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Mean Girls

year 2004decade 00sdirector Mark Watersgenre Comedy

97 minutes [ 1 ]

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Lindsay Lohan Cady Heron
Rachel McAdams Regina George
Tina Fey Ms. Sharon Norbury
Tim Meadows Mr. Ron Duvall
Amy Poehler Mrs. June George
Ana Gasteyer Betsy Heron
Lacey Chabert Gretchen Wieners
Lizzy Caplan Janis Ian
Daniel Franzese Damian Leigh
Neil Flynn Chip Heron
Jonathan Bennett Aaron Samuels
Amanda Seyfried Karen Smith
Rajiv Surendra Kevin Gnapoor

Mean Girls | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Juliet Litmanhost Amanda Dobbins
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

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

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

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

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