10 Years Later: Why We’re Still Obsessed With Mean Girls


Ten years ago today, Upper Darby’s own Tina Fey and Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels brought us Mean Girls, and, in one way or other, we’ve been under its spell ever since. To honor this pop culture milestone, I threw on my XXL pink shirt and came up with the 10 reasons we’re still so obsessed with the film after all these years.

1. Without Mean Girls, no one would give a shit about Lindsay Lohan. Not even Oprah.

Lohan went from teenage drama queen to full-on tabloid mainstay after Mean Girls came out, making her one of our favorite celebs to love to hate. In the 10 years since the film, our girl has endured family drama, stays in rehab(s), legal troubles, box-office flops, and, of course, Living Lohan. It’s no wonder Oprah wanted to give girlfriend a second chance.

2. It gave us our first big-screen Tina Fey / Amy Poehler pairing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP2NpFC5P48

Misses Fey and Poehler were riding high from SNL when Mean Girls came out, but this was the first time we were blessed with a big-screen collaboration between the funny-lady duo. Soon after, they would team up for 2008’s hilarious Baby Mama, and eventually go on to sign multi-year contracts to host the Golden Globes. Next up, the pair will reunite in the upcoming comedy, The Nest.

3. It launched the careers of some of your favorite Hollywood starlets.

Lindsay isn’t the only one to reap instant success after Mean Girls. Rachel McAdams (Regina George) went on to woo Ryan Gosling and Channing Tatum in The Notebook and The Vow, respectively; Amanda Seyfried (Karen Smith) recently starred in Les Misérables and Lovelace; Lizzy Caplan (Janice Ian)) brought us hilarious indie flick Bachelorette, and now has a racy role on Showtime’s Masters Of Sex. We can’t really say the same for Lacey Chabert (Gretchen Wieners), though. Womp-womp.

4. We will have something sassy to quote for the rest of our gay lives. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YUaQGEQ8-Q

Think of how many times you’ve drunkingly shouted, “I want my pink shirt back!,” or wished that somebody would say something about your wig so you could tell them it’s made out of their mom’s chest hair. Let’s face it, Glen Coco, Mean Girls dialogue has a way of creeping into our everyday jargon. In truth, I have only just begun to crack open the box of  Mean Girls phrases. I’ll say it again. Crack.

5. The soundtrack kicks ass.

Kelis, Debbie Harry, and Pink are just a few of the divas who appear on the fabulous Mean Girls soundtrack. Samantha Ronson also has a song on the disc, “Built This Way,” which is played several times in the movie. Wonder if that’s how she and Lindsay struck up their love affair?

6. There is even a national Mean Girls holiday.

All true Mean Girls fans know that October 3rd is National Mean Girls Day. If you’re scratching your head over the connection between Mean Girls and October 3rd, then you don’t deserve to sit at this table.

7. It brought us those hilarious Todrick Hall parodies.

Mean Girls is already funny as hell, but comedian Todrick Hall took it to a whole new ratchet level with his Mean Gurlz and Mean Boyz parodies. 

8. It makes TBS happen. 

I take no shame (and I know I’m not alone in saying this) that even though I’ve been a proud owner of the Mean Girls DVD for 10 years, I always watch it when it’s on TBS — with the commercials. It’s also instantly streamable on Netflix, insuring you’ll never have to go a day without it.

9. The jokes don’t get old. 

Besides teaching valuable life lessons (Be yourself! Don’t dumb yourself down for anybody!) and strong acting from its cast, Mean Girls is just as hilarious as it was 10 years ago. The film flows effortlessly without ever taking itself too seriously, and even after a decade, the jokes feel just as fresh and fierce. 

10. A little song called “Rumours.”

Like a true plastic diva, I have saved the most fetch reason we love Mean Girls for last. Take all the elements of Lindsay’s post-Mean Girls train wreck of a life, turn it into a cheesy pop song and what do you get? A wonderful little ditty called “Rumours.” Now, did Lindsay’s stop-watching-me anthem turn the music world upside down? Of course not, but what it did do was make us all admit that we could actually like a Lindsay Lohan song.