Rant's Daniel Gillespie saying: "Mean Girls remains entertaining, funny, and, most importantly, accurate. [...] That relevance almost two decades later proves that Mean Girls is deserving of its classic status,"[91] and Slashfilm's Ethan Anderton writing that the "generation-defining high school movie" not only captures the teenage culture of the early 2000s perfectly, "but it's also hilariously clever for being adapted from a non-fiction parenting advice book [...] Mean Girls is great because it captures that cruel teen vibe perfectly, and it tries to deliver a nice wholesome message to fight it, which kids will laugh at, agree with, and then never do anything about."[92] In September 2020, the Pillsbury Company released a limited edition of Toaster Strudel featuring pink icing and Mean Girls packaging to pay homage to its movie-claimed inventor's daughter, Gretchen Wieners.[93] In October 2023, Nestlé's Coffee Mate announced that a limited-edition pink frosting flavored creamer would be available from January 2024 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film.[94]

Video games

A game for PC was released in 2009 featuring characters specifically created for the game.[95] In 2010, a Mean Girls video game developed by Crush Digital Media and planned to be published by 505 Games for the Nintendo DS handheld game console was announced, but was canceled before release.[96][97] The DS game was nearly completed before cancellation and was found in 2021 by YouTuber Ray Mona (also known as Raven Simone),[98] who got a file for the game in her email by an anonymous person.[99] A full playthrough was uploaded to her channel on July 15, 2021.[100] In 2015, an iOS game based on the film was released.[101] Since 2015, Pocket Gems' mobile app Episode also released various Mean Girls interactive stories following the characters from the film due to "overwhelming fan response".[102][103][104]

Stage musical

On January 28, 2013, Fey confirmed that a musical adaptation of Mean Girls was in the works. Fey wrote the book of the show, 30 Rock composer and Fey's husband Jeff Richmond worked on the music, and Casey Nicholaw directed. Paramount was also involved.[105] The musical premiered at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., on October 31, 2017.[106] Mean Girls opened on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre, with previews beginning March 12, 2018, and opening on April 8, 2018.[107]

On January 23, 2020, Tina Fey announced that a film adaptation of the musical was in active development. "I'm very excited to bring Mean Girls back to the big screen. It's been incredibly gratifying to see how much the movie and the musical have meant to audiences. I've spent sixteen years with these characters now. They are my Marvel Universe and I love them dearly," Fey said.[108] During the film's cast reunion on October 3, 2020, Fey shared that fans could be involved in casting actors for the new adaptation by sharing their dream cast on the project's website and be featured in the musical film's "burn book".[109]

In early 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema announced a planned release date of May 8, 2015, for a proposed spin-off of Mean Girls,[113] adapted from another book penned by Rosalind Wiseman. However, in May 2014, New Line Cinema pulled the film from its proposed release date of May 2015; there is no release date for the spin-off.[114]

In late September 2014, discussions arose that Lohan had pitched an idea to Fey for a sequel. Later that year, Lohan, along with other cast members of the original film, asked Fey to write a screenplay for it. The idea was brought up during a 10th anniversary for the film in Entertainment Weekly, with Fey declaring she regretted not doing a sequel closer to its original release: "At the time we did want to start the conversation about the sequel, and for whatever reason I was like, 'No!!! We shouldn't do that!' Now I look back and I'm like, 'Why?' But now, no—it's too late now."[115] Seyfried had previously said she was "really willing to pursue" a sequel and was unsure why it had not happened.[116] In December 2016, Lohan mentioned she was still trying to pitch a sequel, with the hopes of Jamie Lee Curtis and Jimmy Fallon appearing in the film.[117][118] She said she knew Fey, Michaels and Paramount were busy, declaring: "I will keep forcing it and pushing it on them until we do it."[119] In October 2018, Seyfried said people needed to start a campaign for it to finally come into fruition.[120] In January 2019, Lohan was interviewed by Howard Stern who wondered whether the sequel would ever happen. Lohan repeated her interest in revisiting the role and confirmed she had spoken to Fey about it, also saying sequel plans were not currently in the works, "I think they can't do it right now. I've spoken to her [Tina], but it can't happen without her and all of the cast. [...] Sometimes you're like, 'It's just too soon to do it.' But it's been 15 years."[121] In October 2019, Chabert was asked if a sequel would be happening to which she replied: "I don't know. I wish I had an answer for you, I feel like you need to start a petition," while saying she would "of course" revisit the character if given the chance as "it would be so much fun to revisit these women and see where they are now."[122][123]

In April 2020, Lohan was once again asked about the sequel by David Spade and confessed she had been hanging on to the idea of coming back to doing movies with that project "for a really long time" but that it was out of her hands. "To work with Tina [Fey], and the whole crew again, and Mark Waters. That was really what I wanted. I was excited to do that. But that's all in their hands really," she concluded.[124] A few days later, McAdams also expressed interest in reprising her role in a sequel,[125] after having declared in previous years she would be up for it as long as Fey was on board, "She's our master-in-chief on this one. So, if she's into it, then I'm into it."[126] Bennett then reacted to his co-stars by saying, "I was extremely excited when I heard Rachel [McAdams] say she'd love to play Regina George again because I've talked to over half the cast, including Lindsay [Lohan], and we all feel the same way", continuing, "We'd love to bring these beloved characters back to life at some point, whether it be sequel or a TV series. I think the world would love to see these characters again."[127]

In an August 2020 interview on the podcast Unspooled, director Mark Waters discussed an idea for a sequel where the main characters from the original movie would now be young mothers serving together in a parent–teacher association, adding that its development is entirely up to Fey wanting to write a screenplay.[128] A possible sequel was also questioned by Katie Couric while moderating a virtual reunion with the film's cast on October 3, 2020.[129] Bennett then said in an interview he thought the virtual reunion "opened the door" for a sequel.[130] In August 2022, Franzese talked about a potential sequel or reboot, "I would absolutely love it. And I would do it in any form whatsoever. This movie brings people so much joy. [...] I mean, I want to do a whole movie with the whole cast. We all play different characters. People would love that, you know? Tina Fey's got that power and she ain't pulling the trigger. So I don't know who else could do it." He revealed he was writing his own script and would try to pitch it to Fey as they approached the film's 20th anniversary, "I've been trying to write something now that has all of us in it [...] I think that within a year I could pitch it. And you know, it'll be fun. We're approaching the 20th anniversary, what a great time to start something like that."[131]