Mean Girls was more than a teen movie. When it hit in 2004, it was a comedy that defined a generation.
Screenwriter/comedian Tina Fey found inspiration for the film in Rosalind Wiseman’s Queen Bees and Wannabes, a self-help book that explored how female friendships among girls could turn toxic. So, Mean Girls became more than a hilarious movie with lines we can’t stop quoting; it became a parable about how to be a better friend and build a healthier clique.
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Mean Girls starred ’00s It Girl Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron, a naive new girl from Africa who’s bewildered by the etiquette of American high school. Lucky for her, she’s swiftly welcomed into the popular girl clique known as the Plastics, where Regina George (Rachel McAdams) rules with an iron fist and French manicure. But Cady has a secret that she’s keeping from Regina and her henchgirls, Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert) and Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried). Aligned with misfits Janice Ian (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese), this new girl is looking to bring the queen bee down by acting as an inside man. That is, if she can resist the lure of being popular.
But if you’ve rewatched this movie so many times you can recite it from memory, you go, Glen Coco! I mean, then maybe it’s time to try something new? Want a comedy about female friendships surviving hilarious highs and wild lows? Want a teen movie that hits no matter your age? Want a film that will give you new vocal stims? We’ve got you covered.
Heathers
Before there were the Plastics, there were the Heathers. Set at Westerburg High School in Sherwood, Ohio, this 1989 dark comedy follows the unraveling of a clique of preppy, popular girls named Heather Chandler (Kim Walker), Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty), Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk), and Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder).
But when Veronica hooks up with bad boy J.D. (Christian Slater), she not only becomes increasingly fed up with her shallow and cruel besties, but she also begins to plot how to get revenge. One murder leads to more, and before long, Veronica needs to take some serious self-evaluation before her hot-and-heavy romance with J.D. blows up in her face.
This one is definitely darker than Mean Girls, and it’s rated R because of it. But it’s definitely influential in terms of female-friendship comedies. Plus, it has an unexpected fraternal connection, as Heathers was written by Daniel Waters, and Mean Girls was directed by his brother Mark Waters.
Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and Penelope Milford
How to Watch: Heathers is now playing for free on Tubi.
Mean Girls (2024)
Another thing that Mean Girls and Heathers have in common is that each was adapted into a stage musical. In 2024, Reneé Rapp, who briefly played the role of Regina George on Broadway, reprised the role in the movie adaptation of the musical.
Members of the original film’s cast make appearances, including Tina Fey and Tim Meadows, in roles as high school educators. But critics (myself included) noted that this music-driven reboot dulled the original’s wit. As I wrote in my review, “It seems this team was trying to wed Mean Girls with High School Musical, bleeding out the bits that might have been too jolting for parents so that kids could expand the demographic. It’s a strange call since both movies are PG-13. But there’s no denying this Mean Girls is playing it safe. And that’s not fetch.”
Starring: Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auliʻi Cravalho, Christopher Briney, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika Vandanapu, Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, Tina Fey, and Tim Meadows
How to watch: Mean Girls is now streaming on Pluto TV.
Clueless
Not all popular girls are mean! In writer/director Amy Heckerling’s hit comedy from 1995, a new girl in school is swept up into a world of house parties, designer fashion, and deeply clueless L.A. socialites. But as it’s based on Jane Austen’s Emma, Clueless offers a clique that really is trying to do their best by others.
Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) is a bright and eager student at her Beverly Hills high school. And with her no-nonsense bestie Dionne Davenport (Stacey Dash) by her side, Cher thinks she can tackle any challenge, from fending off her annoying ex-step brother Josh (Paul Rudd), playing matchmaker to improve her grades, or giving new girl Tai (Brittany Murphy) a makeover to turn her into a total Betty. And what does she get for all her efforts? An insult so scorching it still has us saying, “Way harsh, Tai.”
A true landmark in female friendship comedies, Clueless is funny, vibrant, and cool.
Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Dan Hedaya, Jeremy Sisto, Breckin Meyer, Twink Caplan, Donald Faison, Wallace Shawn, and Elisa Donovan
How to watch: Clueless is now streaming on Paramount+.
The Edge of Seventeen
Named after the Stevie Nicks song, The Edge of Seventeen is a sidesplitting comedy about a 17-year-old girl having a comically rough time. Rocked by the death of her father four years before, Nadine Franklin (Hailee Steinfeld) is a socially awkward misfit who struggles to connect to her image-conscious mom (Kyra Sedgwick) and her popular brother, Darian (Blake Jenner). Plus, she’s flailing at getting her crush to notice her. The one person she can depend on is her bestie Krista (Haley Lu Richardson) — that is, until she catches Krista in bed with Darian.
Feeling betrayed, Nadine has an unhinged (and very funny) crash out, which involves turning to her sardonic teacher (Woody Harrelson) for help. Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, The Edge of Seventeen is a wonderful movie that masterfully captures the agony and outrageousness of being a teen girl who’s trying to make sense of life, loss, and the real meaning of friendship.
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, Blake Jenner, Woody Harrelson, and Haley Lu Richardson
How to watch: The Edge of Seventeen is now streaming on Prime Video.
Booksmart
Olivia Wilde made her directorial debut with this critically praised coming-of-age comedy about two try-hard high school seniors who are desperate to shake up their reputation before graduation. See, Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are besties, who love each other — and overachieving. But once they learn that their hard-partying classmates also got into great colleges, they fear they’re underachievers on the social front. So, time to cram four years of sex, drugs, and shenanigans into one night.
Booksmart plays like Superbad for those of us who fear we relate to Liz Lemon too much. The screenplay from Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman is chock-full of jokes that go from raunchy and witty to brilliantly stupid. And a cast overflowing with terrific comedic talent assures that there’s never a dull moment. But some of the cringe comedy here may have you covering your eyes.
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Billie Lourd, Skyler Gisondo, and Molly Gordon
How to watch: Booksmart is now streaming on Lionsgate+.
Easy A
Another clever book adaptation, Easy A is a modern re-imagining of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter. Emma Stone stars as Olive Penderghast, a whip-smart 17-year-old girl who becomes the subject of much slut shaming when a prudish classmate starts rumors about her sex life. Rather than denying the claims, Olive leans in, wearing bustiers to school with a red “A” plastered on them, and accepting gift cards in exchange for letting boys lie about hooking up with her.
Written by Bert V. Royal and directed by Will Gluck, Easy A harkens back to the teen sex comedies of the ’80s with less problematic sexual politics. Stone is sensational in the lead role of a wise-cracking rebel. Penn Badgley pops up as a love interest in a woodchuck costume. And Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci play parents who are beautiful, funny, and cool in a way that’s almost infuriating, because we want to go to there! Hilarious and heartwarming, Easy A is a great choice for a cozy night in.
Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, Aly Michalka, and Stanley Tucci
How to watch: Easy A is now streaming on Paramount+.
Juno
In 2007, this comedy from screenwriter Diablo Cody became a sensation for its unique vision of teen angst and teen pregnancy. Elliot Page stars as Juno MacGuff, a quirky teen girl whose life is thrown into spin she realizes she’s carrying a baby after a hook-up with her crush, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). Thanks to encouragement from her best friend, Leah (Olivia Thirlby), she cooks up a plan to find some good grown-ups to adopt the kid. But prospective parents Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) aren’t as picture-perfect as they seem.
Cody won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Juno, and it’s easy to see why. Rather than trying to encapsulate how teenagers in the ’00s were using slang, she made up her own, building a unique world that invited all weirdos in warmly. From there, a vibrant color scheme, a terrific soundtrack from Kimya Dawson, and a cast exploding with chaotic charisma makes Juno a movie that’s timeless fun.
Starring: Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, and J. K. Simmons
How to watch: Juno is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
Unpregnant
Co-written and directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, this underseen buddy comedy offers a road trip like no other. Based on the novel of the same name by Ted Caplan and Jenni Hendriks, Unpregnant stars Haley Lu Richardson as Veronica Clarke, a 17-year-old who seems to have her future at an Ivy League university all lined up — until she finds herself staring down a positive pregnancy test in the girls’ bathroom.
Determined to get an abortion without her parents knowing, Veronica needs to travel across state lines. But her boyfriend is not the person she trusts to get her there. Instead, she turns to her former bestie, Bailey Butler (Barbie Ferreira), who is her real ride-or-die. While that sounds like the plot of the 2020 drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always, this bold PG-13 movie is firmly a comedy, turning America’s culture war on bodily autonomy of pregnant people into a truly wild ride that’s wonderfully funny. And beyond that, Unpregnant is a touching film about learning what it means to be a true friend.
Starring: Haley Lu Richardson, Barbie Ferreira, Alex MacNicoll, Breckin Meyer, Giancarlo Esposito, Sugar Lyn Beard, and Betty Who
How to watch: Unpregnant is streaming on HBO Max.
Bottoms
As a follow-up to her critically heralded cringe comedy Shiva Baby, writer/director Emma Seligman reteamed with writer/actress Rachel Sennott for Bottoms. This 2023 comedy stars Sennott and The Bear‘s Ayo Edebiri as two “ugly, untalented gays” who are desperate to get their crushes to notice them. So, they start a fight club for girls.
Naturally, these two losers have no idea how to fight. But lucky for them (and us), theirs is a world full of fools. Things get absolutely wild as horny teen antics escalate to arson, brawls, and a climax that is comically violent and utterly bizarre. One warning: Between the graphic violence, bawdy language, and general horniness, this one’s rated R. So, keep that in mind before cuing it up for a family movie night.
Starring: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Miles Fowler, Dagmara Domińczyk, and Marshawn Lynch
How to watch: Bottoms is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
