After living in Africa with her zoologist parents, Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) must brave the wilds of high school where she is taken under the wing of the popular girls, The Plastics, led by the cool and cruel Regina George (Rachel McAdams). What follows is a treasure trove of sharp, witty humor that defined a generation, inspired a hit Broadway musical, and popularized countless catchphrases. Co-starring and written by Tina Fey, and featuring Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, and Amy Poehler, Mean Girls is nothing short of a pop culture phenomenon and an iconic classic. – Synopsis via Paramount Pictures
MEAN GIRLS is directed by Mark Waters. He is best known for FREAKY FRIDAY and JUST LIKE HEAVEN. Tina Fey wrote the screenplay based on the book “Queen Bees and Wannabees.” The jokes and conversation are written like she consulted teenage girls to make the interactions between the characters feel authentic. I don’t know about now but this is very representative of when I went to high school with people being in cliques and groups looking down on others. It is a teen movie that still holds up after 20 years.
Cast
Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron
Rachel McAdams as Regina George
Lacey Chabert as Gretchen Wieners
Lizzy Caplan as Janis Ian
Daniel Franzese as Damian
Jonathan Bennett as Aaron Samuels
Amanda Seyfried as Karen Smith
Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury
Tim Meadows as Mr. Duvall
Amy Poehler as Mrs. George
Ana Gasteyer as Mrs. Heron
Neil Flynn as Mr. Heron
Rajiv Surendra as Kevin Gnapoor or Kevin G
VIDEO QUALITY 4/5
The video is a 2160p HEVC presentation and the very first thing noticed in the screening is the warm tones in the picture. Skin tones have always been on the warmer side and it looks as if the 4k version has had some color correcting by lowering the overall saturation. That being said, the Dolby Vision makes the transfer feel like it was captured by a 4k source. The colors in the clothing and setting are brilliant. Details are sharp and there are intricacies that I had not noticed before in clothing and the faces. Some shots and moments have soft edging but there is a subtle grain on the images.
AUDIO QUALITY 4/5
The audio is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. On paper, it is supposed to be identical to the 2009 Blu-ray release but it, as it turns out, is an improvement. The volume has a slight boost and the music has been layered better into the track. The LFEs have been boosted as well. The two scenes that I compared are the first time The Plastics hang out at Regina’s house and the Halloween party. The dialogue is clear and prioritized well.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING 3.5/5
-Class of 04 – This is a look back at the promotion from the cast and crew.
-Only the strong survive – This almost 25-minute extras is comprised of cast and crew interviews.
-Politics of Girls World – This interview is with the author of the book, Rosalind Wiseman.
-Plastic Nation – This is a 10-minute extra about the costume design.
-Word Vomit – This is 5 minutes of outtakes.
-Intercostals – A PSA
-Theatrical trailer
Disc Details
1 4k UHD Disc and Digital Copy
Slipcover is included with the initial release
Running Time
97 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated PG-13
Region Coding
Region Free
Video Resolution
2160p HEVC / H.265
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
HDR
Dolby Vision & HDR10
Audio Mixes
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English
English SDH
French
Spanish
THE BOTTOM LINE
MEAN GIRLS has aged nicely and this is an excellent release to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the film. It has a nice flow from beginning to end and with Tina Fey’s comedy, it just works. The video isn’t perfect but it towers over the Blu-ray. The audio is also an upgrade, even though it would seem it is the same mix, they did adjust it for this format release. It would’ve been nice to get an audio upgrade to one of the object-based audio formats to expand the sound field. There are some nice, new extras on here that are worth checking out. Overall, this is an easy recommendation whether you are a fan of the movie or checking out for the first time.
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