Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Raised in the African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady thinks she knows all about the "survival of the fittest." But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 15-year-old enters public high school for the first time. Trying to find her place among jocks, mathletes and other subcultures, Cady crosses the meanest species of all - the Queen Bee, aka the cool and calculating Regina, leader of the school's most fashionable clique, The Plastics. When Cady falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend, though, the Queen Bee is stung - and she schemes to ruin Cady's social future. Cady's own claws soon come out as she leaps into a hilarious "Girl World" war that has the whole school running for cover.

Before Tina Fey was a household name she starred in this entertaining look at high school social culture that was based on her screenplay. The film stars Lindsey Lohan and gives a pretty funny look at high school cliques and the games they play. The film has a lot of Saturday Night Live in it but remains a bit more grounded then their usual fare. Overall I found this one fun but overly forgettable despite another strong performance for the usually underrated Lohan.

Paramount has been doing an exceptional job with their catalog titles these last few months and this is no exception. The image has plenty of punch and vibrancy with great color saturation and detail. Contrast levels are strong and the image has a lot more dimension than I was expecting. The print is in near pristine condition and aside from some light clipping in some backgrounds there just isn’t much to pick on here. A very strong showing.

The Dolby TrueHD soundtrack is quite good and a nice fit for the genre. The mix is a nice blend of subtle atmosphere and pop tunes. Dynamics are good for the most part but this isn’t an aggressive mix. Surrounds do a nice job of opening up the soundstage and imaging across the main channels is excellent. The pop tunes do open things up a bit more now and again but overall this is a pretty tame mix.

Extras include a feature commentary with the film’s director along with screenwriter Tina Fey. You also get some short promo style features that look at the film’s themes complete with interviews and clips. Some deleted scenes and a trivia track round up the rest along with the trailer.

This one was fun though slightly a bit over the top. Paramount has done a great job with the presentation though making this an easy recommendation for fans of the film.