Mean Girls | 2024 | PG-13 | – 4.3.4

Why is “Mean Girls” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sexual material, strong language, and teen drinking.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes several passionate kissing scenes, several suggestive song and dance sequences, a teen struck by a bus and a teen nearly struck by a bus, reenactments of fights and embarrassing social situations, plotting revenge and hurtful behavior, many arguments, teen drinking, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

A musical reimagining of the 2004 version, following a new girl (Angourie Rice) as she arrives at a new school, thinking everything is possible, but quickly becoming disappointed by the realities of cliques and not fitting in. Her biggest challenge is the most popular girl (Reneé Rapp), especially when she falls for her ex (Christopher Briney). Also with Auli’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Lindsay Lohan and Jon Hamm. Directed by Samantha Jayne & Arturo Perez Jr.. [Running Time: 1:52]

Mean Girls SEX/NUDITY 4

 – A teen boy opens a closet door to find his girlfriend and another teen boy kissing and partially undressed (we see her cleavage, bare abdomen and legs and the teen boy’s bare chest, abdomen and underwear).
► A teen girl kisses a teen boy and another teen girl becomes upset. A teen boy and a teen girl kiss passionately. Two teen boys kiss outside a school building. A teen boy and a teen girl kiss passionately in a classroom. A teen boy and a teen girl flirt at a house party and she invites him to sit on her bed with her; two other teens open the door kissing and the first teen tells them to leave. A teen girl kisses a teen boy and plays with his hair in front of another teen girl that she knows likes the boy. Two teens tell a teen girl that she needs to find her clique and describe the Jocks, the Band Freaks (two members of the clique kiss and lick each other’s faces), and the Plastics.
► A teen boy moves behind a teen girl and embraces her while making a suggestive remark; she becomes upset with him since it is implied that he thinks she is someone else. A teen girl sits between the open legs of a teen boy on a picnic table and another teen calls it “crotch sitting.” A teen girl flirts with a teen boy and tells him that she has unresolved trauma from their breakup; she tries to put his hand on her chest and he pulls away.
► A teen boy says that he can tell anyone’s bra size with just one jump and a teen girl jumps in the air giggling (we see her breasts bounce). A teen boy and a teen girl dance and he dips her. Four teen girls dance on a stage with suggestive hip thrusts while wearing short skirts and thigh-high boots (cleavage, bare shoulders and legs above the boots to the upper thighs are seen and one teen girl’s costume reveals the top of her bra). A teen boy thrusts suggestively while making sexual noises on stage during a song in front of a crowd; he is told to stop by a teacher. Teen boys and teen girls dance at a house party with suggestive hip thrusting and bouncing.
► A teen describes other teens playing spin the bottle and that two teen girls kissed in order for one of them to get the attention of a teen boy. A teen boy invites a teen girl to a party. A teen boy flirts with a teen girl. A teen girl describes another teen girl’s “love language” as anger. A teacher describes a class that will cover human sexuality; he says that they will start with abstinence, and then discuss condoms and finally choking. A teen describes another teen as being a “reproductive threat.” A woman describes herself as “aging hotly.” A reference is made to “sex cancer.”
► A teen girl opens her tight-fitting jacket to reveal deep cleavage while singing a song and strutting around a cafeteria while other teens watch in awe. Teen girls wear low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes. Teen girls wear short skirts that reveal legs to the upper thighs. A teen wears a cropped top that reveals her cleavage and bare abdomen. Teen boys are shown in a locker room with towels wrapped around their waists and we see their bare chests and abdomens. A teen boy tears open his shirt on a stage and we see his bare chest and abdomen.

Mean Girls VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – A teen girl is struck and thrown by a bus; we hear that she was dead for several seconds and we later see her wearing a neck brace while recovering. Teens fight in a hallway in a school building pushing, shoving, choking and throwing each other until a teacher yells for them to go to the gymnasium and reprimands them. Teen girls perform a song and dance on a stage and when they try to do a gymnastic pose, they fall to the stage landing hard while other teens film them and laugh. A teen steps into the road and is nearly struck by a bus. Teens jump around a house during a party and one teen slams a fragile vase onto the floor shattering it.
► A teen describes another teen having set fire to her backpack when they were younger. Teens keep a book of insulting and embarrassing descriptions of other teens. A teen girl yells at another teen girl about pretending to be dumb to attract a teen boy. A teen girl makes an entry in a book of rumors accusing a teacher of being a drug pusher; we later hear that the teacher is on a leave of absence. A teen girl tells another teen girl that she cannot sit with her in the cafeteria because she is wearing sweatpants. A teen girl is given 3 weeks suspension after lying about several rumors. A teen girl sings a song, “What’s wrong with me” when she feels like she is falling out of favor with her best friend and the most popular girl. A teen says of another teen girl, “She got what she deserves.” A teen girl says, “Everyone hates me.” Song lyrics include, “Watch the world burn.” A teacher tells another teacher, “I’m gonna kill you.” A teen girl says that another teen has not had a bowel movement in weeks. A teen talks about another teen getting diarrhea on the Ferris wheel.
► A teacher jokes about a teen taking jobs from the teachers’ union when the teen tells her that she was homeschooled. A teen girl blocks another teen girl from sitting in a chair next to her so she sits on the floor; several teens fill in seats in a cafeteria so that another teen girl won’t sit next to them. A teen asks a teen girl in a bathroom stall, “Are you doing drugs or having a toilet baby?” A teen tells another teen not to look a teen girl in the eye as the lights in the cafeteria go out and the teen struts into the room. Teens yell at a teen girl about having a crush on the most popular girl’s ex-boyfriend. Teens give a teen girl supplement bars that they tell her will help her lose weight (they do the opposite) and they give her lard telling her that it is expensive skin cream. An animation shows two dinosaurs fighting at the top of a cliff and one is pushed over the edge (we do not see the result).
► A teen girl trips and falls on the ground (no injuries are seen). A teen girl is sprayed in the face with a water hose and her makeup runs down her face. Teens behave like jungle animals running around on all fours and clawing at each other, preening, etc. Song lyrics include, “Will she eat your heart?” A dance sequence shows a teen girl being sawed in half in a magic act and lyrics including “stuff her remains in a bag.” A teen girl becomes upset when she has a pimple on her face.
► A teen girl eats her lunch in a bathroom stall, seated on the toilet. A teen girl spits a large wad of chewing gum into a garbage can held by a teacher. A teen girl walks toward the door of a classroom and tells the teacher that she needs to urinate; the teacher makes her sit back down. Two teens play with their food in a cafeteria and throw slices of deli meat in the air catching them on their faces. A teen girl describes her feces smelling like crayons. A teen girl vomits outside a house party (we do not see goo).

Mean Girls LANGUAGE 4

 – 1 not fully enunciated F-word derivative and 2 in a text (WTF in texts), many obscene hand gestures accompanying a song, 7 sexual references, 7 scatological terms, 8 anatomical terms, 15 mild obscenities, name-calling (selfish, B-movie, awkward, so annoying, fool, randos, new girl, fugly cow, cheap, fake, harsh, spoiled, ugly monster, garbage, idiot, grouchy, hot shots, weird, clone, dirty little, liar, pusher, fat, ice queen, gross, thirsty, foreign loser, slut, losers, sexy, dumbest, scum sucking life ruiner, unwell, pyro-lez, regrettable, oh no she didn’t, crazy, phony, obsessed, stupid, rude, moronic, ugly, disgusting, loser, dumb), exclamations (hurry up, give me a break, OK sure, oh shoot, oh come on, oh my gosh, keep it PG-13, no one cares, I don’t care, shut-up, fetch, what the heck, wow, don’t be thirsty, ew), 12 religious exclamations (e.g. oh Lord, I swear to God, oh my God, God, good Lord, dear God). | profanity glossary |

Mean Girls SUBSTANCE USE

 – A teacher is accused of being a drug pusher and we later hear that she is on a temporary leave of absence, after being struck by a bus a teen girl says that she is on a lot of pain medication, a teacher yells “no vaping,” and a woman jokingly asks a teen girl if she wants to buy some drugs. Teens drink liquor at a party and we see them drinking several shots, a woman drinks a glass of wine, a teen says that another teen fills her inhaler with vodka, a teen says two teachers “got wasted,” and a reference is made to alcohol poisoning.

Mean Girls DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Being the new kid, fitting in, pretending to be something you are not, fear, pride, secrets, lies, self-doubt, resisting temptation, corruption betrayal, integrity, dreams, regret, rules, revenge, fame, opinions, taking responsibility, forgiveness, rules of feminism, fracking, redlining, love, apex predators, the food chain.

Mean Girls MESSAGE

 – Everyone has to decide if fitting in is more important than being yourself.