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We saw this this weekend, mostly because Tina Fey is my "celebrity I secretly wish was one of my best friends" (c'mon, you know you have one, too 
). It's being touted as a smart teen comedy, and while it's definitley smarter than your average teen comedy, I think it will be best enjoyed by people who don't get their hopes up too high.
It's inspired by the book Queen Bees and Wannabes, which I have not read and which I thought was reviewed on this site at one point but now I can't find it. It's basically about the social dynamics of high school girls (the cliques, the criteria on which you're judged, the power struggles, etc.), and it does have some smart things to say about all that, but . . .
My main problem with the movie is that it presents every teenage girl as either victimizer or victimized, with no third option at all or even a hint that there might be a third option. In the end there's some comeuppance followed by some sharing and learning and hugging and growing, but it seems to put forth the idea that first all teenage girls have to be either a villain or a victim--and probably both--in order to learn these lessons and enter adulthood. If I had seen this movie with a pre-teen (who made up much of the audience) I'd definitely want to have a discussion with her about that message and other choices she might make.
But all that aside, as a comedy I thought it worked--it was funny and enjoyable and I laughed out loud several times and nodded my head in agreement often and generally enjoyed myself. I'd recommend it.
). It's being touted as a smart teen comedy, and while it's definitley smarter than your average teen comedy, I think it will be best enjoyed by people who don't get their hopes up too high. It's inspired by the book Queen Bees and Wannabes, which I have not read and which I thought was reviewed on this site at one point but now I can't find it. It's basically about the social dynamics of high school girls (the cliques, the criteria on which you're judged, the power struggles, etc.), and it does have some smart things to say about all that, but . . .
My main problem with the movie is that it presents every teenage girl as either victimizer or victimized, with no third option at all or even a hint that there might be a third option. In the end there's some comeuppance followed by some sharing and learning and hugging and growing, but it seems to put forth the idea that first all teenage girls have to be either a villain or a victim--and probably both--in order to learn these lessons and enter adulthood. If I had seen this movie with a pre-teen (who made up much of the audience) I'd definitely want to have a discussion with her about that message and other choices she might make.
But all that aside, as a comedy I thought it worked--it was funny and enjoyable and I laughed out loud several times and nodded my head in agreement often and generally enjoyed myself. I'd recommend it.