So today, just for the hell of it (and because I loved Lindsay Lohan in the remake of Freaky Friday, I hit the 5:30 showing of Mean Girls. Anybody else here see it?
Perhaps this should have gone in the “Movies that were obviously not intended for you” thread. But, intended for me or not, I actually enjoyed the movie. One thing that proved the movie wasn’t meant for me, though: Being a 5:30 showing, the audience was small enough that I could easily see each individual person in the theater. And it was plain to see that I was the only person there over the age of 14 or 15. Not only that, but there were only two other males in the audience. Fer cryin’ out loud, I’m old enough to be the father of anybody else in the audience! I decided to sit near the back of the theater, and it was amusing to see each of the girls before me (yes, all of them) turn around to look at me at one point or another before the movie started. It felt like they were all wondering, “What’s that old guy doing here?” :rolleyes:
Anyway, like I said, I enjoyed the movie, even if it did seem to be Never Been Kissed* all over again. But I’m left wondering (help me out here, ladies), how realistic was the whole premise of The Plastics? In general, do those kinds of things go on amongst high school girls? And if it was realistic, were other guys as oblivious to it in high school as I was?
There was something sad, too, about seeing Regina’s little sister being raised by the television. Regina has so successfully made herself the focal point of her family that nobody in the family seems to notice the little girl dancing to the video for “The Milkshake Song” or watching what appeared to be “Girls Gone Wild” and practicing pulling up her shirt to flash.
I’m inclined to think that there was at least an element of truth to the movie’s theme. I don’t think I heard a single laugh out of any of the girls in the audience. In fact, I think I was the only person in the audience who laughed at any point! That left me wondering, “Is the theme really hitting home with these girls, so much that they can’t laugh at it? Or do they just not think the movie is funny?”
I have to say, that when I was in the theater a few weeks back, there were more people around my age (23) and of my sex (male) than it seems there were in your theater. I thought it was a great movie. Well, great in the sense that it was enjoyable for what it was.
After the movie came out, a lot of newspapers ran stuff about how true the movie was to real life, and the general consensus was that yeah, it’s a bit exaggerated, but those kinds of things do happen. From my own “research,” I’ve discovered that the 3-way calling ambush, the book (I can’t remember what they called it in the movie), and of course the backstabbing were all things that definitely existed in high school.
And I felt like a dirty old man watching Lindsay Lohan the whole time thinking, “Please tell me she’s my age, please tell me she’s my age…”
Something else just occured to me - was it my imagination, or was Cady always the last student to arrive in class and the cafeteria? And she was the last to be called into the Principal’s office, and the last to arrive at the assembly in the gym…
That’s a good point about Cady. How did she never get detentions just for being tardy for every single school activity? The only thing she got in trouble for was something that probably should have gotten her suspended, or even expelled (she pretty much incited a riot!).
Oh, and I’m looking forward to Saved!
I’m a 51 yo male, so obviously I’m nowhere near the target audience.
I think it was one of the best films I’ve seen in ages.
I went in expecting a toothless version of Heathers, and was pleasantly surprised to see the film going off in a different direction.
Whether the film was “realistic” in its portrayal of the society is irrelevant. What was especially sophisticated was the point that in order to get revenge, you can end up becoming what you hate about your target. That is what makes this stand out from other “revenge” films and gives it much more depth.
It’s also subversive in that it plays on the audence expectations that Regina will get what’s coming to her and that she will deserve it. In that, it’s similar to “The Gorilla Song” in Cabaret (though, of course, nowhere as powerful). In both cases, we are lured into thinking some pretty cruel stuff, and are snapped into realizing how ugly our own thoughts are.
We see so many films where the bad guy gets their comeuppance and it was refreshing to see that situation portrayed with all the nuances. It was hard not to feel for Regina when she discovered about the “diet bars.”
Of course, it was also quite funny, but the jokes were generally in service to the plot, not just thrown in. Overall, this was a gem.
