Mean Girls
Can you imagine being fresh meat about to be thrown to a pack of wolves? Lindsay Lohan's Cady Heron certainly can. After being home-schooled in Africa, Cady's family moves back to the United States, which forces Cady to attend school for the first time. Soon, two groups accept her, a duo (Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese) who seem to be on the outside looking in, and the Plastics, pretty, dumb, and pretty dumb girls who were led by Regina (Rachel McAdams). While at first it was a joke to be with the Plastics, soon Cady realized she was becoming just like them. What drove this and Cady's desire to bring Regina down was, of course, their love for Aaron Samuels played by Jonathan Bennett. As a result, it's up to her to combine her experiences with her core values to salvage the relationships she has made thus far so that it'll make the next year a livable place.

Written by rising SNL star Tina Fey, "Mean Girls" puts all the other teen movies released recently to shame. Containing an accurate portrayal of the high school scene and some quick wit, Fey has delivered on creating a smart teen comedy on a subject that's already been done many times over and without the cliches attached to it. Of course, writing is only half the battle. The teens comprise a superb cast led by Lohan and McAdams, conveying the sense of realism that Fey has written in the script. In some scenes, things could have been taken further for comedic effect or for story purposes, but for now, it's just right. 3 stars