I like Lindsay Lohan. Yeah, she's cute, but pretty much every 18 year old actress is. I think its because she has chunky knees. Its that one imperfection in a culture of perfection that makes her seem more like a real person and a better actress.
Of course, I'm sure hordes of Hollywood plastic surgeons are figuring out how to give their clients "Lindsay Lohan's Knees" for only $15K, thus making it the new fad of the year. But until that time, I'll keep checking out her knees (unlike this guy).
In "Mean Girls", Lindsay plays Cady, a smart and naive 16 year old who's been home schooled in Africa her whole life and is forced to undergo the rigors of high school when her parents move back to the United States. Befriended by the stereotypical riot grrrl artist and her effeminate male gay sidekick, Cady begins to study the pecking order of the school.
When 'The Plastics', the female power clique of the school, invite her to join them as their project, Cady agrees only so she may destroy them from within. Funny antics ensue while Cady spreads destructive gossip among the trio and tricks the alpha girl into eating sports bars to lose weight. As the movie progresses, Cady feels herself slowly turning to the dark side which alienates her original friends. And when her antics are revealed to the Plastics, the high school erupts.
But in the end everything turns out ok, big surprise.
There are some rather funny (if slightly out of place) moments where Cady sees the high school jungle as the real jungle which she is more accustomed to, mating rituals and dominance challenges included. There are also quick-fire snippets peppered throughout the movie that really work, and several scenes about feelings that really don't. Cady chasing the alpha Plastics' ex-boyfriend is just a rehash of the tired "coming-of-age" storyline that really dilutes the punch of the film. Moreover, instead of the movie reaching a true catharsis, the school riot which should have been the climax of the movie gets cut short by a bunch of pop psychology by a teacher. The last 20 minutes just dribbles along until the movie is long enough and then ends with high school nirvana as everyone is happy and is friends at the end.
Many people have compared this movie to "Heathers", and while I think we all wish another movie of "Heathers" caliber would come along, "Mean Girls" is not that movie. Yes, there are some superficial similarites (good girl is a member of powerful click, teen angst, popular students vs. non-popular students, etc) but the whole tone and ultimate theme of the movie is really very different.
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