254. Mean Girls

Title: Mean Girls
Genre: Comedy
Year: 2004, 2011

Summary:

Mean Girls (2004): Cady Heron is the 16-year-old homeschooled daughter of zoologist parents. They have returned to the United States after a 12-year research trip in Africa, settling in Evanston, Illinois. New classmates Janisand Damien warn Cady to avoid the high school's most exclusive clique, the Plastics, the girls led by queen bee Regina George. The Plastics take an interest in Cady, inviting her to sit with them at lunch and shop with them after school. Seeing this, Janis hatches a plan of revenge against Regina, using Cady as infiltrator.

Cady soon learns about Regina's "Burn Book", a notebook filled with rumors, secrets, and gossip about the other girls and teachers. Cady also falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels, whom a jealous Regina steals back at a Halloween party. Cady continues with Janis's plan to cut off Regina's "resources," separating her from Aaron, destroying her beauty, and turning Regina's fellow Plastics, insecure rich girl Gretchen Wieners and sweet but ditzy Karen Smith, against her. In the process, Cady remakes herself in Regina's image, becoming spiteful and superficial and abandoning Janis and Damian.

Regina responds by spreading around the contents of her Burn Book, quickly inciting a riot. To avoid suspicion, Regina inserts a fake libel of herself in the book in order to blame Cady, Gretchen, and Karen, the only female students not mentioned in the book. Principal Ron Duvall soon quells the riot, and math teacher Ms. Sharon Norbury, whom the Burn Book slandered as a drug dealer, makes the girls involved in the plot confess and apologize to the other students and teachers. When Janis's turn comes, Regina makes an insulting joke about her sexuality, at which the crowd laughs. Janis retaliates by confessing her plan to destroy Regina with Cady's help, and openly mocks Regina with the support of the entire school. Pursued by an apologetic Cady, Regina storms out and gets hit by a school bus, breaking her spine.

Without friends, shunned by Aaron, and distrusted by everyone, Cady takes full blame for the Burn Book. Her guilt soon dissolves, and she returns to her old personality. As part of her punishment and reformation, she joins the Mathletes in their competition. There, while competing against an unattractive girl, Cady realizes that mocking the girl's appearance would not stop the girl from beating her. At the Spring Fling dance, Cady is elected Queen, but declares that all her classmates are wonderful in their own way, whereupon she breaks her tiara and distributes the pieces. Cady makes amends with Janis and Damian, reconciles with Aaron, and reaches a truce with the Plastics.

By the start of the new school year, the Plastics have disbanded. Regina joins the lacrosse team, Karen becomes the school weather girl, Gretchen joins the "Cool Asians", Aaron graduates from high school and attends Northwestern University, Janis and Kevin begin dating, and Cady declares that she is now "an actual human being". Damien witnesses the new Junior Plastics walking by, but they are immediately hit by a bus. It turns out, however, that this was only a humorous figment of Cady's imagination.

Mean Girls 2 (2011): Tomboy Johanna Mitchell is an 18-year-old high school senior. On her first day at North Shore High School, she encounters a clique called "The Plastics", which is comprised of the self-proclaimed leader Mandi Weatherly; the ditzy girl with the raging libido, Chastity Meyer; and the hypochondriac Hope Plotkin. Jo also meets Abby Hanover, whom Mandi perceives to be a rival. Jo develops an attraction to Tyler Adams. Despite Jo's attempts to avoid the Plastics, conflict develops between them and Abby.

When Jo meets Abby's father, a successful infomercial entrepreneur, he offers to pay Jo's college tuition in exchange for remaining good friends with Abby. Jo accepts, motivated by her desire to attend university. Jo, Tyler, and Abby become close friends. Jo also learns that Tyler is Mandi's stepbrother. Mandi also escalates her war of pranks.

Jo, Abby and another outcast girl, school newspaper reporter Quinn, start a new clique called the "Anti-Plastics". They enact a series of pranks against Chastity and Hope, and Jo runs against Mandi for Homecoming Court, and their campaign threatens Tyler and Jo's relationship. Jo tries to give back the money Sidney Hanover gave her for her friendship with Abby, which Mandi overhears and uses it against her. This leads to Tyler and Abby leaving her along with the rest of her friends.

The homecoming court charity money is stolen by Nick and Mandi. Mandi leaves an anonymous note saying the money is in Jo's shed. The money is found in there. Jo is expelled but not before she finds Mandi and challenges her to a game of flag football. Mandi at first refuses until she realises that she needs to win to remain popular so reluctantly agrees.

Tyler and the other Anti-Plastics try to help prove her innocence with the help of Elliott, a computer hacker. After beating the Plastics in a game of flag football, Mandi and Nick are arrested after images of them planting the money in Jo's shed are found by Elliot and revealed. At the school's Homecoming Dance, Abby and Elliott are elected as king and queen, thanks to Jo dropping out of the competition.