Mean Girls (2004)

Director:

Mark Waters

Writers (WGA):

Rosalind Wiseman (book)
Tina Fey (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Welcome to Girl World.

Plot:

Cady Heron is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school, until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Africa | Teenage Girl | Mathletes | Bully Comeuppance

Awards:

7 wins & 15 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 20	9:00 PM	TBS
Sat. Nov. 21	1:25 PM	TBS

Cast

Lindsay Lohan	...	Cady Heron
Rachel McAdams	...	Regina George
Tina Fey	...	Ms. Norbury
Tim Meadows	...	Mr. Duvall
Amy Poehler	...	Mrs. George
Ana Gasteyer	...	Cady's Mom
Lacey Chabert	...	Gretchen Wieners
Lizzy Caplan	...	Janis Ian
Daniel Franzese	...	Damian
Neil Flynn	...	Cady's Dad
Jonathan Bennett	...	Aaron Samuels
Amanda Seyfried	...	Karen Smith
Rajiv Surendra	...	Kevin Gnapoor
Elana Shilling	...	Spelling Girl
Graham Kartna	...	Homeschooled Boy
Ely Henry	...	Homeschooled Boy
David Aherne	...	Homeschooled Boy
Ayo Agbonkpolo	...	African Warrior
Molly Shanahan	...	Kristen Hadley
Jonathan Malen	...	Kristen's Boyfriend
Jeff Moser	...	'Farting' Guy
Miranda Edwards	...	Michigan Girl
Les Porter	...	Chemistry Teacher
Eve Crawford	...	English Teacher
Jack Newman	...	History Teacher
Michelyn Emelle	...	Music Teacher
Bathsheba Garnett	...	German Teacher
Ky Pham	...	Trang Pak
Danielle Nguyen	...	Sun Jin Dinh
Daniel DeSanto	...	Jason
Alisha Morrison	...	Lea Edwards
Chris Ploszczansky	...	Huge Guy
Dwayne Hill	...	Coach Carr
Diego Klattenhoff	...	Shane Oman
Jan Caruana	...	Emma Gerber
Wai Choy	...	Mathlete Tim Pak
Julia Chantrey	...	Amber D'Alessio
Jacky Chamberlain	...	Giselle Sgro
Olympia Lukis	...	Jessica Lopez
Stefanie Drummond	...	Bethany Byrd
Kristen Bone	...	Short Girl
Jessie Wright	...	Cady 5 Years Old
Tyson Fennell	...	Nfume
Stephan Dickson	...	Animal Dancer (as Stephan Dixon)
Andreja Punkris	...	Animal Dancer
Noelle Boggio	...	Animal Dancer
Jordan Dawe	...	Animal Dancer
Alexandra Stapley	...	Taylor Wedell
Laura DeCarteret	...	Taylor Wedell's Mom (as Laura deCarteret)
Nicole Crimi	...	Kylie George
Erin Thompson	...	Dawn Schweitzer
Dan Willmott	...	Mr. George
Michelle Hoffman	...	Kissing Girl
Valerie Casault	...	Kissing Girl
Sharron Matthews	...	Joan the Secretary
Jo Chim	...	Salesperson
Randi Lee Butcher	...	Skater Girl
Erin Jarvis	...	Skater Girl
Kaylen Christensen	...	Jock Girl
Jill Morrison	...	Crying Girl
David Sazant	...	Marymount Captain
Clare Preuss	...	Caroline Krafft
Bruce Hunter	...	Mathlete Moderator
Megan Millington	...	Junior Plastic
Tara Shelley	...	Junior Plastic
Shannon Todd	...	Junior Plastic
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Krysta Carter	...	Wannabe (uncredited)
Nicholas A. Catalano	...	Kid in Classroom (uncredited)
Sima Fisher	...	Halloween Army Girl (uncredited)
John Gadsden	...	Student (uncredited)
Lucila Grzetic	...	Teenager (uncredited)
Talia Russo	...	Kissing Couple (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Waters

Writing credits (WGA)
Rosalind Wiseman		(book "Queen Bees and Wannabes")
Tina Fey		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jennifer Guinier	....	associate producer
Jill Sobel Messick	....	executive producer (as Jill Messick)
Lorne Michaels	....	producer
Louise Rosner	....	co-producer
Tony Shimkin	....	producer

Original Music by
Rolfe Kent

Cinematography by
Daryn Okada

Film Editing by
Wendy Greene Bricmont

Casting by
Marci Liroff

Production Design by
Cary White

Art Direction by
Brandt Gordon

Set Decoration by
Patricia Cuccia

Costume Design by
Mary Jane Fort

Makeup Department
Mario Cacioppo	....	makeup artist
Carol Hartwick	....	hair stylist
Patricia Keighran	....	makeup artist
Diana Ladyshewsky	....	hair stylist
Jo-Ann MacNeil	....	makeup artist
Beatrice Salazar	....	assistant hair stylist (as Beatriz Salazar)
Linda Steeves	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Jim Powers	....	production manager (as James Powers)
Louise Rosner	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sarah Campbell	....	second assistant director
Joel Hay	....	third assistant director
Jordana Lieberman	....	trainee assistant director
Stephanie Moore	....	second assistant director: Chicago
Andrew Shea	....	first assistant director
José Clemente Hernandez	....	second assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Collingwood Brown	....	art department coordinator
Britt Doughty	....	trainee assistant art director
Danielle Fleury	....	set dresser
Marc Kuitenbrouwer	....	construction manager
Glenn Locke	....	scenic artist
Vic Rigler	....	property master
Odetta Stoddard	....	set decoration buyer
Colin Woods	....	first assistant art director

Sound Department
Bruce Carwardine	....	sound mixer
Pat Cassin	....	second boom operator
Vincent Cirilli	....	ProTools engineer
Anne Couk	....	first assistant sound editor
Patrick Cyccone Jr.	....	re-recording mixer (as Patrick Cyccone)
Marc Fishman	....	re-recording mixer
Galen Goodpaster	....	assistant sound editor
Robin Harlan	....	foley artist
Susan Kurtz	....	dialog editor
Susan Kurtz	....	sound editor
Chuck Michael	....	supervising sound editor
Sarah Monat	....	foley artist
Willard Overstreet	....	foley editor
Vic Radulich	....	adr editor
Christopher Sidor	....	sound recordist
Randy Singer	....	foley mixer
Frank Smathers	....	sound editor
Beth Sterner	....	supervising sound editor
Robert Ulrich	....	supervising adr editor
Markus Wade	....	boom operator
David Yonson	....	adr recordist: Toronto

Special Effects by
Rob Sanderson	....	special effects director

Visual Effects by
Chris Anderson	....	roto/paint artist: CIS Hollywood
Kim Boyle	....	visual effects producer: CIS Hollywood
Jeremy Burns	....	digital compositing supervisor: CIS Hollywood
Steven Fagerquist	....	visual effects compositing artist
Larry Gaynor	....	senior paint artist: CIS Hollywood
Bryan Hirota	....	visual effects supervisor: CIS Hollywood
Patrick Kavanaugh	....	compositor: CIS Hollywood
Peter Koczera	....	senior digital artist
Heather MacPhee	....	paint and rotoscope artist: CIS Hollywood
Marc Nanjo	....	compositor: CIS Hollywood
Gregory Oehler	....	senior Inferno artist: CIS Hollywood
Chris Allen	....	research & development supervisor: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Matt Ashton	....	systems: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Jayni Borgaro	....	paint and roto artist: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Donald Fly	....	general manager: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Julia Gaudette	....	visual effects coordinator: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Maryjane Layani	....	production accountant: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Kyle Yamamoto	....	research and development programmer: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)

Stunts
Nada Abdel-Shahid	....	stunt performer
Taryn Ash	....	stunts
Laurene Boutet	....	stunts (as Lauren Boutette)
Randi Lee Butcher	....	stunts
Erin Carter	....	stunts
Natalie Cultraro	....	stunts
Sandra Feldman	....	stunts
Kym Kristalie	....	stunts
Angelique Lewis	....	stunts (as Angel Lewis)
Danny Lima	....	stunts
Billy Oliver	....	stunts
Chauntelle Page	....	stunts
Colleen Park	....	stunts
Vlasta Racki	....	stunts
Alison Reid	....	stunts
Kevin Rushton	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Shayna Segal	....	stunt double
John Stoneham Jr.	....	stunt coordinator
Rebecca Stoneham	....	stunts (as Rebcca Moore)
Bryan Thomas	....	stunts
Christine Thomas	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Sean Bourdeau	....	assistant key grip
Michael Carella	....	camera operator
Angelo Colavecchia	....	camera operator
Mark Cyre	....	first assistant camera
Tim Davis	....	video assist operator
Cylvan Desrouleaux	....	assistant camera
Richard Emerson	....	key grip
Michael Galbraith	....	gaffer
Mark W. Hindle	....	video playback operator
Jim MacCammon	....	electrician
David Morenz	....	first assistant camera: Chicago
Michael Plant	....	generator operator
Keith Pokorski	....	second assistant camera: Chicago
Ron Renzetti	....	dolly grip: "b" camera

Casting Department
Ruthie Brownfield	....	casting assistant
Dane Clark	....	casting assistant: Canada
Robin D. Cook	....	casting: Canada
Donna Dupere	....	extras casting
Brad Gerstl	....	extras casting representative
Danis Goulet	....	casting associate: Canada
Sharon D. King	....	extras casting: local
Erica Palgon	....	casting associate: New York
Jamie Sparer Roberts	....	casting associate (as Jamie Sparer)
Susan Shopmaker	....	casting: New York
Aaron Unrau	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ciara Brennan	....	assistant costume set supervisor
Christina Cattle	....	set costume supervisor
Jordanna Fineberg	....	assistant costume designer
Gayle Franklin	....	costumer: extras
Dana Kay Hart	....	costume supervisor
Mary Iannelli	....	costumer (as Mary White)
Lindsay Jacobs	....	costume supervisor
Luis Sequeira	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Gena Bleier	....	assistant editor
Kris Cole	....	first assistant editor
Brian Day	....	assistant editor
Robert Doyle	....	assistant editor
Dana E. Glauberman	....	additional editor
Chas Hollis	....	assistant editor
Russell Langille	....	second assistant editor
Dave Muscat	....	telecine suite operator
David Tarnawsky	....	first assistant film editor: Canada

Music Department
Tony Blondal	....	orchestrator
Stephen Coleman	....	music arranger: vocals
Stephen Coleman	....	music programmer
Buck Damon	....	music supervisor
Jim Harrison	....	music editor
Steve Kempster	....	score mixer
Stephanie Murray	....	score stage administrator
Ralph Sall	....	executive soundtrack album producer
Amanda Scheer-Demme	....	music supervisor
Nick South	....	music editor
Patrick Spain	....	score assistant engineer

Transportation Department
Ron Annabelle	....	picture car captain
Dave Staples	....	transportation coordinator
Ian C. Harris	....	daily driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Darleen Abbott	....	payroll assistant
Alex Betuel	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Adam Bocknek	....	production assistant (as Adam 'Bucky' Bocknek)
Annette Brooker	....	production assistant
Veronica Brooks	....	assistant: Mr. Waters
Christopher Comrie	....	payroll accountant
Erin David	....	assistant: Mr. Michaels
Andrea Eisen	....	set tutor
Donna Feore	....	choreographer
Julie Garneau	....	production secretary
Jason Haney	....	on-set craft
Marie-Claude Harnois	....	production coordinator
Karen Harrison	....	assistant: Ms. Messick
Joanne T. Harwood	....	script supervisor
Mindy May Jenkins	....	first assistant accountant
Lenita Karhunen	....	assistant: Ms. Rosner
Karen Pidgurski	....	publicist
Bobby Ravanshenas	....	assistant to cast
David M. Rodriguez	....	first assistant accountant
Raquel Rose	....	production assistant
Barbara Rosing Hoke	....	production coordinator: additional photography, Los Angeles
Kevin Michael Schembri	....	second assistant accountant
Andrew Sehler	....	second assistant accountant
Gerrod Shully	....	production assistant
Jonathan Small	....	assistant: Mr. Michaels
Bob Tennent	....	production assistant
Matilde Valera	....	production controller
Jason M. Washington	....	production assistant
Greg Wood	....	set nurse
Michalla Petersen	....	voice-over artist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures
• M.G. Films
• Broadway Video

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Bontonfilm (2004) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International Finland (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures Corporation (Canada) (2004) (Canada) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Australia) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Greece) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Finnkino (2005) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)
• Nelonen (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• Net5 (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• CIS Hollywood (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Howard Anderson Company, The  end titles
• Howard Anderson Company, The  opticals
• K!SSPROOF Entertainment  cast appearance booking
• K!SSPROOF Entertainment  special thanks
• Mary Nelson-Fraser & Associates  negative cutting
• Paramount Pictures Scoring Stage M  music recorded at
• Paramount Studios  sound post-production
• Picture Mill, The  main titles
• R!ot Looping  adr recording
• Toronto Film Studios  movie studio
• Virgin Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Méchantes ados (Canada: French title)
Queen Bees and Wannabes (USA) (original script title)
Chicas pesadas (Argentina) (Chile) (International: Spanish title) [es]
Girls Club - Vorsicht bissig! (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Гадни момичета (Bulgaria: Bulgarian title) [bg]
Дрянные девчонки (Russia) [ru]
Õelad tüdrukud (Estonia) [et]
Chicas malas (Spain) [es]
Kötü kizlar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Lolita malgré moi (France) [fr]
Magari gogoebi (Georgia) [ka]
Mean Girls (Finland) [fi]
Mean girls - tylyt tytöt (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Meninas Malvadas (Brazil) [pt]
Ta kaka koritsia (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and some teen partying.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | German | Vietnamese | Swahili

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-7 | Germany:6 | India:A | Ireland:12PG | Netherlands:12 | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Germany:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Initially, Lindsay Lohan was cast as Regina, but decided to play the "nice girl" so the public wouldn't base her real personality on Regina's. Rachel McAdams was chosen to play the "mean girl" because "only nice girls can play mean girls" according to the producer.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cady enters her room during the party at her house, she places her cup on a tall stack of CDs. In the next shot, the cup is on a shorter stack of CDs.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chip Heron: This is your lunch, OK? I put a dollar in there so you can buy some milk; you can ask one of the big kids where to do that.
Betsy Heron: Do you remember your phone number? I wrote it down for you just in case. Put it in your pocket, I don't want you to lose it. OK? You ready?
Cady: I think so.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'Mean Girls': Only the Strong Survive (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

At Seventeen

The unthinkable: A good film in this day and age about high school.

Though my own high school days are well behind me now, this film received enough acclaim that I was convinced to give it a try. Mean Girls did in fact prove to be a rewarding experience. The film made a ton of money and launched some of its young stars into orbit.

Our story deals with a previously home-schooled girl (Lohan) now having to brave a suburban high school for the first time. She is completely clueless as far as what it takes to be cool in this new world, but she is pretty enough to catch the attention of the most popular girls in the school. The "Plastics" as they are called take the young lady into their world and over time she becomes one of them. The more popular the young lady becomes, the more miserable her life becomes, however.

The film is very funny and it hits pretty hard with its depictions of the various cliques at modern high schools. Some would argue that the characters in this film are just stereotypes, but so are most real life high schoolers. Nearly everyone fit into one category or another even back in my school days, but things seem even more fragmented now.

Tina Fey has written an intelligent script, and thankfully the film was cast well enough to carry it. Lindsay Lohan is charming, but nothing too exceptional. Rachel McAdams pretty much steals this film, and she is likely the cast member who will have the best career of this bunch. I think it's safe to say her scream toward the end of act 2 is the best I've ever heard in any film.Lacey Chabert is also worth mentioning, and she seems worthy of some better roles in the future. Overall, there did not seem to be any casting problems.

Mark Watters keeps things moving along at a brisk pace, and it seems strange to see Lorne Michaels' name in the credits of any film this funny. From what I've heard, the film had to be trimmed of more than a few parts that would have given it in an R-rating. BOO!!!!!! Hard to argue with the box office totals, though! After watching this film, I was reminded of a similar group of popular girls at my high school. They called themselves the Senior Bitch Patrol, and behaved much the same way as the "Plastics." Only back then (88-91) it was mostly about the hair. The bigger the hair, the more popular the girl. All of these girls have gone on to live boring and pointless lives since those days. Go figure....

9 of 10 stars for Mean Girls. Too bad I never had any math teachers as pretty as Tina Fey!