Synopsis

After years of homeschooling in Africa, Cady Heron enters an American high school and discovers that social survival can be as complicated as the jungle she left behind. She is welcomed into the elite Plastics clique, led by the manipulative Regina George, but a plan to undermine Regina gradually transforms Cady into the very kind of person she once opposed.

Factoids & Trivia

• Tina Fey developed the screenplay from Rosalind Wiseman's nonfiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes, which examines teenage cliques, gossip, and social pressure. The book supplied the subject matter, while the film's characters and storyline were largely created for the screenplay.

• Lindsay Lohan was initially considered for Regina George before the production decided she was better suited to play Cady. The change also helped preserve her likable public image at the time.

• Much of the story is set in Evanston, Illinois, but the school sequences were primarily filmed in Toronto. Several recognizable locations include Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, Malvern Collegiate Institute, and the University of Toronto.

• Tim Meadows broke his hand before filming. Rather than hide the cast, the production incorporated it into Mr. Duvall's explanation that he had carpal tunnel syndrome.

• Some of the screenplay's original sexual jokes were rewritten during production so that the film could retain a PG-13 rating instead of receiving an R rating.

• The character Janis Ian was named after the singer Janis Ian, whose song "At Seventeen" can be heard during the confrontation at Regina's house.

• The film became a lasting pop-culture phenomenon, inspiring a successful Broadway musical and a later musical film adaptation. Paramount describes the original as an iconic classic that popularized numerous catchphrases.