7 movies to watch if you love Mean Girls

With Mean Girls currently riding high in the Netflix charts, the following are 7 more movies to watch if you love the comedy classic.

Mean Girls was little short of a phenomenon when it released in 2004, launching the careers of its talented young cast, inserting words and phrases into the global lexicon, and making a mint at the box office in the process. It even nearly made fetch happen.

The film stars Lindsey Lohan as a teenager who was home-schooled in Africa, but now finds herself thrust into American High School life, where she learns about cliques and experiences bullying, all while making friends and falling in love.

Written by Tina Fey – who also appears – the jokes come thick and fast, while the film also has lots to say about the pressures facing teenagers in the modern age. And if you happen to be a fan, the following are 7 movies to watch if you love Mean Girls, in chronological order.

Carrie (1976)

Based on Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie revolves around the troubled title character, a shy 16-year-old girl who suffers awful abuse at home from her cruel mother. Meaning school should be a safer space for the teen.

But it very much isn’t, due to Carrie’s classmate bullies, an entitled, privileged, ruthless cabal who smell weakness, and use it to make her life a misery. But Carrie has a secret on her side – namely the power of telekinesis. Which she uses to wreak her revenge during the film’s memorably blood-soaked finale.

Class of 1984 (1982)

Don’t worry, we’re getting to the light comedies soon. But the most extreme movie on this list is probably the most similar to Mean Girls in terms of being about one squad ruling the school roost. In Mean Girls it was the Plastics. In Class of 1984, it’s the punks.

Andrew Norris (Perry King) is an idealistic young music teacher who starts work at a troubled inner city school where he’s soon confronting said troublemakers. And where the ruling clique in Mean Girls want to embarrass and humiliate their enemies, these punks are capable of doing much worse, resulting in an orgy of chaos and violence. But one that carries an important social message that remains relevant some 40 years on.

Heathers (1988)

Heathers is a superb teen comedy that’s also the very definition of a cult movie. The film flopped on release, but the teenage audience who did watch it fell in love with Daniel Waters’ sharply satirical script, and its shocking twists and turns.

Winona Ryder plays Veronica Sawyer, a student at Westerberg High School, and also a member of the feared Heathers clique, made up of three rich and beautiful girls called Heather.

Just as Veronica is starting to doubt the Heathers however, she meets new student J.D. (Christian Slater, being very Jack Nicholson) who sees an opportunity to upset the status quo by playing pranks on the girls. But then people start getting hurt, and what starts out an amusing lark, soon turns blackly comic, and ultimately deadly.

Clueless (1995)

OK, now we’re into the less violent stuff. Starting with Clueless, Amy Heckerling’s masterful teen comedy that (very loosely) transplants Jane Austen’s Emma to a Beverly Hills High School in the mid-1990s.

Alicia Silverstone is perfectly cast as Cher, the seeming airhead whose scheming makes enemies and alienates friends. Making her the film’s Plastic. But Cher also has a heart of gold, and Silverstone plays her with such wide-eyed innocence that you can’t help but adore the character. Even when she’s repeatedly saying and doing the wrong thing.

13 Going on 30 (2004)

13 Going on 30 features more High School bullies making life miserable for our hero. Here it’s the ‘Six-Chicks’ – featuring a young Brie Larson – being horrible to poor Jenna Rink. These pint-sized monsters make her do their homework, then ruin her birthday party, before wrecking her relationship with best friend/soon to be hunk Matt.

Jenna soon ages from 13 to 30 in the blink of an eye – hence the title – only to discover she’s become one of the Chicks, and in the process, turned terrible. The rest of the film finds grown-up Jenna – played by Jennifer Garner – trying to resist the lure of the bullies, and stay in touch with that inner child.

Easy A (2010)

Another loose adaptation, Easy A finds screenwriter Bert V. Royal putting a very modern spin on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s literary classic The Scarlett Letter. Which was supposed to be the start of a trilogy that would’ve included teen versions of Cyrano De Bergerac and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Sadly, that shared universe didn’t happen, but Easy A is still ace, telling the tale of Olive Penderghast, who lies about losing her virginity, which kicks off a whispering campaign, that results in her High School reputation being ruined. Emma Stone is superb as Olive, while the equally excellent supporting cast includes Stanley Tucci, Thomas Haden Church, and Patricia Clarkson.

Do Revenge (2022)

Do Revenge stars Camila Mendes as a popular High School student whose life is ruined when the sex tape she shot with her boyfriend is shared online. She befriends Eleanor – played by Maya Hawk – who is also social outcast due to the spreading of a false rumor.

In Strangers on a Train style – only without the murder part – they team up and hatch a plan to ruin the other’s enemy. Making revenge a dish best served by your new best friend in twisted, at times hilarious, fashion.

That’s out guide to 7 great films worth watching if you love Mean Girls. While if you are a glutton for punishment, you can find out how and where to watch Mean Girls 2 here.