Tart and refreshing, Mean Girls is the kind of high-school movie that really feels as if it's for grown-ups -- but hey, the teens can come, too.
Comment
04/30/04
Rate this Movie 
Mean Girls (2004)
84
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:168
Fresh:141
Rotten:27
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: Funnier and more smartly written than the average teen comedy.
Theatrical Release:Apr 30, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $85,974,306
Synopsis: In this survival-of-the-fittest teen comedy, high school is a dangerous jungle seething with teenagers who prey on each other like wild animals. The nonstop jokes are hilariously rewarding as they... [More]
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Amanda Seyfried
Director: Mark Waters
Get This Movie
Reviews for Mean Girls
Fey has crafted what would seem to be an impossibility: a bawdy, uproarious, entertaining teen comedy that successfully delivers a worthwhile message.
04/30/04
A smart little comedy that tries, within the limits of the teen-movie form, to say some real things about high school girls and the struggle for popularity.
04/30/04
Top CriticParts of it are quite funny. So, go fetch.
04/30/04
This is the best film of its kind since Amy Heckerling's Clueless.
04/30/04
undoubtedly the best teen comedy ever adapted from a sociological study... this anti-fairy tale should serve as a wake-up call to any Sleeping Beauties in the audience.
04/30/04
Fey subverts formula to find comic gold.
04/30/04
Top CriticWaters keeps the film brisk, entertaining and edgy, successfully sidestepping any temptation to preach.
04/30/04
Mean Girls is a hysterical comedy about high school cliques, and may be the best teen satire since Heathers (1989).
04/30/04
The Tina Fey-written bits make for good absurdist cinema, lifting the film from being too potentially feel-goodish.
04/30/04
The social situations will be tellingly familiar to anyone who's been to high school, girls especially.
04/30/04
Though dramatically inconsistent, the movie clearly grasps the subtle nuances of the pubescent pecking order. Plus, it's funny -- more often than not, anyway.
04/30/04
It's that rare teen comedy that both teens and former teens can enjoy.
04/30/04
Packed with enough trenchant observations of teen life to make you laugh and wince in equal measure.
04/30/04
Takes on issues of self-loathing, body image, competition and female sabotage. Even better, it does it with a smile.
04/30/04
Top CriticIt's an improvement over the dire Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, but Mean Girls is nowhere near as satisfying as Freaky Friday.
04/30/04
Top Critic[Fey's] snappy script and the deft direction of Mark Waters, who did Freaky Friday, keep the laughs coming.
04/30/04
Though it revels in petty, malicious humor -- and is far more effective than most Hollywood looks at high school hell -- this comedy about adolescent exclusion possesses a big, accepting heart.
04/30/04
Once you get past a few killer jokes, it's a rather uninspired affair that rarely engages the emotions while recycling most of the clichés we've come to expect from the high school genre.
04/30/04
Generally smart and often very funny. And there is a pearl of wisdom or two in there among the laughs.
04/30/04
Latest News for Mean Girls
December 14, 2009:
What We're Watching on Blu-ray from Paramount Pictures!
Every week (as part of our new Blu-ray HQ on Rotten Tomatoes) we're sharing what we're watching on Blu-ray, whether they're classics or personal favorites, for a particular... More...
July 22, 2008:
Paramount Developing Game Adaptations 
Have you always wanted to play videogames based on Paramount movies such as Clueless and Pretty in Pink? Good news -- the studio is developing them! More...
July 15, 2008:
An Oral History of RT, Part Three: Ripe Tomatoes
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Rotten Tomatoes, we asked some of the founding members of RT to share their memories. What follows is an oral history of Rotten Tomatoes'... More...
August 17, 2006:
Box Office Preview: "Snakes" Prepares For Takeoff
This weekend Samuel L. Jackson looks to seize control of the muthaf*ckin' box office with his new muthaf*ckin' film "Snakes on a Plane" which invades theaters on a... More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
MSN's Year in Review
Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.
Moviefone's Year End Poll
What were your favorites? Least favorites? The funniest and scariest? Moviefone wants to know!
Tarantino's Characters
Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds