Mean Girls (2004) (20th Anniversary) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Mark Waters

Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows

Release Date: April 30, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

After living in Africa with her zoologist parents, Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) must brave the wilds of high school where she is taken under the wing of the popular girls, The Plastics, led by the cool and cruel Regina George (Rachel McAdams). What follows is a treasure trove of sharp, witty humor that defined a generation and inspired countless catchphrases, a hit Broadway musical, and a new twist on the tale in 2024. Co-Starring and written by Tina Fey, and featuring Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, and Amy Poehler, MEAN GIRLS is nothing short of a pop culture phenomenon and an iconic classic.

Please Note: Paramount Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

‘Mean Girls’ tells the story of Cady Heron who after years of being home schooled while living with her parents in Africa is now starting her first year of public high-school. Initially hesitant with the unfamiliar world around her, Cady is befriended by a couple of outcasts prior to being invited into the most popular girl clique in the school; the Plastics. Originally uncertain as to whether to waste her time with the stuck up trio of teens, she accepts after her one good new friend urges her to do so in order to get information, but before long Cady becomes engulfed in the popular world and begins to lose herself in the process, forcing her to decide what’s truly important.

The fan-favorite high-school coming of age comedy is directed by Mark Waters from a screenplay written by Tina Fey and based on the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman, Waters does a fantastic job guiding along ‘Mean Girls’ and capturing the hilarious ridiculousness of the world with a fittingly amusing style. The cast includes Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Ana Gasteyer, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Neil Flynn, Jonathan Bennett and more who each provide solid and fitting performances for the most part in their roles and help to make this one become (and remain) as fun as it is.

‘Mean Girls’ was first unleashed into theaters in April of 2004 and quickly gained a following of dedicated fans thanks to its capable cast, clever approach and witty humor that still retains a smattering a truth behind it and the end result was a smart coming of age comedy with end to end laughs to offer, while balancing it with a great deal of heart at times on top of it. The film still holds up remarkably well today, a full two decades after its release and has no trouble in still serving up constant fun and hilarity that’s relatable in the most ridiculous and hilarious manner possible.

Since its debut in 2004, ‘Mean Girls’ has been endlessly quoted, while also spawning a popular Broadway Musical and even a new musical film based on it, yet many fans still hold this 2004 installment as the best of the bunch (I haven’t had the pleasure of all three so I won’t chime in on this one personally) and there is certainly no argument to be made against the film’s style, humor and heart which come together to form a memorable movie that’s possibly even more beloved today than it was closer to its initial release. If you’ve never had the pleasure of this ‘Mean Girls’ film then I would strongly encourage you to give it a whirl, because you might just find yourself pleasantly surprised by how incredibly fun and funny it truly is.

In celebration of the film’s 20^th Anniversary (and also coinciding with the physical release of the new musical remake) Paramount Home Entertainment brings ‘Mean Girls’ home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever. The new 4K release arrives featuring a new Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 that may not be groundbreaking, but makes for a noteworthy improvement over the Blu-ray and other previous releases and looks quite nice. The solid new UHD video presentation is paired with what appears to be a carryover 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that was included on the previous Blu-ray edition(s) and is joined by a nice collection of bonus content including one brand new extra, along with collectible ‘Burn Book’ slipcase packaging that features the previous artwork within and a fitting hot pink case. Diehard fans of this beloved comedy that are fully 4K capable will likely want to consider picking this one up for the new video presentation and if you’re already considering a purchase it’s recommended, especially if you can find it for the right price.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Mean Girls’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR10 presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks quite good as a whole and delivers a sharp, clean and well detailed presentation from start to finish that doesn’t suffer from any notable encoding faults or issues to be uncovered throughout. It probably won’t be one of the format’s most notable releases ever or anything such as that, but it shows tremendous improvements over the previous Blu-ray release and detail is rich and sharp on character faces and clothing, along with the various indoor and outdoor settings which all look crisp and clean for the most part. The Dolby Vision HDR nicely boosts the presentation by providing some deeper and more accurate colors noticeable on various objects and tidbits along the way, while black levels are capable and clean throughout. Overall, this is a fairly great Ultra High Definition video presentation that holds up well without any reason for disappointment.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack appears to be identical to that included on the previous Blu-ray release of the film but still does its job quite well and provides a clean, crisp and occasionally fairly immersive audio presentation throughout. It takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send the music, crowd chatter at the school and party, along with plenty more expanding throughout the various speakers whenever fitting, while never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously becoming distorted or rendered problematic. Overall, this is a solid 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that does the job adequately to say the least.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 20^th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Mean Girls’ features a solid collection of extras including a brand new extra and numerous previously released supplements. Included on the release is the new retrospective Featurette ‘Mean Girls: Class of ‘04’ (running approximately 8 minutes in length) along with previously released bonus content including an ‘Audio Commentary with director Mark Waters, screenwriter and actress Tina Fey, and producer Lorne Michaels’, in addition to some cut footage in ‘So Fetch – Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by director Mark Waters and screenwriter and actress Tina Fey’ (running approximately 7 minutes altogether), and a ‘Word Vomit’ Gag Reel (approximately 6 minutes). Also included are Behind the Scenes Featurettes ‘Only the Strong Survive’ (approximately 25 minutes), ‘The Politics of Girl World’ (10 minutes) and ‘Plastic Fashion’ (10 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (approximately 2 minutes) and a few ‘Interstitials’ (90 seconds altogether) are also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from a previously released Blu-Ray disc and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 8/10

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‘Mean Girls: 20^th Anniversary Edition’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment

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You can purchase your copy of the ‘Mean Girls:20^th Anniversary’ 4K UHD release on Amazon HERE!

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