Monday, April 21, 2014

Happy 10th birthday Mean Girls, Tina Fey's timeless teen comedy

How the film that made Lindsay Lohan a household name skewered the social hierarchies of American high schools and spawned a rabid cult following

Ten years ago this week, the film that would transform Lindsay Lohan into a teen movie queen premiered in the US. Lilo's ticket to adolescent idolatry was handed to her by future 30 Rock creator Tina Fey then Saturday Night Live's head writer and director Mark Waters. Mean Girls would gross $129m, and although it didn't exactly revolutionise the high-school comedy genre, it injected sass at a time when the biggest hitters were largely samey Hilary Duff vehicles. With a plot that embraces and busts cliche in equal measure, a highly quotable screenplay and a killer cast, it gained a fanatical cult following.

Fey, who wrote the script, plays the film's moral compass, Ms Norbury. She drew inspiration for the screenplay from her own teenage years, as well as a self-help book (Rosalind Wiseman's Queen Bees & Wannabees), and as a result the social hierarchy at North Shore feels real and decidedly mean. Fresh-off-the-boat high-schooler Cady Heron (Lohan) subverts her role in the Plastics clique as she manoeuvres her way through the school, showing up its superficial social hierarchy for what it is.

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Source: http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/apr/19/mean-girls-10-birthday-tina-fey-comedy

Akrotiri Alabama Alain Corneau Alain Resnais

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