Mean Girls

Having just returned from Africa, Cady (Lindsay Lohan) transfers into a typical American high school, one which is ruled with a vengeance by three cheerleaders nicknamed the Plastics. Unaware of the dynamics of the academic social hierarchy, Cady observes the proceedings with detachment until she befriends the Goth, Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and the high camp, Damian (Daniel Franzese). They convince her to infiltrate the Regina George (Rachel McAdams) led Plastics and destroy their standing in the school. Meanwhile, Regina, perhaps sensing a rival, invites Cady into their gang and gives her a crash course in etiquette, which helps when it comes to first serious crushes.

Although it follows a well worn formula right down to the tearful public confessional finale, there's a dark sense of humour simmering just beneath the surface of Mean Girls. Writer Tina Fey infuses the screenplay with a sly, if not particularly daring, sense of humour that picks off its targets with a relentless precision. That the film pursues such a rigid narrative structure prevents its from maximising its potential, but the humour and game performances, especially from Lohan and Franzese, ensures that Mean Girls isn't a wasted excursion. Not by any means.