TB4000
05-01-2004, 02:19 PM
I had no intention of seeing this movie this weekend. I wasn’t even planning on hitting a theatre, lest go in the general direction of one until next weekend when the summer season officially starts with Van Helsing. I was tempted by a force stronger than my own will…a newspaper superior offering complimentary movie certificates if I review a certain chick flick. Sometimes the pride just has to be swallowed in this business, and I took a huge ass spoonful of pride last night as I ventured into the overwhelmingly female population of theatre 7, where Mean Girls was playing. Before its start, I had a glimmer of hope in conjunction with a moment of disdain…Tina Fey was the screenwriter, and she normally does pretty witty stuff on SNL; the moment of disdain being that she WRITES FOR SNL, which is often hit or miss. Nevertheless, I went into this theatre, engaged, ready for whatever this movie was gonna hurl at me. Needless to say, I was not impressed.
Mean Girls is the story of Cady (not Catty, as several of the characters mispronounce her name in that way, ha ha, get it?), who has lived in Africa since birth and been home schooled by her two zoologist parents, suddenly is thrust into the perils suburban Evanston, Illinois, a place I have been to on occasion which is overtly upper class, the one thing the movie does get right. Entering high school for the first time in her life, she discovers that it’s not all about edu-ma-cation, as the social status of this place is even more superficial than the real world. She bonds with a trying to hard to be a Goth Janis and her buddy Damian, an actor playing a gay student trying way too hard to be so as well. They give our girl Cady the rundown of the social cliques, ranging from the Sexually Active Band Geeks, Jocks, and the Cool and Geeky Asians(coincidentally, the epitome of being a “cool Asian” is to spout off the word nigga, as these characters do, so I must’ve missed that one in school). The creams of the crop however, are the Plastics, two blonde chicks and one brunette chick who are the center of attention for both the male and female population of the school, and the most popular, apparently. The head Plastic chick takes a liking to Cady, and invites her to bask with them. Janis sees this as a choice opportunity for them to infiltrate their circle, taking them down from the inside. And from there, well…you can pretty much figure out what happens.
I have said this time and time again about movies, but I am biased because I am not the target audience for this type of flick. It’s a suburban movie about suburban kids doing their suburban shtick. If this type of shallow shit is what takes place in high school these days, I weep for our future leaders of America, man. There are a few semi funny jokes poking fun at high school life, but most of it is pretty much dead in the water. There was a flick that came out in the ‘80’s called Heathers, and I have seen that one on TV a couple times, and this is a poorly made clone of that one, more or less. Plus it had Johnny Depp actually doing a little thing I like to call acting, something the people starring in this thing never come close to. The whole thing plays out like a sketch comedy show almost, with blatant stereotypical characters around every corner. And the ending…goddamn, the ending. The movie’s ending basically is a contrast to everything the former hour and a half was supposedly standing for. It’s a sappy, sweet speech-giving ending that all those teen movies like to end with, and damn it, if it’s worked for all the rest of them, why the hell not use a tired cliché again? Our audience is dumber than a bag of hammers, so why not?
I will be rinsing my eyes with chlorine again tonight, so as to remove any inkling of Mean Girls from my sight. And the next time a movie comes out starring anyone with the last name Duff, Lohan, Moore, or Bynes, please direct me to the nearest body of shark infested waters.
:rolleyes:
Mean Girls is the story of Cady (not Catty, as several of the characters mispronounce her name in that way, ha ha, get it?), who has lived in Africa since birth and been home schooled by her two zoologist parents, suddenly is thrust into the perils suburban Evanston, Illinois, a place I have been to on occasion which is overtly upper class, the one thing the movie does get right. Entering high school for the first time in her life, she discovers that it’s not all about edu-ma-cation, as the social status of this place is even more superficial than the real world. She bonds with a trying to hard to be a Goth Janis and her buddy Damian, an actor playing a gay student trying way too hard to be so as well. They give our girl Cady the rundown of the social cliques, ranging from the Sexually Active Band Geeks, Jocks, and the Cool and Geeky Asians(coincidentally, the epitome of being a “cool Asian” is to spout off the word nigga, as these characters do, so I must’ve missed that one in school). The creams of the crop however, are the Plastics, two blonde chicks and one brunette chick who are the center of attention for both the male and female population of the school, and the most popular, apparently. The head Plastic chick takes a liking to Cady, and invites her to bask with them. Janis sees this as a choice opportunity for them to infiltrate their circle, taking them down from the inside. And from there, well…you can pretty much figure out what happens.
I have said this time and time again about movies, but I am biased because I am not the target audience for this type of flick. It’s a suburban movie about suburban kids doing their suburban shtick. If this type of shallow shit is what takes place in high school these days, I weep for our future leaders of America, man. There are a few semi funny jokes poking fun at high school life, but most of it is pretty much dead in the water. There was a flick that came out in the ‘80’s called Heathers, and I have seen that one on TV a couple times, and this is a poorly made clone of that one, more or less. Plus it had Johnny Depp actually doing a little thing I like to call acting, something the people starring in this thing never come close to. The whole thing plays out like a sketch comedy show almost, with blatant stereotypical characters around every corner. And the ending…goddamn, the ending. The movie’s ending basically is a contrast to everything the former hour and a half was supposedly standing for. It’s a sappy, sweet speech-giving ending that all those teen movies like to end with, and damn it, if it’s worked for all the rest of them, why the hell not use a tired cliché again? Our audience is dumber than a bag of hammers, so why not?
I will be rinsing my eyes with chlorine again tonight, so as to remove any inkling of Mean Girls from my sight. And the next time a movie comes out starring anyone with the last name Duff, Lohan, Moore, or Bynes, please direct me to the nearest body of shark infested waters.
:rolleyes: