All Three Mean Girls Movies Ranked

If you ask anyone over the age of 25, they'll probably tell you that there's no dollar amount in the world that could ever make them want to go back to high school, and for good reason — high school can be hell. Teen films have been a popular and profitable subgenre for decades, but few films have become a cultural phenomenon quite like "Mean Girls." The film centers on teenager Cady Heron who is starting public school for the first time as a high school junior, having been spared from the cruel cliques or popularity warfare on campus. After a few less-than-stellar days, she catches the eye of Queen Bee Regina George, the leader of a popular clique known as The Plastics who rule North Shore High School with perfectly manicured nails and hair insured for $10,000 (or full of secrets).

Cady's new friends Janis and Damian are outcasts, and they convince her to weaponize her newfound friendship with the Plastics and help destroy them from within. However, as Cady grows closer to the Plastics, the line between infiltration and assimilation starts to blur and she becomes the very thing she attempted to take down: a mean girl. But everything takes a turn for the dramatic when Regina George unleashes her Burn Book of mean comments about the girls (and some teachers) in their grade just to watch the world burn. In honor of the film's 20th anniversary and the release of the new musical remake, here are all three (yes, three) "Mean Girls" films, ranked.

Seven years after the success of the original "Mean Girls," the final film produced by the made-for-home division Paramount Famous Productions arrived on ABC Family (now known as Freeform). The film was "Mean Girls 2," a sequel no one asked for filled with Disney Channel stars looking to add a massive property to their resumes. It had a toothless approach to the "be yourself" message of the previous film, but with way more #NotLikeMostGirls faux-feminism. Another tale of a new girl attending a high school run by a popular clique of girls known as "The Plastics," this sequel trades in the Burn Book gossip for a prank war that feels plucked out of, well, a Disney Channel Original Movie. Bless Tim Meadows, who returns to play Principal DuVall, making him the only character to appear in all three films.

"Mean Girls 2" would have been a fine film about clique warfare had it not been forced into the shadow of the original juggernaut, and there's a reason a majority of people don't even know this film exists. I'm sorry, director Melanie Mayron. I love you so much and I do not blame you for any of this!

Star Bethany Anne Lind has enjoyed dunking on the film for years, often replying to people watching it with her own commentary. On the film's 10th anniversary, she even compiled a collection of some of the best "Mean Tweets" about her feature acting debut. My personal favorite is when one user tweeted (it was still Twitter back then) "'Mean Girls 2' is trying SO hard I can't watch this," to which Lind replied, "How dare you accuse us of trying."

In 2018, "Mean Girls The Musical" had its big debut on Broadway, joining titles like "Heathers," "Legally Blonde," and "Hairspray" in the league of teen girl movies turned stage musicals. The stage show wasn't as well-received as some of its predecessors, but became a fast favorite in school and community productions across the country. With the original film turning 20, it was a no-brainer for "Mean Girls The Musical" to be adapted to the screen. But how does it compare to the original?

In my opinion, the new "Mean Girls" is totally fetch! The film incorporates enough fan service of the original film to keep the nostalgia-heads from rejecting it, but updates the humor and style of bullying to appeal to its intended Gen-Z audience. It also restores a deleted scene from the original film with delightfully funny results and gives the story a hell of a lot more heart.

While the songs are still as "good but not great" as the stage show, the cast is phenomenal. Reneé Rapp is a pitch-perfect Regina George, Auliʻi Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey make the duo of Janis and Damian their own, and Avantika brings a hilarious new take on Karen. I'm also a huge fan of the direction by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., who have brought such a fun and fresh vision to flashy musical numbers and the incorporation of screenlife elements into the film. This may not be my "Mean Girls," but it's a solid successor for a new generation of teens.

Yeah, sorry, there was no question that the original "Mean Girls" was going to take the top spot, and I doubt anyone involved with the other two films will have an issue with it. In the 20 years since Mark Waters and Tina Fey's brilliant adaptation of Rosalind Wiseman's book "Queen Bees and Wannabes" hit theaters, it has become one of the most revered films of the aughts and arguably the last massive teen film to permeate pop culture beyond its intended audience. Ignore the haters. I'm sorry that people are so jealous of "Mean Girls," but the movie can't help it that it's popular! October 3 is celebrated as "Mean Girls Day," film quotes have been merchandised in every conceivable manner, and the limit does not exist in seeing the way it has influenced the decades of teen films that have followed. And that's all because "Mean Girls" is a damn good film.

"Mean Girls" offers unflinching commentary on the traumatically cruel girl-hate culture of the aughts (I'm in my 30s and still unpacking that time of my life), without ever sacrificing some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of how neat and tidy the ending is, but this is a film that lives in my bones. Given the financial success and continued popularity of the film, it feels insincere to call it a "cult hit," but the cult-like fandom cannot be ignored. As much as the high school experience has evolved greatly over the last 20 years, the universal themes of finding your place in the world, sacrificing your individuality as a means of survival, and the unfair double standards put on young women are unfortunately as relevant as ever.