Mean Girls DVD Review:

Growing up in Africa and been home schooled for most of her life, Cady (Lohan) wasn’t really prepared for her first experience of High School and the social classics within. Meeting Janis (Caplan) and Damian (Franzese) on her first day, they introduce her to the different sections of the school’s crowds and advice her very strongly to avoid the “Plastics”, the most popular girls in school lead by Regina George (McAdams). The problem is that Regina sees her as her new project and is drawn into her world of makeovers, shopping and constant gossip and bitching.

Lindsay Lohan takes another set towards been crowned Hollywood’s latest Teen Queen with a High School movie that isn’t the sugary sweet, coming of age comedy you’d expect her to be in.

Mean Girls harks back to the days of Clueless, Heathers and the John Hughes comedies of the 1980s were High School was a battle field of popularity and power which must be gained at any cost. This is the type of humour drains the usual bright and giddy façade of all its sparkle to become a tale of revenge, envy and the need for social power. This is dark comedy and nothing that you’d expect Lindsay Lohan to be associated with.

The actress is making a name for herself as one of the more watchable and talented performers of her generation. The doesn’t have that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth persona that many other manufactured all-American teenage girls have but she replaces this with actual talent and the possibility of actually having a career when she reaches her 20s. As narrator and star, Lohan is the driving force of the movie as we witness her character become consumed by the ideals of the Plastics at the expense of everything she holds dear and she plays this superbly.

Helping her out with this transformation is a good supporting cast headed by a completely perfect, bitchy performance by Rachel McAdams as Regina George. This is a character whose beauty hides a rotten inner core that feeds on constant attention, the suffering and degrading of others and the need for total power and influence over the entire school. A career in politics awaits. Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried are also good as Regina’s entourage, Gretchen and Karen who are easily controlled and fiercely loyal.
Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese as Janis and Damian are Cady’s voices of reason but they have their own hidden agendas. Jonathan Bennett is the object of Cady and Regina’s affections and nothing much more. The adult contingent is represented well by good performances from Tina Fey (who also wrote the screenplay) as the recently dumped Miss Norbury and Tim Meadows almost steals the show as the disheartened principle Mr Duval.

All these positives are brought down a notch or two by an ending that totally destroys the dark comedic themes that movie excelled in. The finale is far too Hollywood and sweet, making you feel that the powers that be made the filmmakers throw as much sugar as the could at the last few scenes to try and purge that bitter taste the film had placed in the viewer’s mouths.

This aside, Mean Girls is still a very enjoyable teen comedy that strays away from the run of the mill, unimaginative fair that has graced the silver screen lately.

Star Rating = * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is very good, as you’d expect from a modern movie. The picture quality is sharp throughout with no pixelation at all, even during the more energetic sequences. The sound quality is also good, with a strong emphasis on dialogue and filling the speakers with a great soundtrack.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by director Mark Waters, screenwriter/actress Tina Fey and producer Lorne Michaels
This chatty, funny and informative commentary comes from three people who are friends as well as colleagues. The trio talks about casting the movie and reveals which parts the lead actresses actually read for first. Tina Fey discusses how she adapted the book and which parts she used and how she created a story from it. The director reveals where scenes where deleted and the how they developed the characters. This is a good commentary from people who are really passionate about the project.

Featurettes

Only the Strong Survive (24.51 mins)

Director Mark S. Waters, producer Lorne Michaels, screenwriter/star Tina Fey and stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachael McAdams, Amanda Seyfield, Lacey Chabert, Jonathan Bennett, Lizzy Chaplan, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Tim Meadows and Daniel Franzese come together to discuss bringing Mean Girls to the silver screen. The cast and crew cover the topics “Why do girls hate each other?”, “Queen Bees – The birth of Clique”, “Cody – The New Girl”, “The Plastics – Teen Royalty”, “Damien and Janice – Art Freaks”, “Aaron – Man Candy”, “Not another SNL movie” and “Reflections of Girl World” and take you behind the scenes of the filming of the movie. This is an interesting featurette that doesn’t contain all the usual backslapping and covers the story and the characters very well.

The Politics of the World (10.53 mins)

The author of ‘Queens Bees and Wannabes’ Rosalind Wiseman talks about how her novel came together and the influences behind it. She reveals how girls are setting rules, the causes of teenage vulnerability and violence. She also talks about the “Empower Programme” with she set up as a result of the novel.

Plastic Fashion (10.24 mins)

Costume designer Mary Jane Fort takes you through the process of designing the wardrobe for a fashion-influenced movie. She explain exactly what she does, outlining the 40-30 costume changes for each character. She also explains the wardrobe for Cady, Regina, Grethin and Janice and the influences behind them.

Word Vomit (5.43 mins)

A montage of gaffs, cracking up and mucking up lines as the cast try and get their performances right for the camera.

So Fetch – Deleted Scenes (8.31 mins)

Entitled “Damian rigs the table”, “112, excellent”, “Mom’s underwear”, “Shoe Shopping”, “Tonight I’ll like it”, “Eaten by Cannibals”, “Regina in Bed”, “Norbury’s car explodes” and “Cady and Regina in the Bathroom”, these nine deleted scenes have optional commentary by director Mark S. Waters and screenwriter/actress Tina Fey.

Interstitials (1.39 mins)

Three TV spots entitled “Frenemies”, “New Girl” and “P.S.A”

Theatrical Trailer (2.25 mins)

Your chance to watch the trailer used to promote the movie.

OVERALL

Paramount has done an excellent job by bringing to together an excellent set of extras to accompany a good transfer of the movie. The commentary track is very good and the featurettes are both informative and entertaining. A lot of work has gone into this DVD, which will please the fans and be an interesting watch for all those who missed the movie at the cinema.

DVD Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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