10 Movies to Watch if You Liked Mean Girls (2024)

Mean Girls is one of those films that gets better the more you watch it because there is almost always some snide joke or hidden detail to catch that you missed the first six times. Given that Tina Fey not only wrote the original screenplay, but also inserted herself in the film as the teacher who gets told off, speaks volumes towards her comfort level in the comedic world. Mean Girls is quotable, memorable, and it reminds many fans just how crazy and stereotypical high school can seem.

As many of us so desperately wait for Fey's Mean Girls musical to come out in January 2024 (in which she and Tim Meadows will both reprise their roles as the pushy math teacher and principal), we will simply have to enjoy other films that deal with the mean-girl trope. Some characters handle their bullies better than others, and some are much like Cady Heron and become the bully for a brief time. Regardless of which takes place, check out these 10 movies if you like Mean Girls.

10 Do Revenge (2022)

Do Revenge

TV-MA

Release Date

September 16, 2022

Director

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Cast

Camila Mendes , Maya Hawke , Austin Abrams , Rish Shah

Main Genre

Comedy

Read Our ReviewIn Do Revenge, Riverdale star, Camila Mendes, portrays a popular high school senior named Drea who finds herself on the outskirts of her friend-group after an intimate video of her goes around the school. She befriends another outcast named Eleanor (Maya Hawke), and the two plot to humiliate and expose those who did them wrong. However, Drea does not know that Eleanor has a more secretive plan up her sleeve.

Do Revenge has all the petty drama and elaborate revenge plans like Mean Girls, but this time, grudges are held much longer. The typical high school stereotypes are present, but in this day and age, it is hard to tell who has a hidden agenda when they make friends with others.

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9 Easy A (2010)

Easy A

PG-13

See Also

40 Totally Fetch Movies Like Mean Girls You Definitely Have To Watch - Looper16 Movies Like "Mean Girls" to Watch If You're Craving Some Teen Drama22 Movies Like "Mean Girls" That All the Cool Cliques Are Watching10 Must-Watch Movies Like Mean Girls on Netflix (November 2024)

Romance

Comedy

Drama

Release Date

September 17, 2010

Director

Will Gluck

Cast

Patricia Clarkson , Malcolm McDowell , Penn Badgley , Stanley Tucci , Lisa Kudrow , aly michalka , Dan Byrd , Emma Stone , Thomas Haden Church , Amanda Bynes

Easy A has the innocent love and humor of a John Hughes film, the witty literary element of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and Emma Stone, who is one of the funniest women in modern-day comedy. While this movie could have gone wrong in many different ways, the fact that Stone's character is intelligent and humorous — not to mention she has a great and open relationship with her parents — allows it to be the successful and lighthearted comedy that it is.

Stone plays a high school student named Olive who ends up being the talk of the school after a rumor goes around that she lost her virginity to an older guy. Rather than let the false story ruin her, Olive embraces the lie and finds a way to capitalize on it by allowing guys to say they have slept with her (though they have not) in exchange for gift cards and things. Here, the mean girl is a self-proclaimed devout Christian (Amanda Bynes) who turns a blind eye only to certain things in her immediate circle.

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8 Sydney White (2007)

Sydney White

PG-13

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

September 21, 2007

Director

Joe Nussbaum

Cast

Amanda Bynes , Sara Paxton , Matt Long , Jack Carpenter , Jeremy Howard , Crystal Hunt

As a modern day telling of "Snow White," Sydney White sees its titular character (Amanda Bynes) going toe-to-toe with her own version of the evil queen: a mean girl — appropriately named Rachel Witchburn — who is actually just a student council president and the head of a very exclusive sorority. After Sydney is kicked out of her sorority's induction, she finds a home with the "seven dorks" who have been labeled outcasts by the rest of the fraternities. Sydney and the dorks then try to get justice for the whole student body as they run against Rachel.

The 2000s were just a different time for teen comedy movies as the standard tropes were predictable and comical, and the storylines are still cringey and dramatic. Sara Paxton does an excellent job of playing the mean girl in power, and Bynes is genuine and comfortable in her tomboyish new-girl-on-the-block role.

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7 Bridesmaids (2011)

Bridesmaids

R

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

May 13, 2011

Director

Paul Feig

Cast

Kristen Wiig , Rose Byrne , Maya Rudolph , Melissa McCarthy , Ellie Kemper , Wendi McLendon-Covey

When a group of women gets together, there is supposed to be a sense of empowerment and understanding among everyone, but sometimes, jealousy can override everything. Kristen Wiig co-wrote and starred in Bridesmaaids as the self-pitying best friend of Lillian (Maya Rudolph) who recently got engaged. Lillian believes the preparation for her wedding should be fun and easy with all of her best girlfriends around her, but Annie (Wiig) and Helen (Rose Byrne) passive aggressively make things very difficult as they fight for their friend's affection.

Like Mean Girls, Bridesmaids is a women-driven film that plays on the varying levels of friendship among women. While both films are respectively for more mature audiences, Bridesmaids feels more authentic as fans watch Wiig's character desperately try to hold onto her friendship as she feels it slipping away to a new and more stable individual. This movie helped Rebel Wilson get her foot in the door of Hollywood, and it also served as Melissa McCarthy's breakthrough in film.

Stream on Peacock

6 Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004)

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

PG

Comedy

Family

Romance

See Also

30+ Movies Like Mean Girls That Are Full Of High School Drama

Release Date

February 17, 2004

Director

Sara Sugarman

Cast

Lindsay Lohan , Adam Garcia , Glenne Headly , Alison Pill , Eli Marienthal , Carol Kane

Watching Lindsay Lohan star as Cady Heron in Mean Girls was iconic because she went from the average teenage girl who just wanted to fit in to the evil and manipulative queen bee of the school. How dramatic of a change is that? Then again, in the same year, Lohan starred in another teen comedy, The Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, where she played the girl who needed to be the center of attention yet again.

The story follows a teenager named Mary, who actually prefers to go by "Lola" since she has decided to reinvent herself after moving to the suburbs. Lola is a compulsive liar, and she has a knack for making everything in her life so dramatic. After things naturally spiral apart and secrets are revealed, Lola tries to cover up her lies, but there is just too much to contain.

Stream on Disney+

5 Bring It On (2000)

Cheerleaders often get a bad rap because of how they are made to be superficial and stuck-up in films. However, with every archetype comes a little bit of truth. Bring It On is full of mean girls, exclusive cliques, and petty drama. However, in each of the seven Bring It On movies, there is almost always an outcast who is trying to fit in with and gain acceptance from the squad.

Some critics may sneer at the movie as it follows a basic, formulaic plot, but again, most 2000s teen films were more known for their high-energy storylines and predictable characters, not their in-depth material. After making $90.5 million at the box office and inspiring six more films, even the most critical fans have to give credit where credit is due.

Rent on Prime Video

4 The House Bunny (2008)

The House Bunny

PG-13

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

August 22, 2008

Director

Fred Wolf

Cast

Anna Faris , Colin Hanks , Emma Stone , Kat Dennings , Hugh M. Hefner , Christopher McDonald

If you are in need of a corny women-led film with surface-level comedy as well as some crude jokes thrown in, look no further than The House Bunny. Anna Faris pitched the idea of a Playboy Bunny getting the boot and having to figure out life outside the mansion, but rather than take the dark turn that Faris imagined, the writers decided to turn her idea into a comedy.

Hugh Hefner, his three main girlfriends at the time, and other playmates briefly joined the film, making everything feel even more real. Hefner, Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson, and Bridget Marquardt were in the middle of shooting their own series, The Girl Next Door, so going on camera with their upbeat and spunky personalities was easy. Faris seemed to fit right in with the Bunnies on film, but happily, her character decided to pursue a more rewarding line of work.

Stream on Netflix

3 Legally Blonde (2001)

Legally Blonde (2001)

PG-13

Release Date

July 13, 2001

Director

Robert Luketic

Cast

Reese Witherspoon , Luke Wilson , Selma Blair , Jennifer Coolidge

On Wednesdays, The Plastics may wear pink, but Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) sports the vibrant color every day of her life. Legally Blonde is a fun and cheeky movie that humorously addresses the stereotypical ridicule blonde women tend to face when in serious situations. The film is based on Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name, which was inspired by her own personal experiences while going to Stanford Law School.

What is truly unique about the film is that everyone expects Elle to be a mean girl or a bimbo, but she is bright, sophisticated, and kind to everyone she meets. Witherspoon won three MTV Movie Awards for her lead role, and this character has gone on to inspire and empower many women in the working world.

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2 John Tucker Must Die (2006)

John Tucker Must Die

PG-13

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

July 27, 2006

Director

Betty Thomas

Cast

Jesse Metcalfe , Brittany Snow , Ashanti , Sophia Bush , Arielle Kebbel , Penn Badgley

Cady, Janis, and Damian were not the first trio of teenagers cooking up a plan to subdue their enemies, and they certainly won't be the last. In John Tucker Must Die, three girls get their hearts broken after discovering that John (Jesse Metcalfe) has been dating all of them in secret. To get their revenge, a new girl, Kate (Brittany Snow), is brought into the picture, and the three turn her into John's ideal girl. Their plan is for Kate to make John fall in love with her, humiliate him a bit, and then dump him. The plan is easier said than done as real feelings arise for everyone involved.

While the plot is dramatic, predictable, and fairly ridiculous, all can (and should) be forgiven as the actors have a rather charming chemistry on-set. This movie clearly wasn't made with the idea of winning any outstanding awards — though, for what it's worth, Jenny McCarthy did earn a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress — but it is humorous and silly like most other teen comedies.

Stream on Prime Video

1 Uptown Girls (2003)

Uptown Girls

PG-13

Comedy

Drama

Romance

Release Date

August 15, 2003

Director

Boaz Yakin

Cast

Brittany Murphy , Dakota Fanning , Marley Shelton , Donald Faison , Jesse Spencer , Austin Pendleton

A free-spirited trust fund baby meets her match with the world's most uptight eight-year-old in Uptown Girls, but after some time together, the two girls realize they were destined to be friends. Brittany Murphy starred as a frivolous young woman named Molly who was living a lavish lifestyle until she realized her late father's accountant embezzled all her money. A young Dakota Fanning played a little girl who would choose structure and cleanliness over chaotic fun.

Initially, the reviews for this film were less than stellar, but after some time to reflect on the decade's themes and hit genres (as well as the untimely death of Murphy in 2009), more and more people found a love for it. Fanning has since gone on to become an incredible actress, and she is grateful to have been able to work with such influential people, such as Murphy.

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