Before I forget...I saw Mean Girls the other night. It was pretty good. For some unknown reason, I thought it would be darker - just the name, I guess. Apparently, the lead actress, Lindsey Lohan, is a Disney kids star (i admittedly know very little about this stuff for being a film student), so I should have expected it to be what it was: a synthesis of Disney and Saturday Night Live. It was written by Tina Fey - interesting, huh?

The story is about Lindsey Lohan moving to an American high school after years of being home-schooled in Africa by anthropologist parents. There are quite a few funny flashback moments of the young Lindsey in Africa and cut-in jokes about home schooled children. When she gets to high school, she befriends the arty-outsider types who reveal to her the social hierarchy of "plastics" within the school - three hot chicks who dominate the school. Lindsey fake befriends the girls as a joke and soon starts to become a mean girl herself. In the end, well, you can see for yourself, but it is a clean, let's wrap everything up and be happy ending...

Notable things: Tim Meadows as the principal is freaking hilarious. I never liked him all that much on Saturday night live (he's been on it for freaking ever, right). I have a theory that his injured wrist was from masturbating too much - the beginning scene, he comes across as a horn dog, after which Tina Fey asks him what happened to his wrist - "carpal tunnel" he says, which I took to be a facetious response (how would a principal get carpal tunnel?) The people I saw it with thought it was a stretch, but I dunno...

Also, Sat Night Live movies tend to have this sketch comedy feel to them where scenes happen that aren't necessary plot-wise, but are there for a joke. Sometimes these work well, other times, they don't. They have both in this movie. One that works: hilly billy kids talking about being home-schooled. Watch the kid on the far left - I couldn't stop laughing. One that doesn't: Gay-friend in the girls bathroom. The audience laughed, but I wasn't feeling this guy's performance all that much. I thought he had a tendency at the end of scenes to stop acting, which was weird, sketch comedy-esque.

Overall, this was a fairly enjoyable movie, not as good as Night at the Roxbury, though.
The preview for Stepford Wives looked awesome, though. Matthew Broderick, Chris Walken, Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler - inspired casting choices.

UPDATE: Chuck weights in

saw mean girls last night.
wasn't really impressed. i'm sure this doesn't surprise you. I thought the movie didn't go nearly far enough down the dark humored, outside reality path. As a result, the whole middle of the movie was boring and then end was so schmaltzy as to be sickening. It was punctuated with moments of excellent humor, just wish there was lots more. I thought the racial stuff was good, and Regina's sister in front of the tv taking off her top. But many things needed to be amped up a lot more.

time meadows was good. too bad we didn't see more of him. tina fey was pretty awkward at times I thought. her lines weren't funny enough so her talents went to waste.

ANOTHER UPDATE: On another note, a lady from my work commented it was way too dark - her daughter took her granddaughter to see the film and was surprised at the vulgarity of the humor.

Guess you can't please everyone.