Scott Kimball
Screenwriter
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Mean Girls - Special Collector's Edition
Studio: Paramount
Year: 2004
Rated: PG-13
Length: 96 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English & French Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Surround, Commentary
English subtitles; Closed Captioned in English
Special Features: Commentary by Director, Writer and Producer, 3 Featurettes, Bloopers, Deleted Scenes, Trailers, Interstitials, Previews
SRP: $19.95 USD
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Mean Girls is so much more than I expected of a teen comedy.
Maybe it’s my advancing age, but I find that few teen comedies are worthy of my time. Granted, the target audience for these films is that of people half my age, but I still find that I enjoy the teen comedies that came out when I was a teen, in the 80’s.
The teen comedies of today are so frequently lacking in intelligence, that I feel like I lose a few I.Q. points just by watching. These films go for the gross-out humor, and rarely have anything positive in terms of character development - which seems a shame given that teenage characters should have great opportunities to develop.
After having been disappointed in the genre over the last few years, I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised by Mean Girls, a teen comedy with intelligence. It is a film that plays with stereotypes, but doesn’t cross the line too far into caricature territory; it has a tiny bit of bathroom humor, but doesn’t go for the gross-out gag.
Lindsay Lohan (The Parent Trap, Freaky Friday) shows off considerable acting chops for her age in the role of Cady, a girl raised in African bush country, home schooled by her zoologist parents, and entering public school for the first time.
Cady has a hard time fitting in, navigating the cliques - the jocks, nerds, mathletes, and others. She is befriended by a couple of social outcasts - those who refuse to be a part of a clique and instead embrace their individuality. When Cady is asked to sit at the lunch table with “The Plastics”, a clique of real-life Barbie wannabes, she is amazed by their meanness as well as their superficiality. She takes it upon herself to blend in with The Plastics, in an effort to expose these frauds to all.
From there, things get wildly out of hand, but somehow manage to still have a ring of truth. The characters grow and learn from their experiences, which is what sets this film above the others of the genre.
The film was written by and costars Saturday Night Live’s Tina Fey and is based on the nonfiction book “Queen Bees and Wannabees” by Rosalind Wiseman. Lorne Michaels produced the film. Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows also stars, with Rachel McAdams, and Lacy Chabert. The film was directed by Mark Waters.
Video
The picture is displayed in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. It has excellent contrast, with bright whites that never lose detail, and with excellent detail in the shadows.
The picture has adequate sharpness, with no obvious compression or sharpening artifacts. Grain and noise are not issues in this transfer.
Colors are true, bright and accurate, with an excellent level of saturation.
Audio
The audio tracks available are English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital, and English Dolby Surround. There is also a commentary track available.
Frequency response on the English 5.1 track is excellent, with a solid front soundstage. Low frequency effects come into play mostly with music in the party scenes... your subwoofer will get a bit of a workout, here.
Surrounds are used occasionally for ambience. Since this is not an action film, there isn’t a great deal of effects use of surrounds.
Dialog is perhaps the most important aspect of this film, since it adds so much to the comedy. The dialog is always clear, full-bodied and intelligible.
Special Features
Commentary by Mark Waters, writer / actress Tina fey and producer Lorne Michaels.
There isn’t a whole lot of technical detail revealed in this commentary, but the interplay between the participants makes it fun to listen to. They talk much about working with the actors, errors in script and continuity, the need to do extra looping to remove Toronto accents from characters who are supposed to live near Chicago, etc... The three participants poke fun at each other and themselves, and the small problems in the film. This is worth checking out.
3 Featurettes (45:45)
The featurettes are not anamorphically enhanced. There is a “Play All” feature.
Only the Strong Survive
This piece is all about the casting, and it features interviews with Mark Waters, Tina Fey, Lindsay Lohan, and much of the rest of the cast. A few of the actresses were tried in different roles before the right fit and balance was found. Lindsay Lohan was to originally play Regina. This featurette includes casting of even the minor roles of the film.
The Politics of Girl World
An in-depth interview with the author of “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” Rosalind Wiseman. Includes footage from the film.
Plastic Fashion
Costume Designer Mary Jane Fort discusses the job of costume design for the film.
Includes discussion of the evolution of Lohan’s costumes as she transforms into a “Plastic” in the film.
Word Vomit (Blooper Reel) (5:43)
A pretty standard collection of line flubs and crackups... but, given that bloopers are so rarely included on DVDs, it’s nice to have them here.
So Fetch - Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Waters, and Fey (7:00, total)
Damien Rigs Table
112, Excellent!
Mom’s Underwear
Shoe Shopping
Tonight I’ll Like It
Eaten by Cannibals
Regina In Bed
Norbury’s Car Explodes
Cady & Regina in the Bathroom
There is a “Play All” feature. In the commentary, Waters indicates that all the scenes were cut for matters of pacing and comedic timing.
3 Interstitials
Three funny television ads that feature original material not seen in the film.
Theatrical Trailer
Previews
Unfortunately, these are forced trailers. You must click the chapter skip button several times after inserting the disc in order to skip these. I really wish that discs would not be authored with forced material.
The previews can also be viewed through the Special Featured Menu.
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie
Secret Central Class of ‘05
School of Rock
The Perfect Score
The Prince & Me
Paramount Promo
Final Thoughts
I have to say that I liked this film. I gave it a pass in the theaters, thinking it was standard teen comedy fare. If you did the same, you may want to check this out on DVD. It’s a rare, funny, intelligent teen comedy. The DVD has a good transfer and about an hour of quality special features.
Recommended
