22 Movies Like "Mean Girls" That All the Cool Cliques Are Watching
For when you don't feel like watching the 2004 hit comedy for the hundredth time.
Twenty years after its release, Mean Girls is an undeniable classic. The story of new girl Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) trying to fit in at her high school by joining the Plastics is endlessly re-watchable, and many quotes from the movie still live on. Fans will never forget "You go, Glen Coco," "On Wednesdays we wear pink," "She doesn't even go here," and countless others. And on top of that, the popularity of Mean Girls has led to it been reinvented more than once. It became a Broadway musical in 2018, and that musical was adapted into a new film version in 2024. (Incidentally, the original 2004 movie was adapted from a non-fiction book, Queen Bees and Wannabees by Rosalind Wiseman, which is about the social lives of high school girls.)
But while watching Mean Girls never gets old, if you're a huge fan of the teen comedy, you might want to expand your horizons. There are plenty of movies that may hit the same sweet spot as the Paramount Pictures success, whether that's because they're also set in high schools, deal with exclusive cliques, star Lohan, or just have a similar comedic vibe. So, if you're ready to check out something new—or revisit a movie you may have forgotten about—the very fetch list below should help.
RELATED: 6 '90s Movies You Can't Watch Anywhere Now.
Movies Similar to Mean Girls
1. Legally Blonde
Reese Witherspoon stars in 2001's Legally Blonde as Elle Woods, a college student who decides to go to law school after getting dumped by her boyfriend (Matthew Davis). She initially tries to become a lawyer just to win him back but soon finds that she has a real knack for law while overcoming the assumptions that are made about her for being a blonde, pink-loving sorority sister. Co-stars include Jennifer Coolidge, Selma Blair, Luke Wilson, and Linda Cardellini.
2. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
The same year that Mean Girls was released, Lohan also starred in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. It's about a confident city girl, Lola, who moves from New York City to the New Jersey suburbs where she tries to follow her dream of becoming a Broadway star. Alison Pill co-stars as Lola's new best friend, while Megan Fox plays the most popular girl at school, who, of course, isn't exactly welcoming.
3. Pretty in Pink
Teen comedies had a real moment in the '80s, especially the films of John Hughes. In this 1986 movie, Molly Ringwald plays Andie Walsh, a girl dealing with lots of teenage drama, including being an outcast, her best friend Duckie's (Jon Cryer) secret crush on her, and a boy at school named Blane (Andrew McCarthy) falling for her but being pressured by his friends to avoid her, because she's uncool. Like so many great high school movies, it's all centered around the lead up to the prom.
RELATED: Ranking Every '90s Teen Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
4. Can't Hardly Wait
Can't Hardly Wait from 1998 revolves around the last day of school for a group of high school seniors. This teen rom-com features an ensemble cast, including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Seth Green, Lauren Ambrose, and Peter Facinelli. At a graduation party, everyone comes together to confess their crushes, get revenge on bullies, and party like they never have before.
5. The DUFF
Mae Whitman stars in the 2015 movie as Bianca, a girl who finds out that she is considered the "DUFF" (or "designated ugly fat friend") of her group, because she is less popular than the others and is used by people who want to get closer to them. So she tries to change her life, undergoing a makeover, standing up for herself, and pursuing her crush.
6. Clueless
The 1995 teen classic Clueless is based on a much older classic: Jane Austen's 1815 book Emma. It's centered around a Beverly Hills high school student named Cher (Alicia Silverstone), who enjoys meddling in the lives of her friends and other students—usually by playing matchmaker—while struggling with her own love life and other teen issues, such as getting her driver's license and getting in trouble with her father (Dan Hedaya) for her behavior and grades.
7. Bring It On
2000's Bring It On documents the feud between two rival cheerleading teams. Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union star as Torrance and Isis, the captains of their squads. It's discovered that Torrance's wealthy and primarily white high school has been stealing their routines from Isis' school, which leads to heightened competition between the cheer teams. Naturally, there are also conflicts between friends and some crush drama, as well.
RELATED: 6 '90s Movies That Would Never Be Made Today.
8. Wild Child
Emma Roberts stars in the 2008 comedy Wild Child about an American teen who is sent to boarding school in the U.K. At the school, Poppy basically becomes the rebellious new kid, who thinks she is too good to be there thanks to the spoiled Malibu, California life she left behind. Soon, though, she begins bonding with other students and finds a way to fit in.
9. Heathers
Mean Girls has its moments of, well, meanness, but Heathers blows it out of the water in that department. In the 1988 cult classic, a high school clique of three popular girls all named Heather (Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, Shannen Doherty) take in a new member named Veronica (Winona Ryder). But, when Veronica begins a relationship with a new student named J.D. (Christian Slater) things take a turn for the twisted as she discovers who he really is.
RELATED: Winona Ryder Says Christian Slater "Broke Her Heart" After Two-Week Fling.
10. John Tucker Must Die
2006's John Tucker Must Die is about a group of high school girls (Arielle Kebbel, Ashanti, Sophia Bush), who seek revenge on school jock John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe) after finding out that he's secretly dating all of them and lying to them about being only with one girl. They join forces with another student, Kate (Brittany Snow), to take him down, but Kate's feelings for John threaten to ruin their plan.
11. Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker is a 1999 dark comedy about a high school clique called the Flawless Four. After one of the four dies by seemingly choking on a jawbreaker candy during a prank gone wrong, the other three cope, and the truth is eventually revealed. Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, and Judy Greer star.
12. Do Revenge
Another dark comedy, 2022's Do Revenge is about high schoolers Drea (Camila Mendes) and Eleanor (Maya Hawke), who join forces to get revenge on each other's enemies. As the plan to make Eleanor into one of the popular kids plays out, though, it becomes clear that things are not what they seem, and that Eleanor and Drea cannot trust each other. The movie is loosely based on the Alfred Hitchcock movie Strangers on a Train, which itself is adapted from Patricia Highsmith's thriller novel of the same name.
13. Booksmart
2019's Booksmart stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as two overachieving high school best friends, who realize at the end of their senior year that they didn't take any time to party or focus on their social lives. So, they attempt to fit four years worth of socializing, testing their boundaries, and flirting with their crushes into one wild night.
14. Easy A
Emma Stone stars in 2010's Easy A, which, like other movies on our list, is inspired by a piece of classic literature: Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 book The Scarlet Letter. After a lie about her losing her virginity spreads around school, Olive decides to pretend that she actually is sexually adventurous and allows other students at her school to claim they've had sex with her to make them seem cooler. Olive then has to decide whether to continue on with the farce while also pursuing her real crush, Todd (Penn Badgley).
RELATED: The Most Hated TV Couples of All Time.
15. Blockers
Unlike a lot of teen-focused movies, 2018's Blockers is just as much about their parents. A group of them scheme together to try to block their daughters' plans to lose their virginities on prom night. Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, and John Cena play the concerned adults, with Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Gideon Adlon rounding out the young cast.
16. Freaky Friday
In Lohan's third appearance on this list, she stars in a remake of a 1976 movie, which is itself based on a 1972 novel, also titled Freaky Friday. The Mean Girls star plays a teen girl named Anna who switches bodies with her mother Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis), thanks to magical fortune cookies. Unable to switch back until they can prove genuine love for one another, Tess and Anna have to begin living each others lives so they can better understand each other. Tess learns about her daughter's teenage issues while Anna tries to handle her mother's work life and the preparations for her upcoming wedding.
RELATED: The New "Mean Girls" Joke That Lindsay Lohan Is "Hurt and Disappointed" By.
17. Eighth Grade
Most of the movies featured her are about high schoolers, but if you'd like to check out a film that explores the complex middle school years, check out the 2018 dramedy Eighth Grade. Elsie Fisher plays Kayla, a girl who tries to fit in with her fellow students during the last week of school before moving on to high school. The movie also explores her relationship with her single father, Mark (Josh Hamilton) and her obsessive use of social media, specifically the vlogs she publishes online.
18. To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Based on the novel by Jenny Han, 2018's To All the Boys I've Loved Before is about a high schooler, Lara Jean (Lana Condor), who writes secret letters to her crushes with no intent of actually mailing them. But, when the letters are revealed to the guys without her permission, her crushes past and present learn about about her feelings. These crushes include a boy at her school named Peter (Noah Centineo), who she ends up fake dating to make his ex-girlfriend (Emilija Baranac) jealous. If you want to have a marathon, you can include the sequels To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and To All the Boys: Always and Forever, as well as the spinoff series, XO, Kitty.
19. Dazed and Confused
As you may have noticed, it's pretty common for teen movies to take place on the last day of school or at least at the end of the school year. Dazed and Confused fits right in to that trend. The 1993 coming-of-age movie follows a group of students from various cliques and grades all celebrating the start of summer and dealing with conflicts in their personal lives. The ensemble cast of future big stars includes Jason London, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Matthew McConaughey, and Joey Lauren Adams.
20. She's All That
Makeovers are another big trope in teen comedies, and She's All That has an iconic one. Based on the 1913 play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw—which also inspired My Fair Lady (1964)—the 1999 film stars Rachael Leigh Cook as an artsy outcast student, Laney, who becomes part of a bet without her knowledge. Popular guy Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr.) makes a wager with a friend that he can turn her into the prom queen, but instead, he begins to fall for Laney while attempting his secret plot.
21. 10 Things I Hate About You
1999's 10 Things I Hate About You shows what happens when an antisocial high schooler lives under the same roof as a popular one. Larisa Oleynik plays Bianca, a popular teen who isn't allowed to date until her older sister, Kat, played by Julia Stiles, does—their father (Larry Miller) knows this is unlikely, since Kat is an outcast and has no interest in dating. But when a boy with a crush on Bianca pays a mysterious Australian student (Heath Ledger) to take out Kat, she starts to open up and reveal why she cultivated her not-so-great reputation. If the story sounds familiar, that's because it's based on William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.
22. Superbad
Michael Cera and Jonah Hill star in Superbad as two friends who make a plan to lose their virginity before heading to college. But, their attempt to attend the same end of the year party as their crushes (Emma Stone, Martha MacIsaac) becomes a zany adventure with just about everything going wrong along the way.
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