Self-esteem issues are paramount. What if you’re not "Cover Girl" beautiful? Do you want to be "like a virgin" or what? The spirit of the mean girls is best captured in the group’s alternative yearbook, a scrapbook that focuses only on the negative. It’s called the "Burn Book" and written next to the picture of the girl or boy is something meant to demean that individual.

The dialogue is quick and believable. The situations are recognizable as well. Cady is a whiz at math but she allows herself to be dumbed-down so she can fit in and be liked by the most handsome boy in school, Aaron (Jonathan Bennett). Principal Duvall (Tim Meadows) must deal with unruly, undisciplined students on one hand as well as teachers who are accused of abuse, sometimes true and sometimes not. The leader of the Mathletes (math jocks) team is Rajiv (Kevin Gnapoor), an Asian American hip hopper, who assumes that Janis is Puerto Rican when in fact she is Lebanese. You don’t have to be white or a blue blood to stereotype others. Be in a minority and you’d be surprised at how readily one, including other minorities, can conclude "you all look alike."

The story certainly passes the cuteness factor, yet it has some of the same messages as in the far edgier, R rated, Oscar nominated "Thirteen." We continue to be amazed at what a flesh market high school has become. The importance of being desirable in an explicitly sexual way appears to carry far more weight than in years past.

Most of the coming-of-age films aimed at teens that deal realistically with serious issues of high school students are R rated. This one gets a strong recommendation because it’s pretty darn good and comes in with a PG-13 rating. Not many young actresses could pull that off, but Lohan has the acting chops to give it that balance. "Mean Girls" has an edge but it always remains a comedy.