Mean Girls

Compared to all the garbage that's thrown at teenage girls these days, Mean Girls is incredibly refreshing; it's a film disguised as a teen comedy that contains all the elements and flash but has a message and a subtle sense of humour buried under the obvious slapstick. Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) has never been exposed to the social cliques of an American high school. She's home schooled in Africa until her mother gets a Stateside job, so the ultra-smart, innocent and naïve Cady now has to adapt to a world she's never experienced before. She quickly befriends Janis and Damian, two "freaks" that genuinely help steer Cady in the right direction and teach her about all of the school's social circles, including the cool Asians, burnouts, unfriendly black hotties and girls who eat their feelings. And then there are the Plastics. Named for their likeness to Barbie dolls, the Plastics are teen royalty led by queen bee Regina George (Rachel McAdams), who's the most popular girl and also the most evil. When the Plastics befriend Cady, Janis and Damian see this as an opportunity to find out Regina's personal secrets, but Cady slowly finds herself turning plastic in the process. Mean Girls is a hilarious and clever film, and this is due to the amazing Tina Fey (the SNL "Weekend Update" host wrote the screenplay and plays a supporting role), but a script can only go so far on its own and Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams are incredible. The DVD contains three featurettes, including an interview with Rosalind Wiseman, the author of Queen Bees and Wannabees, from which Mean Girls was adapted, who gives further insight as to how girls behave among other girls and why some of this behaviour is dangerous. There's a short piece on the fashion of Mean Girls, which goes against the purpose of the film, but a 30-minute "making of" makes up for it and is the best feature, with interviews ranging from Tina Fey to the amazing Lizzy Caplan. This great movie gets a packed video release containing actual substance, resulting in this DVD being totally "fetch." Plus: deleted scenes, bloopers, commentary, more. (Paramount)