We’ve all seen the iconicMean GirlswrittenbyTina Fey, or at least have heard one of its manyquotable lines of dialoguefrom the snappy “She doesn’t even go here!” to the upbeat “You go, Glenn Coco!” The cult hit film follows the journey of Cady (Lindsay Lohan), as she transforms from the naive new girl at school into one of the “plastic” mean girls, eventually coming full circle to rediscover her true, kind self. Whilst this sends a wholesome message, and creates a satisfying character arc, there are two memorable characters that makeMean Girlsshine: Janis Ian and Regina George, played byLizzy CaplanandRachel McAdams, respectively. Both actors are astonishingly good at portraying the warring two as they go to extreme lengths to claim back power within the brutal school hierarchy. With their stellar performances as fierce, problematic, and uncompromising characters, both Caplan and McAdams put themeanin the movie.
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Janis and Regina are Actually More Similar Than We Thought…
It is intimated from the outset ofMean Girlsthat Regina is the villain and Janis is the justice-seeking outcast. However, when reviewing Janis' actions, she’s not all that peachy-clean, often rivaling Regina in her deviousness. Plotting with new friend Cady to overthrow Regina from the top of the pecking order, Janis resorts to some messy tactics. While her schemes form some of the movie’s most fun and inventive segments, she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty in her quest to thwart Regina, from swapping face cream for foot lotion to cutting holes in her tank top. She and Cady even trick Regina into realizing her biggest fear by supplying her with calorie-dense bars, thus turning the already psychological warfare biological. Clearly, her actions form some of the most consequential and entertaining parts of the movie.
Janis manipulates Cady into helping her to enact her mean-spirited goal, tricking her at the beginning of the movie into skipping class by reassuring her that they’re friends, and next persuading her to infiltrate and sabotage Regina’s girl group. She is the leader of the offbeat pack consisting of herself, Cady, and Damian (Daniel Franzese) and drives the plot forward, teaching her inexperienced friend the lay of the land with shrewd cynicism, plotting Regina’s downfall, and kick-starting Cady’s descent into an honorary mean girl. Her role makes her central to the storyline and is a key ingredient in Cady’s coming-of-age journey.
Rachel McAdams' Regina George Is the Ultimate Queen Bee
Regina George is a scene-stealer too in her perfected bitchiness as leader of “teen royalty,” trio, which is completed by Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert) and Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried). Complementing Janis' toxicity, but in a more pointed and merciless way, she is the Queen Bee with style and ruthlessness in equal measure, lording over her “little workers.” We are presented with various supporting characters' glowing descriptions of Regina before we even meet her, increasing the hype surrounding her almost-mythological image, which her entrance does not disappoint. Using cutting language to drive away a boy who is bothering Cady in the school cafeteria, she instantly establishes her dominance. Throughout the film, she uses mind games and arbitrary rules to control everyone around her and maintain her position atop the ladder, ruling with such tyranny that her lackeys Karen and Gretchen assume the role of giving Cady the low-down of their code of conduct, barring her from dating Regina’s ex, or even wearing her hair in a ponytail more than once a week. She is the epitome of villainy, providing a character for Cady and Janis to rally against.
As two complementary feuding halves of a toxic whole, Janis and Regina separately take Cady under their wing to dogmatically teach her the rules of high school for their own gain, thus contributing to her devolution into a monster. They are both bitter and scheming, resorting to any means to seize power within the school hierarchy. Most of all, they both have a deep understanding of the mechanisms of power within high school and as such, are the embodiment of the movie’s underlying themes. It is telling that they barely directly interact in the movie; as two opposite sides of the same coin, their matching underhand intentions and cynicism are just expressed in different ways.
Lizzy Caplan’s Comedic and Dramatic Talent Continues in ‘Fatal Attraction’
As lead actors, Lizzy Caplan and Rachel McAdams are astonishingly good in their roles; if you compare their performances as ruthless high schoolers with any of their subsequent work likeFleishman Is In Trouble(Caplan) orEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga(McAdams), they are unrecognizable. A recent work that also showcases Caplan’s enigmatic performance is thenew TV seriesFatal Attraction, in which Caplan stars oppositeJoshua Jackson. Despite her character in this show is largely different from Janis, her acting is similar in its layered approach, confounding audiences of the character’s level of villainy or goodness. In both roles, she shows just as much vulnerability as she does vengeance, skillfully fleshing out multi-faceted and complex characters. As Janis in particular, she masterfully toes the line between someone who is wholly confident in their identity, and a person who is being consumed by enraged hysteria, seeming at one point fully in control and at another teetering on the edge of an outburst — with her rage constantly simmering under the surface.
Caplan is also incredibly comedic, turning a would-be victim or villain into someone likable and extremely watchable. With her savage put-downs and astute assessments of school lore, she delivers her snappy lines with aplomb: “It’s been a month, and all we’ve done is make Regina’s face smell like a foot.” Pairing this with facial expressions which vary between incredulity, disgust, and occasionally impish smugness (especially when accurately mimicking Cady’s vanity), her embodiment of this role makes it iconic.
Rachel McAdams Gave Us a Mean Girl for a Generation
Rachel McAdams is equally brilliant at portraying the gleeful viciousness of Regina. With enough dramatic flare to make the role imposing, and an equal measure of subtlety to make her character feel threateningly like a real girl you may have encountered at school, McAdams creates the high school diva from hell. Often employing a misleadingly honeyed smile ghoulishly matched with a menacing glare, she conveys the power of Regina to effortlessly reel people in and then squash them. With a similarly disdainful enactment of sarcasm as Caplan, McAdams uses expert physical comedy and delivery of lines to create the glamorous dictator Regina.
Similarly to Caplan, McAdams is also very funny. Boldly conveying a character who is devoid of common decency or empathy, she wholeheartedly leans into this personality. Also, no one does screaming rage like McAdams in the scene when she discovers Cady’s treachery, her anger’s total unrestraint serving as both a chilling and hilarious window into Regina’s mind. No matter how vindictive and dangerous Regina is, she is brought to life in a hypnotizing way that leaves the viewer wanting more.
Lizzy Caplan and Rachel McAdams are flawless in their manifestations of insecure teenage girls. With startling and insightful performances, their characters are a key and memorable part ofthe movie that perfectly summed up a generation. As Tina Fey andTim Meadowsare returning for theMean Girlsmovie musical, with Fey writing the script, we hope that these two addictively problematic characters' stories can still take center stage. Janis and Regina really did give us a wickedly enjoyable insight into the lives of mean high school girls.
