Summary
Mean Girlsis full of memorable lines, scenes, and jokes, but one subtle and brilliant one completely changes what everyone knew about the feud between Regina George (Rachel McAdams) and Janis Ian (Lizzy Caplan). In 2004, fresh off the success ofFreaky Friday, director Mark Waters teamed up with Lindsay Lohan one more time in the teen comedyMean Girls. Inspired by the bookQueen Bees and Wannabesby Rosalind Wiseman and with a script by Tina Fey,Mean Girlstook the audience to North Shore High School as they followed naïve new girl Cady Heron (Lohan).
After being homeschooled her whole life, Cady ventured into high school without knowing how cruel high schoolers could really be. After befriending outcasts Janis and Damian (Daniel Franzese), Cady met queen bee Regina George, and so Janis, Damian, and Cady came up with a plan to bring Regina and her clique of “Plastics” down after everything she had done to them.Janis, in particular, had a personal problem with Reginathat started years before the events of the movie, but one line near the end ofMean Girlsreveals their feud wasn’t what viewers were led to believe.
10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching The Original Mean Girls, 19 Years Later
Mean Girls is a beloved teen comedy full of memorable scenes, yet despite it being a cult classic, rewatching the 2004 film today can be cringeworthy.
Mean Girls Subtly Revealed Regina Misunderstood Janis’ Cultural Background
Regina’s Feud With Janis Started Very Differently
Regina didn’t invite Janis to her pool party, telling Janis that it was because she thought she was a lesbian.
When Cady asked Janis why she hated Regina so much, Damian was about to explain what happened but Janis interrupted him, and that happened every time he tried to tell Cady. It wasn’t until Regina came across Cady while sending candy canes that Regina told her what happened between her and Janis. Regina and Janis had been best friends since they were kids, and it was implied thatJanis was a Plastic as well, as her choreography for “Jingle Bell Rock” was still used by Regina, Karen, and Gretchen. However,their friendship started to crumble in the eighth grade when Regina got her first boyfriend.
Near the end ofMean Girls, while Kevin danced with Janis at prom, he asked her if she was Puerto Rican, with Janis replying she was Lebanese.
According to Regina,Janis became upset that she was spending more time with her boyfriend than her, and Regina didn’t invite her to her pool party, telling Janis that it was because she thought she was a lesbian. That was the end of their friendship and the beginning of Janis’ hatred against Regina, andJanis wasn’t able to shake off the rumors about her sexual orientation. Now, near the end ofMean Girls, while Kevin danced with Janis at prom, he asked her if she was Puerto Rican, with Janis replying she was Lebanese.
TikTok userSabrina Aleasepointed this out asMean Girls’ most iconic and subtle joke that explains exactly what happened between Regina and Janis.Regina either didn’t understand what “lebanese” is or she misheard it for “lesbian”, leading to the whole misunderstanding between them. Surely, Janis’ supposedly clingy attitude towards Regina only fed the latter’s belief about her once-best friend, but their feud might never have happened had Regina known what “lebanese” was.
Mean Girls 2024 Changed Regina & Janis’ Backstory (& Got Rid Of This Joke)
Mean Girls 2024 Made A Couple Of Changes To The Original Movie
After kissing during a spin-the-bottle game, Regina made fun of Janis behind her back with a toy Janis had given her.
In 2024, theMean Girlsstage musical was adapted into a teen musical comedy movie, directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.Mean Girls2024 adapted the first movie’s story to the present year, with modern pop culture references and updated jokes.Mean Girls2024 also made some significant changesto the original movie, including Regina and Janis’ backstory. InMean Girls2024, Regina and Janis were also best friends growing up, but after kissing during a spin-the-bottle game, Regina made fun of Janis behind her back with a toy Janis had given her.
In addition to that,Regina outed Janis, who, in this version of the story, truly was a lesbian. The “lebanese” part was left out ofMean Girls2024, and so this version avoided condemning Janis’ sexuality. Regina and Janis’ backstory was still chaotic and sad inMean Girls2024, and removing the original movie’s joke made Regina a lot crueler.
Source:TikTok.
Mean Girls
Mean Girls tells the story of Cady (Lindsay Lohan), a teen girl who falls in with the wrong crowd. After returning to the USA after spending her childhood in Africa, Cady infiltrates her school’s group of mean girls, befriending the conniving Regina George (Rachel McAdams) and her cronies. However, Cady finds the high school hierarchy to be far more complicated than she had imagined, drawing her into a game of manipulation and deceit that threatens her reputation.
