Mean Girls (2004)

So, besides the presence of the term 'axe-wound', what exactly is the difference between this and any other random 'tweener-aimed flick? Say what you will about Hillary Duff, but at least she has yet to appear in a film as self-satisfied as this one. A couple good moments and an amusing performance from Tim Meadows can't redeem this -- the satire is toothless, the direction is lowest-common-denominator obvious (yes, we get it, high school is like the animal world! stop bringing it up!) and the film eventually succumbs to the same high-school-movie cliches that it superficially has been working so hard to subvert. If the film was half as smart and clever as it thought it was, we might indeed be talking about this generation's Heathers. Instead, it's just another bland concoction meant to affirm to teenagers that their life is indeed as difficult as they've convinced themselves. Bah.

Grade: C