!!The first film:
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Back when Janis and Regina were friends, Janis was the [[AlphaBitch queen bee]] and Regina was the innocent friend (like Cady) who was [[FromNobodyToNightmare slowly evolving]].
* CultClassic
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Special mention has to go to Glen Coco, a character who we only see briefly, do not hear, and only hear one line about, and is still this trope for some.
--> Glen Coco? Four for you Glen Coco! You go Glen Coco.
** According to the special features, the Mathletes were the favorite characters of the cast and crew.
** [[RootingForTheEmpire Regina George herself]] has been known to be the show stealer for many people too, as have Gretchen and Karen.
* FountainOfMemes: Dear Heavens. The amount of oft-quoted lines in this movie is rivaled only by StarWars and {{Casablanca}}.
* FridgeBrilliance: Regina's line referring to Gretchen's nomination for Spring Fling Queen, saying that "She's not even pretty." In the original script, Gretchen was intended to be average at best, ugly at worst - mostly desirable because of her expensive clothes and lavish lifestyle. When the obviously pretty Lacey Chabert was cast for the role, this line was left in, and rather than just a statement, it becomes an insight into Regina's character. She truly believes that she is the queen bee because she deserves it, because she is superior to Karen and Gretchen. YMMV on which girl is most attractive, but this troper thinks we can all agree that each of them is gorgeous, and only Regina's inflated ego could have resulted in such a surprise at Gretchen's nomination.
* HarsherInHindsight: Regina's line "I couldn't invite her to my party, I mean, right, she was a lesbian!" to Cady became this trope when Lindsay Lohan started a romantic relationship with a woman.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Regina's "I couldn't have a lesbian at my party..." takes on a whole new (and funny) meaning now that LindsayLohan has picked up a girlfriend, and now that Creator/AmandaSeyfried has done [[Film/JennifersBody two]] [[{{Chloe}} movies]] in which her character [[GirlOnGirlIsHot makes out (and in one case, has sex) with another woman]].
*** For an added bonus, take a look at the list of songs during the credits. One of them is performed by Samantha Ronson, Lohan's on-and-off girlfriend.
** The fact that the film was toned down to PG-13 after Lindsay Lohan was cast, due to her being too "family-friendly" to star in an R-rated film.
** Before playing Gretchen Wieners, LaceyChabert was the voice of [[TheWildThornberrys Eliza Thornberry]], who traveled around exotic lands with her parents like Cady.
** Though it also counts as a FunnyAneurysmMoment depending on your view, the movie follows [[LindsayLohan Cady]] as she falls in with the wrong crowd and goes from a mild-mannered nice girl into a party-happy temperamental bitch...
*** Lohan's constant arrests and trips to rehab afterwards have led to the [[MemeticMutation widespread idea]] that Regina got the last laugh on Cady in the end.
** Cady sees two girls making out at the Halloween party and looks very dismayed.
** [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mean_girls_xl_05--film-A.jpg This shot]] has become surprisingly prophetic. [[hottip:+:Yes, that is Lohan in the garbage bin.]]
** From the sequel, Jo, the protagonist who is mercilessly tormented by the AlphaBitch, is portrayed by Meaghan Jette Martin, who [[CampRock would later go on to play an Alpha Bitch herself.]]
* HollywoodHomely:
** Gretchen. Regina comments that Gretchen isn't that pretty, implying that Gretchen is only popular for being rich, not for her looks like Regina and Karen and Cady. The problem? She's played by LaceyChabert.
** Janis, who is played by [[http://www.joblo.com/moviehotties/picture_viewer.php?pic=/moviehotties/images/profile-gallery/orig/lizzy-caplan-gallery14.jpg Lizzy Caplan]]. To be fair, the producers were reluctant to cast Lizzy as Janis because they felt she was too pretty, so they instead gave her an "alternative" look and showed that her lack of popularity was due to her fashion sense and [[FallenPrincess past events]] instead of her being ugly.
* HollywoodPudgy: Regina "balloons" up to a ''size 6''. Though at the height of her weight gain, the special effects crew did shove a pillow up under her shirt. When Regina bumps into a fat girl and she says, "Watch where you're going, fatass!" Regina has very obvious padding on her ass. Arguably intentional, to show how high Regina's standards are.
** Tina Fey comments on this commentary and notes that Regina at her fattest in the movie is probably around Tina Fey's own weight.
* MemeticMutation, FountainOfMemes: On {{Facebook}} and {{Tumblr}} (''especially'' Tumblr), there is not a single line from this movie that is not memetastic. Seriously, it's too many to count. Prepare for a long ass entry.
** [[http://www.facebook.com/pages/SHE-DOESNT-EVEN-GO-HERE/183790564620?ref=nf "SHE DOESN'T EVEN]] [[http://i47.tinypic.com/24flclg.jpg GO HERE!"]]
** "Four for you, [[EnsembleDarkhorse Glen Coco]]! [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htyf5wnC96w You go Glen Coco!"]]... which also has a Facebook page.
** "Don't have sex. You will get pregnant... and ''die''."
** "That's so fetch!"
*** [[ForcedMeme "Stop trying to make 'fetch' happen!"]]
** [[TwistingTheWords "So, you agree?]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex51QJfN1d8&feature=related You think you're really pretty?"]]
** [[SanitySlippage "We should totally just]] ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPDt6cMYvoM stab Caesar!"]]''
** "Boo! You whore."
** "That's why her hair's so big. It's full of secrets."
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J9T91r0p0E "How do I begin to explain Regina George?"]] and the ensuing explanation have been parodied to hell and back with characters from various other media. The scene itself makes Regina something of a MemeticBadass in-universe.
** On {{Tumblr}}, the Ashleys from ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' have been recast as grade-school versions of the Plastics.
** The [[http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-us-gymnastics-team-are-basically-the-movie-me US women's gymnastics team]] at the 2012 {{London|Town}} {{Olympic|Games}}s as the Plastics. {{Image macro}}s of the gymnasts (most of whom are teenage girls or twenty-something women) with appropriate lines from the film attached.
** "And none for Gretchen Wieners".
** "Damn Africa, what happened?!"
** How many of you have been victimized by Regina George?
*** She punched me in the face, and it was awesome!
** Ah, hell, [[OohMeAccentsSlipping I did not leave the south side for this!]]
** "If you're from Africa, why are you white?" "Oh my god, Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white."
** [[StealthInsult Vintage. So adorable.]]
** "I like ''invented'' her, you know what I mean?"
** Did you have an awesome time? Did you drink awesome shooters, listen to awesome music, and then just sit around and soak up each others awesomeness?
** Let me tell you something about Janis Ian. [[hottip:click for the rest:We were best friends in middle school. I know, right? It's so embarrassing. I don't even... Whatever. So then in eighth grade, I started going out with my first boyfriend Kyle who was totally gorgeous but then he moved to Indiana, and Janis was like, weirdly jealous of him. Like, if I would blow her off to hang out with Kyle, she'd be like, "Why didn't you call me back?" And I'd be like, "Why are you so obsessed with me?" So then, for my birthday party, which was an all-girls pool party, I was like, "Janis, I can't invite you, because I think you're lesbian." I mean I couldn't have a lesbian at my party. There were gonna be girls there in their *bathing suits*. I mean, right? She was a LESBIAN. So then her mom called my mom and started yelling at her, it was so retarded. And then she dropped out of school because no one would talk to her, and she came back in the fall for high school, all of her hair was cut off and she was totally weird, and now I guess she's on crack.]]
** "I can't help it if I've got a heavy flow and a wide-set vagina."
** "I can't go to Taco Bell, I'm on an all-carb diet! God, Karen, you're so stupid!"
** It's like the rules of feminism.
** "You know who's looking fine tonight? Seth Mosakowski." "Okay, you did not just say that." "What? He's a good kisser." "He's your cousin."
** "YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US!"
** "I'm not like a regular mom, I'm a ''cool'' mom."
** "The limit does not exist!"
** "You smell like a baby prostitute."
** "Can I get you guys anything? Some snacks? A condom? Let me know! Oh, God love ya." Frequently used with Third Wheel-pictures on tumblr.
** "Get in, loser! We're going shopping!"

* MisaimedFandom: Oddly, this movie seems to be most popular with the same kinds of people that it mercilessly makes fun of.
** Yeah, but it mercilessly makes fun of everyone.
* MoralEventHorizon: "Put it in the book." It's where Cady herself admits she's begun to act like a bitch; though at the time, she tells herself she's just pretending.
* OlderThanTheyThink: The often quoted line "It's like you've got ESPN or something" is usually attributed to this film, but that exact line actually came from an episode of ''Will And Grace'' (the line was said by Jack) that aired 3 years before this film came out.
** It was probably first said before that; it's a [[{{Malaproper}} malapropism]] probably almost as old as the channel itself.
* TestosteroneBrigade: While written by [[Creator/TinaFey a woman]] and marketed heavily to teen girls, it was released at the height of Creator/LindsayLohan's [[HollywoodHypeMachine "it girl"]] popularity, and features Lohan and a number of other young women[[note]]Specifically, [[SheIsAllGrownUp former]] ''Series/PartyOfFive'' star LaceyChabert and then-unknowns RachelMcAdams and Creator/AmandaSeyfried.[[/note]] in provocative dress throughout. Lots of men went to see it for the hot high school chicks.

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!!The sequel:
* FanonDiscontinuity" Though as a standalone movie, it's really not that bad.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: It's mentioned Tyler goes to Penn State in the epilogue. It's not the best school after the Sandusky scandal.
* JerkSue: Jo.
* {{Sequelitis}}: Apart from the element of Jo creating a group of Anti-Plastics and the climactic football game, the film is pretty much a remake of the first film, without the laughs. Also Jo's friends turning against her is extremely forced.
** Tina Fey repeatedly turned down offers to make the sequel. Now that the sequel was done without her, she regrets turning down the offer.
* UnintentionallySympathetic: Mandi's step-brother is ''really'' callous towards her. It's not exactly undeserved but since she seems to like him, Taylor can come across as a bit of a jerk and arguably even as a contributing factor to Mandi's bitchiness.
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