How 'Mean Girls' made fetch happen

Lacey Chabert (from left), Rachel McAdams, Lindsay Lohan, and Amanda Seyfried vamp it up in 2004’s “Mean Girls.” (Paramount Pictures/MovieStillsDB.com)

"Mean Girls"
Released April 30, 2004
Directed by Mark Waters
Where to Watch

Since 2002, movie theaters in the first weekend of May have traditionally been dominated by Marvel superheroes, beginning with Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" and continuing with many Marvel Cinematic Universe flicks. But in 2004, the big superhero movie of the summer, "Spider-Man 2," was released in July, leaving the weekend open to the most notable non-Marvel film to debut, the high school comedy classic, "Mean Girls."

The story begins with Cady (Lindsey Lohan), who is about to start her first day in an American high school after being homeschool while traveling around the globe with her zoologist parents. Cady has difficulty adapting; not only is she the new kid in school, but all of the teenage cultural norms and behaviors are entirely foreign to her. She quickly befriends a pair of social oddballs Janis and Damien (Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese, respectively), who give her the lowdown on the social scene. But Cady's fortunes change when Regina George (Rachel McAdams), the leader of the school's social elite group of girls, the Plastics, takes an interest in coaching Cady to her level.

Janis, bitter after her childhood friendship with Regina blew up in her face, encourages Cady to spy on the Plastics in hopes of learning enough information to embarrass and knock down their social status. But Cady unintentionally starts crushing on Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron (Jonathan Bennett), beginning a personal rivalry between the girls that change Cady into a personality, not unlike Regina.

The genesis of "Mean Girls" was found in "Queen Bees and Wannabes," an advice book by Rosalind Wiseman intended to help teenage girls navigate the pressures of social status. Tina Fey, then the head writer of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and Weekend Update co-anchor, was inspired enough by the book to pitch SNL producer Lorne Michaels to turn it into a film.

"When I read (the) book, the thing that struck me the most about it was reading the antidotes of real behaviors and interviews she did with girls," Fey said in the behind-the-scenes featurette, "Only the Strong Survive." "I found them to be really funny. It reminded me of the way I was, that you hate the girl who has the boy you like, regardless of if she's never done anything to you. You're just filled with all-consuming bile."

Fey signed on to write the screenplay, but soon after, she realized that "Queen Bees and Wannabes" doesn't actually have a narrative. She constructed the story around Cady's interactions with the Plastics. Mark Waters signed on to direct. But the essential keys for the movie remained with the casting. Lohan was an up-and-coming young actress (famously of the family film remakes, 1998's "The Parent Trap" and 2003's "Freaky Friday") who originally read for the Regina role. Still, the filmmakers cast her as Cady instead. McAdams auditioned for Cady and was cast as Regina. It seems like a plot out of Lohan's other movies, but the swap worked for "Mean Girls."

The movie was an immediate hit at the box office, debuting at number one with a $24.4 million gross. It had an extended run at theaters during a very competitive season, remaining in the top 10 weekend grosses for seven weeks and then a long life at discount theaters for another few months, topping out worldwide at $130.1 million in sales.

It was also acclaimed by critics, earning an 84 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences may have been more immune to its charms with 66 percent approval, but still, it seemed many people enjoyed "Mean Girls."

"Director Waters and screenwriter Tina Fey aim less for the usual high-gloss caricature than acutely hilarious sociology, nailing the servile malice of 15-year-old girls, the voodoo art of sparkly-eyed mindfuck, and the lunch table cast system," wrote Jessica Winter for the Village Voice. Emeritus losers will wince with recognition when Cady takes her meal in a bathroom stall rather than face the infernal maw also know as the school cafeteria."

But lots of movies had successful box office runs only to be forgotten to the mists of time. "Mean Girls" remained in the cultural conversation for a long time afterward. A huge reason for that is the movie's extremely quotable. Lines like, "Get in loser, we're going shopping," "Stop trying to make fetch happen," and "I'm not like a regular mom, I'm a cool mom," was not only remembered by fans, it became the kind of cultural shorthand which the awareness exploded when social media and memes entered daily life. 

But as time goes on, the abhorrent social behaviors of the characters in "Mean Girls" become surreal when it's more apparent than ever that adults with power act in the same manner. Social media has given everybody their own megaphone to be their own version of the Plastics, whether you're just some rando on Twitter or a powerful politician or CEO. But sadly, there's no mentor figure to call us all into the gym and tell us to knock this shit out.

Regardless, "Mean Girls" continues to be a cultural force nearly two decades after its release. The movie was adapted into a popular stage musical. Fans celebrate October 3 as "Mean Girls Day" after a random line in the film (and the date also makes it popular with social media content generators). Every generation manages to produce and find its own essential high school movie, and for many millennials, "Mean Girls" is that movie.

"I was staying at a bed-and-breakfast recently in the middle of nowhere Ireland," McAdams said in 2014. "And one of the owners' granddaughters came up to me, and she gave me a piece of pink paper, and she goes, 'Can you write down just a few of your favorite Mean Girls quotes?' It was so sweet. I couldn't think of any of them! It's been 10 years! So I said, 'Well, what are your favorites?' So she literally fed me all these lines, like 'Is butter a carb?'

Next Week: "Vertigo"