Mean Girls was a massive hit and has gone down in history as one of the most successful films of the teen comedy sub-genre. While it may have revolved around high school it attracted a diverse demographic, making it one of the most quoted films of the 2000s. The movie shaped a new generation of teen comedies in cinema. But this cutesy film is more than what it appears to be on the surface. There are dark undercurrent and a sad story surrounding this movie.
After it was released in 2004, Mean Girls became a cultural phenomenon. It starred Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, gave us the word “fetch,” introduced The Plastics, pink Wednesday, and burn books, and garnered itself a cult following. Mean Girls was so influential that the go-to method of singling out a bully was to see if they were similar to Regina George. Other films continue to reference the movie, giving it household-name status, even among those who’ve never seen it.
Famous singer, Mariah Carey was such a fan that she even wrote a song in tribute to the film. Knowing how much she dug the film her friends even surprised her with a Mean Girls themed birthday party. The ex-US president Barack Obama also shared a mean Girls meme once.
Despite everything the world knows and loves about the film, there are still things that need to be revealed about this scathing critique of American high schools. There's a dark side to the film that few have discussed out in the open. The film's first casualty? Lindsay Lohan.
By now, there are few who don’t know of the fateful demise of Lindsay's career after playing Cady in this film. After its release, her career hit a massive slump which spiraled all the way down to jail and rehab. Her first of many arrests came in 2007 when she was caught drunk-driving. This was followed by years of battling legal problems and addiction issues.
Lindsay Lohan appeared in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, where she admitted she was an addict battling both drug and alcohol issues. After Mean Girls, Lohan was able to land a few odd movie roles, but they never helped her fully recover her career.
Damian was bullied by The Plastics and most of the school community, a fate that matched the real-life drama of the actor who took his character. Years after the release of the mean girls, Daniel Franzese confessed to being a victim of bullying by a fellow co-star who was identified as Bijou Phillips.
Ironically, they worked together on a film entitled Bully in 2001, and he accused the actress of body-shaming him and asking uncomfortable questions about his sexuality. After this confession, Phillips issued a public apology but denied that she was homophobic.
Mean Girls was about bullying, and everyone knows that, but apparently, the bosses at the Primark budget store decided to ignore that fact. This became evident when their Mean Girls t-shirts (featuring The Plastics’ slogan “You Can't Sit With Us”) came under fire.
People accused them of encouraging bullying, but the owners/bosses sassed their way through the issues by refusing to even issue a statement, let alone withdraw the stock. Did Regina George inspire their business model?
What a disaster! The Mean Girls sequel arrived seven years after the original but didn't make it into cinemas. In fact, it was so bad that few people even acknowledge its existence. To be clear, this was not an official sequel and was in no way connected to the first film. Tina Fey wouldn't be caught dead releasing roadkill movies!
Critics labeled it as a poor imitation of the original that shared only its name, bearing none of its quality whatsoever.
They had to fake Rachel's hair to achieve a look more fitting for a leader of The Plastics. After all, having good hair was a requirement for them. Remember, ponytails are only accepted once a week!
Regina George's perfect, long, blonde hair was the envy of the school (and countless movie fans). But it was revealed to be fake after an insider leaked the story. The producers had to spend $10,000 to have a wig made out of real human hair. Why did they have to spend so much? Rachel refused to have her hair bleached.