Mean Girls
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: April 30, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Portland OregonianKaren Karbo
Sassy and sharp. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
The comedy is funny as hell. And yes, I mean hell, not heck. Read full review
80
SlateDavid Edelstein
Fey's comic gifts mesh with Wiseman's first-hand research, and the wit becomes dazzling. Read full review
80
SalonStephanie Zacharek
There's a sly intelligence at work here -- in the writing, the filmmaking and the acting -- that makes it deeply pleasurable to watch. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Smart, funny, well-acted and visually lively. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A vinegary fable with a Splenda aftertaste -- is a harbinger of hope not only for future feminist comedies of any grit but also for ''SNL''-staffed feature films that don't disproportionately suck. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The screenplay by Tina Fey -- head writer for "Saturday Night Live" -- is marvelously smart, though, and the ensemble cast is uncannily in sync with it. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
Mean Girls has the same fancifully dead-on tone as the 1995 high-school comedy "Clueless" without the sweetness because, hey, these snits are mean. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Likable Lohan doesn't exude the vulnerability that would give the movie true heart, and Fey, head writer for "Saturday Night Live," crafts better punch lines than plots. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The plot is flimsy, but director Mark Waters (Freaky Friday) trusts Fey's tart dialogue to carry the day. Wise man. Fey subverts formula to find comic gold. She's a brash new voice in movie comedy. Boy, do we need her now. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Mean Girls dissects high school society with a lot of observant detail, which seems surprisingly well-informed. The screenplay by "Saturday Night Live's" Tina Fey is both a comic and a sociological achievement. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
As in "The House of Yes'' and "Freaky Friday,'' Waters keeps it wild but real, and the result is not only a series of lively scenes but lively close-ups: The big-eyed, expressive performances are just fun to watch. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The movie is always entertaining and frequently smart about the new ground one girl will break to humiliate another. Read full review
75
PremierePeter Debruge
Mean Girls depicts the kind of traumatic high school experience that might await spoiled rich girls who grow up in two-parent households with designer clothes and Escalades. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Though not a perfect comedy, it manages to be quite often laugh-out-loud funny. The film's strong cast, including scene-stealing "SNL"er Tim Meadows as the school principal, also helps smooth out most of the rough edges. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Results in an edgy comedy, where laughs stem at times from uncomfortable situations. In other words, Mean Girls lives up to its title. Read full review
70
VarietyDavid Rooney
This sassy if wildly uneven comedy navigates the treacherous high school jungle that separates cool cliques from wannabes, wading through some nasty behavior before delivering its moral message. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Director Waters and screenwriter Tina Fey (also cast as the voice-of-reason math teacher) aim less for the usual high-gloss caricature than acutely hilarious sociology, nailing the servile malice of 15-year-old girls. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The film lacks the discipline to stay on point all the time, but Fey and director Mark S. Waters (Freaky Friday) have fun with offbeat throwaway touches. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
Bellyflops into the increasingly complicated American high school experience with a healthy reservoir of wit. Read full review
70
The New York TimesElvis Mitchell
The director, Mark Waters, working with a smart casting team, has assembled a superb group of players. Scene by scene you can't help being impressed by Mean Girls; it's like a group of sketches linked by a theme, with some playing much better than others. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
He (director Mark Waters) keeps the story light and bright, and he brings out real comic performances from his cast, including newcomer Seyfried, who plays her ditz with Judy Holliday charm. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
A smart little teen picture that, for a change, actually features recognizable teens. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The limp climax doesn't undo the solid humor, wicked social commentary, and delicious satire that precedes it, but it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. In the end, Mean Girls isn't mean enough. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Isn't exactly original: This is basically "Heathers" for a new generation, its satirical edges dulled, if still sharp enough to sting. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerKaren Heller
Alternately intriguing then not, and, like its subject, features a lot of lip gloss and girl-on-girl zingers. And like most contemporary movies, Mean Girls has no ending. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Lohan, in her third lead role in a year, is a good reactive young actress, and London, Ont., native Rachel McAdams is excellently evil, a dose of poison in a pretty lacquered container. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Lohan is a warm and engaging presence, but she's completely outshone by the bad girls, and when they're offscreen, Mean Girls is an oddly restrained, barely plotted movie. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Strikes a carefully calibrated balance between the film's darkly malicious sense of humor and its pastel sets and costumes. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A high school comedy that is sharply observed and often terrifically funny, yet oddly misconceived.
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Pleasantly acted and moderately funny, but it lacks the genuine bile that made "Heathers" (1987) so bracing. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
It's all very well to satirize perfect white females, but if you're sick of their attitudes why single them out as protagonists in the first place? What happened to the Asian Nerds? Or the Unfriendly Black Hotties? Or the tired teachers? Why can't we see a movie about them? [10 May 2004, p. 108]
60
Film ThreatChristopher Zinsli
It is Fey’s refusal to talk down to her audience that elevates Mean Girls above most other teen movies out there. Read full review
60
EmpireCaroline Westbrook
Despite its shortcomings -- it’s still one of the better teen movies to come along in a while. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Beyond the philosophizing, Mean Girls is a standard collection of low comic jokes. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
Wistful voiceover explains too much, and, even worse, interrupts the requisite Teen Movie Climactic Speech. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Basically a watered-down collage of scenes from "Heathers," "Clueless," "Sixteen Candles" and numerous other teen flicks. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerEllen A. Kim
The film can't decide between black comedy and bubblegum comedy, so it shoots aimlessly in between. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
All Fey does is apply a smattering of wit to the story. Read full review
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