Mean Girls

Links @ HJ.com
—Full Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections

Imagine if SNL spoofed the recent teen drama Thirteen, but softened it for a PG-13 crowd and threw in a sweeter ending. The result would be the new teen comedy Mean Girls, which is surprisingly smart, funny, and meaningful. The plot revolves around Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), who is just beginning high school after spending her first 10 years of school in Africa with her scientist parents. She learns quickly the social rules of high school life, and is sucked into a clique of “mean girls� fittingly titled The Plastics. Cady struggles to be accepted and included, which leads to a social battle with Regina George (Rachel McAdams), the leader of The Plastics.

Lohan’s performance as she moves from the innocent home-schooler into the upper ranks of The Plastics is enjoyable. Other SNLers are spread throughout the cast. Tim Meadows plays the tough yet clueless principal Mr. Duvall, and Amy Poehler nails the overly permissive parent role as Regina’s “cool� mom. Credit director Mark Waters for bringing this teenage culture to life, though I think he could have tightened up a few scenes, as well as had some faster cuts with the editing. This would have made some of the quick, subtle jokes even funnier.

Written by SNL’s Tina Fey (who also has a small role as teacher Ms. Norbury), the quirky script satirizes American teenage life and culture, poking fun at parents, education, and social groups. The influence of sketch comedy is definitely present, but a decent narrative is established. Throughout, Fey points to the influence that pop culture has on women; the quick shots of Regina’s elementary-aged little sister learning sensual moves from Britney Spears videos and Girls Gone Wild commercials is all too real.
Fey also captures high school life dead on—these teenagers work their evil subtly, underneath the guise of sweetness.

Even though it plays for laughs, this is a moral tale about the dangers of gossip. Cady realizes she has become the very thing she detests at the beginning of the film. By seeking retaliation against the tactics of Regina, Cady herself evolves into Regina’s character. As Cady begins to fight ‘fire with fire,’ she and her friends become entangled in the messy business of lies, rumors, and backbiting.

The Bible calls the tongue a “fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body" (James 3:6). Like a spark that ignites a forest, the harmful effects of words can spread quickly. By the end, the destruction caused by gossip impacts the entire school community; sins of the tongue are not isolated crimes, but indeed touch everyone they come in contact with, and this in turn leads to complete chaos and ruin. The forest fire of evil words devours the lives of the young girls, who soon realize that they are no longer in control of the damaging outcome. Cady then learns an important lesson about revenge—only by ending the cycle of negativity and gossip can the fighting truly stop.

We’ve all had some experience with the “mean girls� in our lives. But even as the audience cheers and laughs as these girls are slowly brought down, the realization dawns that everyone is guilty of evil thoughts and words. Everyone in the community is responsible to change their behavior for there to be true peace.

Links @ HJ.com
—Full Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections