Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls What’s Aged the Worst? Four-way calls, the coach subplot and Africa generalizations In the discussion (12) Approx. transcript time · 00:35:35Read transcript Four-way telephone calls feel obsolete beside FaceTime The soundtrack is criticized as underselling its young female audience Kelis’s Milkshake is defended as an exception Budget limitations are suggested as a possible explanation for music choices Jonathan Bennett’s narrow subsequent screen identity is lamented The surprise of Lacey Chabert having grown up is harder for later viewers to share Fetch not catching on is raised, then reconsidered because the rejection phrase endured The teacher-underage-student joke feels uncomfortable Samantha Ronson’s song evokes the later celebrity relationship for one host Cady lowering her grades for Aaron is criticized and defended as intentional satire Racial stereotypes and treating Africa as one homogeneous place are criticized Final preferences split among technology, the coach plot and Africa references
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls The Reverse Vivian Award for Worst Clothes Cady’s party dress and school skirt-and-top combination In the discussion (6) Approx. transcript time · 00:45:30Read transcript The early-2000s wide-waistband miniskirts evoke painful fashion memories High heels and office-style pumps at school are questioned Heavy eyeliner and blue eye shadow are discussed One choice is Cady’s black-and-pink party dress Another is her short skirt and Henley combination The hosts acknowledge that looking uncomfortable and overdone serves the Plastics satire
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls Casting What-Ifs Lohan and McAdams swapped initial roles; Franco and Cuthbert considered In the discussion (7) Approx. transcript time · 00:50:33Read transcript Lohan and McAdams originally auditioned for the opposite roles Lohan wanted Regina; the director insisted she was the heroine McAdams is judged too knowing to make the homeschooled Cady work James Franco is reported as an Aaron Samuels possibility Franco would add a darker presence that might shift focus away from the girls Elisha Cuthbert is reported to have lost Regina The panel prefers the cast as it is
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award Kevin G and Damian; Amy Poehler’s nomination is disputed In the discussion (6) Approx. transcript time · 00:54:08Read transcript Kevin G is the initial leading choice Bill nominates Poehler and argues for ten percent less intensity The others strongly defend the cool-mom character’s broadness Damian’s candy-cane delivery is proposed as too heightened One participant retains Kevin G while another accepts the Damian alternative Bill concedes he will not formally choose Poehler despite his personal preference
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance Tim Meadows, with Amanda Seyfried as the alternative In the discussion (6) Approx. transcript time · 00:55:59Read transcript Amy Poehler and Tim Meadows are nominated Seyfried is added for doing a lot with limited screen time Her spacey physical comedy and psychic/ESPN confusion are praised Meadows is preferred for making an underwritten principal work His relationship with Ms. Norbury and gym lines are highlighted A second participant agrees with Meadows while one retains Seyfried
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls Half-Assed Internet Research October 3, script changes and production details In the discussion (13) Approx. transcript time · 00:57:30Read transcript October 3 is discussed as fan-observed Mean Girls Day Homeschooled is reported as the original title Fey pitched relational aggression and Michaels also wanted aspirational cars and clothes The North Shore setting connects wealth with popularity Sexual dialogue was softened to reach PG-13 Tim Meadows’s broken hand was incorporated as carpal tunnel Poehler is reported to be only seven years older than McAdams Seyfried recalls Chabert welcoming her and listening to Dido together An alleged deleted explicit scene is read and doubted as tonally implausible A sausage piece reportedly motivated the Chihuahua gag The Broadway musical is praised secondhand The direct-to-video sequel and Lohan’s later sequel pitches are discussed The hosts speculate over whether McAdams or Poehler would be hardest to schedule
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls Apex Mountain Lindsay Lohan is unanimous; other careers peak elsewhere In the discussion (7) Approx. transcript time · 01:03:16Read transcript Lohan is the emphatic unanimous choice for this being her career peak Fey is placed at the overlap of 30 Rock and Sarah Palin impressions Poehler and Seyfried are rejected for this point in their careers Tim Meadows is floated, with The Ladies Man as an alternative Chabert is placed at Party of Five McAdams’s power is associated with completing the Mean Girls–Notebook–Wedding Crashers run The Gosling/McAdams MTV kiss is recalled as part of that moment
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award Damian In the discussion (4) Approx. transcript time · 01:05:04Read transcript Damian is recognized as an actor strongly identified with this role The girl later appearing in Ariana Grande’s video is an alternative without a confidently supplied actor name Amanda explicitly breaks the tie for Damian Aaron Samuels is also mentioned in this recognizable-character discussion
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls Picking Nits The nutrition-bar deception and the tidy ending In the discussion (9) Approx. transcript time · 01:07:22Read transcript Would image-conscious Regina really misunderstand the bars while gaining weight? The panel acknowledges the film tries to depict nutritional ignorance but still doubts it Why would Cady win the dance crown after the Burn Book scandal? The outcome is defended as an anti-Regina vote Kevin G and Janis ending up together seems arbitrary The Norbury/principal pairing is called too neat and professionally awkward Cady’s closing speech feels like a different, moralizing film The crosswalk and speeding school bus are questioned The crown breaks too easily
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie Stop trying to make fetch happen In the discussion (9) Approx. transcript time · 01:12:17Read transcript The fetch rejection is the final shared preference The rules-of-feminism line is nominated Janis’s comments about Damian are discussed in the context of friendship Karen’s ESPN and psychic claims are nominated Gretchen’s secrets-filled hair is nominated The rainbow-cake speech and the outsider interruption are nominated Poehler’s cool-mom declaration is nominated Wearing pink on Wednesdays is nominated The shopping invitation is nominated
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake A smart television version could work; a generic teen remake is less appealing In the discussion (5) Approx. transcript time · 01:15:06Read transcript The panel agrees a ten-episode adaptation is possible but questions whether it should exist One host would immediately sample it Another requires the original’s intelligence rather than a generic teen soap The Bold Type is offered as a useful tonal model Mean Girls 2020 is floated as an election-like title
Mean Girls · The Rewatchables ·April 30, 2019 Mean Girls Probably Unanswerable Questions Regina’s college lacrosse future and Cady/Aaron’s breakup In the discussion (5) Approx. transcript time · 01:16:49Read transcript Would Regina become an All-American college lacrosse player? Williams, Duke and Northwestern are proposed as destinations The ending redirects her aggression into competitive sport Would Cady and Aaron break up at Halloween or Thanksgiving? The imagined timeline is a Halloween fight followed by a Thanksgiving breakup
