What’s stupid about mean girls 2’s fighting sexism thing is that they frame it as though girls like Jo are undeserving of sexism because they exhibit male traits. Like, if she didn’t know how to do wood shop stuff then theyd point and laugh at what a silly dumb girl she is and it would be deserved in the eyes of the film makers. It reinforces that women are only deserving of human respect when they act like guys and are ridiculed for being girls.
It's like JK Rowling's take on bigotry in Harry Potter: it's not framed as though it's bad that Hermione is called slurs at school simply because calling people slurs is disgusting behaviour. It's framed as a bad thing because Malfoy thinks Hermione is worse than other wizards for being muggle born, but actually she's the smartest witch in the year, so the bigotry is wrong because it's 'inaccurate'.
@@robbiesmith8055 Exactly! It’s just like the baffling takes on racism that you get in those Dhar Mann videos. Racist people are framed as wrong/stupid not because assuming that all black people are poor is bigoted on the face of it, but because the black person you assumed was poor May actually be rich, and then you’ll look pretty dumb for assuming they’re poor, won’t you?
The thing that really annoys me about the whole "not like other girls" trope is that it contradicts itself. Jo says it's sexist to assume that she can't do work shop because she's a girl and it is. She doesn't like people putting her in a box and assigning her an expectation based on her gender, while simultaneously putting other women in boxes and assuming they're shallow and beneath her for being stereotypically feminine. She's bashing sexism while stereotyping herself. It's just two sides of the same coin
@@robbiesmith8055 Huh? That's just not true though. They repeatedly talk about how it's bad to call people a mudblood because it represents a belief in eugenics. Ron and Harry get mad at the mere mention of it. Bellatrix carves it into Hermione's skin without knowing anything else about her. It's the final straw that stops Lily from being friends with Snape. 'Mudblood' means dirty blood, a very literal slur about blood purity. You've taken a line in the second book (when the characters are still young and don't fully understand the implications, Hermione's literally never heard the word before) where Hagrid props up Hermione by saying she's also the smartest witch in the year and made out like it's the only thing they say about it, did you not read past that page?
In all honesty, if Mean Girls 2 wanted to go the younger route, it should have been a prequel. Tween me would have probably enjoyed seeing Regina and Janis being middle school besties, the pool party, the breakup of the friendship, the form of the plastics, and Janis befriending Damien. They could have used the Disney Channel casting as to why the cast feels younger than the original. There was already a story ready to be told.
i think the holes in the shirt scene is so iconic is because it happens to regina. it's not the main character being bullied and instead of being insecure they turn it into a statement. the scene (and all the scenes leading up to it) shows how foiling regina isn't working because of her self confidence. its not the fact thats its boob hole in a shirt, its because its regina, and she wears it not giving a single shit
I also grew up on things like cinema sins and nostalgia critic, and I just really love how much the movie review genre on UA-cam has grown. Play-by-play movie reviews really do encourage the worst in the reviewer- and more introspective content is far more enjoyable to consume!
For what it's worth, I recently went back to watching Nostalgia Critic and he's really chilled out and became more nuanced as a reviewer Never gonna give cinema sins a second chance tho
The fact you literally had Kady’s arc in real time where you were mean, it got popular, and now you look back and realise you were wrong and weren’t being yourself. I love it.
Also, like I think a critical issue I have with Jo's like "oh no I'm becoming the enemy- I crave diet drinks" moment compared to the original is that in Mean Girls Katie is literally enmeshing herself in the Plastics to be a double agent for Janis. We see this slippery slope as she seeks acceptance. We see who she is as an outsider, the clumsier attempts to fit in with the group by wearing a men's pink polo, and then eventually she just is a part of that group with their ideas, values, and aesthetic because she lost herself in the power trip of it all. However, that's not what Jo did or is doing. She never 'infiltrated' the group, she never tried to fit in- in fact her whole character is that she doesn't care to fit in. Her whole thing is just finds and builds a different sort of clique. If they wanted to go with a 'becoming what she hates' or like the idea that any clique can be prone to cruelty/toxicity- have her pick on someone for being traditionally feminine, have her start off as someone who just does their own thing but then slowly becomes the toxic 'not like other girls' shit and has to realize that she's not any better than the Psuedo Plastics, so she's got to grow and have like... a character arc...
Cady also made way more sense than Jo, since she was basically a blank slate going into highschool with limited social experience. She was primed to be influenced and changed by her friends easily.
when i was deep into my NLOG phase (like 12 or 13 years old), i uttered the words "i like means girls 2 better than the original" and i feel like every bad thing that's ever happened to me since is because of that
I feel like Disney does this a lot. They put out a film that is great and doesn't scream "This is a Disney movie" and then they make a sequel that is so Disney it hurts. It just makes you feel the desperation to make money on something that was good by making something that is mediocre at best. I just watched Hocus Pocus 2 and had that exact feeling. It wasn't horrible, but it feels so forced so you don't feel the authentic attempt to make something good. Hocus Pocus was not a movie that people expected to be a big deal. but it was. So now, trying too hard to capture that same "magic" is obvious and takes away from the movie itself.
The ‘not like real life’ thing could just be rephrased as ‘too cartoony’ because much of them seem to be actions/reactions that make it hard to take the film seriously.
The flash forward in emperor's new groove works because of how contrasting they are and how it's used as a way to highlight how self-absorbed he is. It immediately makes you wonder how he went from an emperor to a llama in the rain and as the story continues he keeps trying to remind you to feel sorry for him. You're coming to the realization that he needs to change alongside of him. Most of the time flashforwards are just used as intrigue and like...a girl in a principal's office is just not that intriguing. And it's not even the part that makes the movie good.
I'd love to add to your point about the "dieting is girly" trope (which I fully agree with), by saying that not only is it unfair to call girls fake for trying to meet societal standards, but there is absolutely no nuance when it comes to dieting in these movies - dieting isn't always for other people, it's not always specifically about being skinny, it's sometimes just about being healthy. Watching what you eat, as long as it doesn't become obsessive, can be a healthy habit to take on. But in these movies, dieting is always about being as skinny as possible, and that also apparently means that the girl's fake and superficial, not that society holds unrealistic expectations. Actually, that leads me to another point: I hate how, apparently, not only does dieting by itself make girls fake and bitchy, but also actual eating disorders, or being anorexic. I can't count how many times someone's said something like, "that girl is too skinny", in a way that's clearly judging the girl for either her natural body that she didn't choose to have, *or* a literal psychological disorder that she didn't choose to have. My best friend has struggled with anorexia, and the idea of someone calling her fake or a bitch because of it, makes me seethe.
I think the thing is isn't that Regina is more real, but that Regina is more nuanced as a character. Also, ohmygod I would love to hear your thoughts on Do Revenge, Julia
Yah she basically kind of summed it up at the end. By the end of 1 you aren’t supposed to see Regina as a villain/antagonist, but a morally grey character that was a big cog in the system and Cady isn’t a holy hero/protagonist. They’re all morally grey. While 2 has Mandy just straight up as a cliche villain with no redeeming qualities or arc.
Regina IS more real by being nuanced though. People in real life are nuanced. The only thing that separates Regina from real mean girls is that she’s written to make script jokes (that still feel more real actually)
It would be an interesting project to revisit these videos every couple of years to see how your viewpoint and arguments evolve. Like in 4 or 5 years you watch *this* one..
I totally understood why you were going for a film bro CinemaSIns kinda vibe cause that was way more popular back then. I relate tbh. When I was a book reviewer on Goodreads I was guilty of doing the exact same thing and I'd write these overly-angry, gif-filled reviews of trashy YA books because it was the popular thing to do and would get me tons of engagement. I didn't really say many deep, analytical things, I just pointed out the obvious and took cheap shots cause I desperately wanted to seem funny and follow a trend. I'm sure most of us had this phase when we were younger.
The problematic sexist elements would still be there, but honestly I feel like nobody would care if it wasn’t a sequel to such a successful and beloved film
Ooh, for me I think the worst difference between the two is that Regina feels like a bitch you knew in high school. Even if her actions seem exaggerated, her behavior, her manner, the way she carries herself feels like someone you've known. And she was intimidating! Mandy (I only remember her name because a clip just said it in the video lol) might have had even worse, bigger evil actions but she just feels ... pathetic. Not sly, cunning, manipulative, or clever the way Regina was. She's like a villain in a kids cartoon but she's SO bad at it that you feel bad for her when she gets her ass kicked. Mandy committed stupid crimes and almost went to prison; Regina George could ruin your entire life with a single, perfectly legal phone call on a whim and never face any consequences. I know who MY mean queen is
Great video Julia! It was really interesting hearing your present-day take on your past critiques, and it made me introspective as well, thinking about why I dislike certain things in movies, not just boiling it down to "this movie good, this movie bad", end of thought. Also I do believe I found your channel through your Mean Girls 2 garbage movie video, but I have to say your recent videos have been some of my favorites! So I def think you have improved over time! (my personal favs have been the Teen Wolf, Scooby-doo, and Bridgerton videos, even though those are all IPs I'm not intimately familiar with, your videos are easy to digest and follow along with the plot!) Thanks Julia!
I'm fully with you. I found this channel via the Mean Girls video, but I stay for the more recent, more deep-divey videos. The Teen Wolf video is my comfort food, and it was almost singlehandedly responsible for me watching and obsessing over the show, so I have you to thank for that Julia.
@@TheDrFishalicious Lmao very fair. It definitely did for me as far as the first 3 seasons go (especially the hallowed season 3b), and after that it's just kind of fun to lament with her how bad the show gets.
your point about someone with wildly different views than you watching your old video and thinking you agree with them is actually such a good one! im sure most of your young female audience never needed the extra explanation, but its so so interesting and im glad you brought it up.
I can't wait for you to see the mean girls the musical - either the real show or when it gets turned into a movie musical adaptation of musical adaptation of a movie. There is only 3 emotions people have for it - vitriolic hatred on how empty it is or the acceptance and enjoyment of mediocrity or a deep love no one can explain.
Halfway into the clip and I see nothing wrong about what you had said previously. Yes, Mean Girls was more realistic in a way that the characters felt more relatable and more like how highschoolers act. Real mean girls are not Disney villains ruling high schools with an iron fist. They're mean by faking and pretending and starting rumors to ruin lives. Which led to the final conclusion of the movie that the mean girls weren't just the Plastics, every girl had meanness in her which sorted it out in the end, and had a chance at redemption and growth. Even Regina. Because that's how it is in real life, every bully hides a deeply hurt person. In Mean Girls 2 though ... yeah ... cartoony misunderstood main hero defeats the cartoony villain, "hero" gets happy ending, villain gets crappy ending. No lesson learned here, no relatable character, and how are we supposed to even love the main character?
You know whats interesting, is the part where you said its hard to tell the story of mean girls with a main character you're supposed to see as the coolest person ever. And it got me thinking- I feel like its really hard to tell a story in general with a character that is supposed to be "the coolest in the room". Usually, the coolest person in a movie or a story isn't the main character, at least not right out of the gate. Usually the coolest person is the mentor figure for the protagonist, maybe the rival, or the villain. Its really hard to have a protagonist that is the coolest person right out of the gate. Take john Wick for example- yes he is a complete badass, but the movie does not present him like this extremely cool person in the beginning. It's only when the bad guy's son kills his dog that he is now portrayed as this badass assasin who just snapped and is about to murder everyone.
something i realized about the parking space clip... They're already out of their car and walking about, so they clearly already parked , so im not sure why they're acting like they just found this out? i feel like the scene couldve been better if they were just... in their car
girl you ARE so smart and we DO love you 💜 but seriously this amount of growth is genuinely aspirational and it's so refreshing to see someone actually look back at their old content to acknowledge how their views have changed since instead of (only) cringing at how they used to say stuff
One thing I felt wasnt said was...the plot of mean girls 1...it makes sense why Cady slowly became like a Regina...in mean girls 2 Jo randomly becoming like Mandy (although not really but they frame it that way) is so random and forced. It's just dumb...and makes the movie feel even more like a cheap clone remake with zero originality rather than an actual proper sequel.
I was literally just thinking about how my life would be better if you released a new video (mainly because I was rewatching your Taylor Swift videos). This is not the first time this has happened, you really have good timing or we are somehow connected, either way I am happy.
You are being far too hard on yourself babe. Most of your intentions actually came across clearly to us in the video.. I can only speak for me but I don't think it's an uncommon opinion. I by no means ever thought you were anti girl and the movie needed to be called out for its lazy "feminism baiting". This movie is trash and hilariously bad and it's fun to watch you just be sassy. Its just entertaining and stress relieving. The old video feels like watching a shitty movie with my witty, funny friend. As a self depricating human myself I get how hard it is but try to give yourself more credit! This video is popular for a reason!
this video has made me realise that the main character in mean girls 2 is JESS FROM UNTIL DAWN. i am truly and utterly shocked by this news because i loved jess with all my heart and when u said her real name i thought, wait that sounds familiar... truly i have never been more overwhelmed
lol i did not know Tess from Camp Rock (Meaghan Martin) voices Naminé in Kingdom Hearts, just like how people discovered there was a second Mean Girls film.
I can't have sugar in my drinks because I'm diabetic. So glad you brought up that it's not a bad thing to be concerned about diets and sugar, because some people have to be concerned about those things for health reasons. Also, if it makes you feel any better, I found you through your review on the Bratz movie when I was, funnily enough, looking to see if Cinema Sins made a review on it (and he didn't, not at that time, anyway...).
i think another big problem with mandy vs regina is that mandy isnt a believable threat or villain, shes not intimidating, shes not clever, she feels more like a comedic relief than a villain
It's been so fun to watch your videos since that first Mean Girls video and see how you've evolved. I can't believe that video is 4 years old I feel aged 🫠🤣
_Mean Girls 2_ wasn't Direct-to-DVD, it premiered on ABC Family (now Freeform). Another movie that, while not as atrocious as MG2, was pretty bad and stabbed fans in the heart was _Life-Size 2_ which also premiered on Freeform. I genuinely don't know what vendetta Disney has against Lindsay Lohan's films. The latest _Freaky Friday_ remake was atrocious too. They're ruining all the franchises.
Dude I cannot wait for this! I started watching you right from your first video and I now make video essays of my own. Thanks for the inspiration Julia, I’ll def be tuning into this!
I remember first watching your video because youtube recommended it right after i watched mean girls pirated on youtube when i was like 12. The nostalgia is hitting hard, love you julia!
imo I think it's fair to compare a piece of media to the original when it keeps trying to desperately copy the original 🤷🏾♀️ If MG2 had done it's own thing then the comparisons would've been unfair
I think the sexual harassment thing might be a reference to the first movie, the coach sleeping with a student, because the line is the *school* can't deal with another it's not necessarily the principle
Mean girls 2 is that one person that no one invited to the party because they are super annoying. And yet they show up and have the audacity to eat all the food.
Hi Julia Happy October 3th! I am trying to think of what movies I like that has narration in the beginning that works. The only ones I can think of are Tangled Movie (when Flynn Rider/Eugene says “this is the story of how I died”, Emperor’s new groove Movie, Lemonade Mouth Movie, the first episode of the Gravity Falls TV show, Disney Stuck in the Middle TV show, *I can’t think of anymore examples at the moment. if any one knows anymore movies/tv shows that have narration in the beginning. Please feel free to add more.*
I remember watching you a lot around the time of the mean girls 2 video. Your channel is what got me into movie commentary youtube. Now I need to catch up on all the videos I missed on
Watching this video (after having watched the original years ago) made me realize that internalize this movie and wrote my novel based on it just with interesting characters and a better story
forever of the opinion that the reason claire hoult was cast as reccebeca in the vampire diaries so that she could redeem herself for being in this film, she was the true queen bee
Meaghan Martin is actually a very good actress, she starred in 10 things I hate about you and she was great in that. And she was good in Camp Rock. She was in a film called Geography Club as well and that was good. Meaghan’s acting was bad (as was the other actors) was because the script was written so badly.
do you guys remember how when this premiered, they also aired a new avril lavigne music video during the commercials? i remember watching this more for avril than the movie lol
You should seriously consider reviewing some of Lindsay Lohan's more underrated films in the lead up to her comeback movie _Falling for Christmas_ which comes out November 2022 on Netflix. Each week a new movie review, preferably in this order: _Just My Luck_ (2006), _Labor Pains_ (2009), _Life-Size_ (2000), _Georgia Rule_ (2007). Then in the lead up to her next movie in 2023, probably _Irish Wish,_ you could do the following reviews: _Get a Clue_ (2002), _A Prairie Home Companion_ (2005), _Herbie: Fully Loaded_ (2005), _My Scene Goes Hollywood_ (2005). Think about it.
I feel like I understand your bringing in the not like other girls trope during the woodshop scene. these tropes (not like other girls and take no shit feminist) often go together, because of the framework of sexism the movie is operating under: that femininity IS vapid and shallow and undeserving of respect, but that Other Girls don't deserve to be denied respect by association. Through the lens of the beginning of the movie (
Ok so totally unrelated to the content of the video, but your sound quality is so good!! Like it might be because I'm listening to you with headphones for the first time, but I was taken aback by how clear you sound. Also, it's so relatable to see you cringe at something you said when you were younger😂 Happens all the time, and it's cool that you're so honest about it!
To piggyback on the “20 days” thing, it’s not really a problem if you have a good script and focused direction. Short shooting periods can in fact an incredibly good sign as it’s less expensive, it allows the staff to move on to other projects faster and speeds up the movie’s production timeline, allowing for more effort being placed in other aspects of filmmaking such as editing, sound design, etc. Obviously it also just depends on the story, Mean Girls 2 is not a movie that requires a long shooting period as it can be filmed in its entirety in a few locations and doesn’t require time to be alotted into stage setup or hair and makeup, it’s no Lord of the Rings. The problems plaguing Mean Girls 2 are always gonna come down to the subpar script and bad direction so it was always gonna be bad regardless of how long they’d shoot for.
I remember watching your vid all those years ago. We’re around the same age so I can understand being influenced by cinema sins and just how film UA-cam was so different back then. I think a video like this just shows how much older we are and how much we’ve grown as people because… yeah this movie is still bad, but we are noticing faults in our mentality in how we critique media. Wait… in what high school is there an abstinence club? 😂 and I’m not making fun of abstaining until marriage. I’m one of them. my body, my choice. But abstinence is not really a unifying thing like religion, asexuality, physical disorders or trauma are (aka reasons why people would choose abstinence). Those other things, you could start a club around. I mean it’s nice to have friends that have the same ideals as you. But I know a club like that would probably be bullied to the ground because people are crappy. I think maybe a sex education or safe sex or a “we don’t make fun of peoples choices” club would be better 😅. But yeah sexist movie is sexist
Im gonna keep bringing this up in every video about mean girls 2; does anyone remember when the queen bee of this movie was invited as a GUEST onto the Dr. PHIL show to talk to a real life mean girl?? Shit was wild. Yoi could have had the original author of queen bees and wannabees put on there but instead you got meena from cory in the house? :/
I stated this in the original video and I will say it again because it keeps coming up. But I think one of the biggest issues with dialog that I just cannot get past is the way the narration has her speak in military-style talk. I found that annoying and I know that it's petty to point that out of all the issues this movie did.
I looked it up because when you said "people liked her in a videogame" I had a feeling and HOLY SHIT SHE'S NAMINE??? I THOUGHT IT WAS BRITNEY SNOW THE WHOLE TIME..MY WORLD IS SHOOKTH. I KNEW OLD DISNEY STARS PLAYED THEM AND THERE WOULD BE OVERLAP BUT XION AND NAMINE ARE LITTERALLY MEGHAN AND ALLISON...AKA..TESS AND CAITLYN. And she does it so well!! How did I not now she did 99% of the voice work for namine??? Even back in chain of memories in early 2000s ?!?!
To be fair in mean girls the basis of Cady liking Aron is that hes hot, their’s never any real depth there apart from maybe the math thing so both movies are guilty for that one lol
The big difference is that Tyler comes across as a bit of a jerk right from his first scene, and you don't really see why he and Jo would start liking each other, whereas Aaron is more likable in comparison.
What’s stupid about mean girls 2’s fighting sexism thing is that they frame it as though girls like Jo are undeserving of sexism because they exhibit male traits. Like, if she didn’t know how to do wood shop stuff then theyd point and laugh at what a silly dumb girl she is and it would be deserved in the eyes of the film makers. It reinforces that women are only deserving of human respect when they act like guys and are ridiculed for being girls.
It's like JK Rowling's take on bigotry in Harry Potter: it's not framed as though it's bad that Hermione is called slurs at school simply because calling people slurs is disgusting behaviour. It's framed as a bad thing because Malfoy thinks Hermione is worse than other wizards for being muggle born, but actually she's the smartest witch in the year, so the bigotry is wrong because it's 'inaccurate'.
@@robbiesmith8055 Exactly! It’s just like the baffling takes on racism that you get in those Dhar Mann videos. Racist people are framed as wrong/stupid not because assuming that all black people are poor is bigoted on the face of it, but because the black person you assumed was poor May actually be rich, and then you’ll look pretty dumb for assuming they’re poor, won’t you?
The thing that really annoys me about the whole "not like other girls" trope is that it contradicts itself. Jo says it's sexist to assume that she can't do work shop because she's a girl and it is. She doesn't like people putting her in a box and assigning her an expectation based on her gender, while simultaneously putting other women in boxes and assuming they're shallow and beneath her for being stereotypically feminine. She's bashing sexism while stereotyping herself. It's just two sides of the same coin
@@robbiesmith8055 Huh? That's just not true though. They repeatedly talk about how it's bad to call people a mudblood because it represents a belief in eugenics. Ron and Harry get mad at the mere mention of it. Bellatrix carves it into Hermione's skin without knowing anything else about her. It's the final straw that stops Lily from being friends with Snape. 'Mudblood' means dirty blood, a very literal slur about blood purity. You've taken a line in the second book (when the characters are still young and don't fully understand the implications, Hermione's literally never heard the word before) where Hagrid props up Hermione by saying she's also the smartest witch in the year and made out like it's the only thing they say about it, did you not read past that page?
@@marvelousTUD "Now remember kids, bigotry's only wrong if your racist comment was made to the wrong person" 🙄
In all honesty, if Mean Girls 2 wanted to go the younger route, it should have been a prequel. Tween me would have probably enjoyed seeing Regina and Janis being middle school besties, the pool party, the breakup of the friendship, the form of the plastics, and Janis befriending Damien. They could have used the Disney Channel casting as to why the cast feels younger than the original. There was already a story ready to be told.
This could have had such good potential
YES
omg yessss
Tween tragedy that's honestly a good idea
It could work but yet again they did that with Romy and Michele and that didn’t go down so well
Wait... there's a Mean Girls 2?!
You guys should collaborate ❤️
@@TC-fw5bm that would be fun to watch
we don't claim it
FRIENDLY SPACE NINJA WHASSSSUPPP
Unfortunately yes
i think the holes in the shirt scene is so iconic is because it happens to regina. it's not the main character being bullied and instead of being insecure they turn it into a statement. the scene (and all the scenes leading up to it) shows how foiling regina isn't working because of her self confidence. its not the fact thats its boob hole in a shirt, its because its regina, and she wears it not giving a single shit
absolute legend
I also grew up on things like cinema sins and nostalgia critic, and I just really love how much the movie review genre on UA-cam has grown. Play-by-play movie reviews really do encourage the worst in the reviewer- and more introspective content is far more enjoyable to consume!
NC is poison
Yeah, I literally couldn’t imagine myself watching something like cinemasins now but that was my crack like 5 6 years ago
@@uhlexseeuh Lol I'm so embarrassed for all of us watching Cinemasins back in the day thinking that's what genuine film criticism looks like.
Same here. I’m so glad we moved away from “angry guys screaming about kids cartoons.”
For what it's worth, I recently went back to watching Nostalgia Critic and he's really chilled out and became more nuanced as a reviewer
Never gonna give cinema sins a second chance tho
The fact you literally had Kady’s arc in real time where you were mean, it got popular, and now you look back and realise you were wrong and weren’t being yourself. I love it.
Also, like I think a critical issue I have with Jo's like "oh no I'm becoming the enemy- I crave diet drinks" moment compared to the original is that in Mean Girls Katie is literally enmeshing herself in the Plastics to be a double agent for Janis. We see this slippery slope as she seeks acceptance. We see who she is as an outsider, the clumsier attempts to fit in with the group by wearing a men's pink polo, and then eventually she just is a part of that group with their ideas, values, and aesthetic because she lost herself in the power trip of it all. However, that's not what Jo did or is doing. She never 'infiltrated' the group, she never tried to fit in- in fact her whole character is that she doesn't care to fit in. Her whole thing is just finds and builds a different sort of clique. If they wanted to go with a 'becoming what she hates' or like the idea that any clique can be prone to cruelty/toxicity- have her pick on someone for being traditionally feminine, have her start off as someone who just does their own thing but then slowly becomes the toxic 'not like other girls' shit and has to realize that she's not any better than the Psuedo Plastics, so she's got to grow and have like... a character arc...
Yeah, have her clique start as super inclusive and for everyone. But as she becomes more popular have her start excluding people. Becoming a bully.
That would have been light years better
Cady also made way more sense than Jo, since she was basically a blank slate going into highschool with limited social experience. She was primed to be influenced and changed by her friends easily.
when i was deep into my NLOG phase (like 12 or 13 years old), i uttered the words "i like means girls 2 better than the original" and i feel like every bad thing that's ever happened to me since is because of that
I feel like Disney does this a lot. They put out a film that is great and doesn't scream "This is a Disney movie" and then they make a sequel that is so Disney it hurts. It just makes you feel the desperation to make money on something that was good by making something that is mediocre at best. I just watched Hocus Pocus 2 and had that exact feeling. It wasn't horrible, but it feels so forced so you don't feel the authentic attempt to make something good. Hocus Pocus was not a movie that people expected to be a big deal. but it was. So now, trying too hard to capture that same "magic" is obvious and takes away from the movie itself.
The ‘not like real life’ thing could just be rephrased as ‘too cartoony’ because much of them seem to be actions/reactions that make it hard to take the film seriously.
The flash forward in emperor's new groove works because of how contrasting they are and how it's used as a way to highlight how self-absorbed he is. It immediately makes you wonder how he went from an emperor to a llama in the rain and as the story continues he keeps trying to remind you to feel sorry for him. You're coming to the realization that he needs to change alongside of him. Most of the time flashforwards are just used as intrigue and like...a girl in a principal's office is just not that intriguing. And it's not even the part that makes the movie good.
How does Julia look so good here? The space buns 👏 the curls 👏
I can’t even do a good bun, I can only do messy ones I’m so jealous omg
Lying is a sin
@@emmarosie7176 your mum giving birth to you was a sin
@@pixystixwhore omg you are sooooo edgy and funny with that 2014 roast ….
I'd love to add to your point about the "dieting is girly" trope (which I fully agree with), by saying that not only is it unfair to call girls fake for trying to meet societal standards, but there is absolutely no nuance when it comes to dieting in these movies - dieting isn't always for other people, it's not always specifically about being skinny, it's sometimes just about being healthy. Watching what you eat, as long as it doesn't become obsessive, can be a healthy habit to take on. But in these movies, dieting is always about being as skinny as possible, and that also apparently means that the girl's fake and superficial, not that society holds unrealistic expectations.
Actually, that leads me to another point: I hate how, apparently, not only does dieting by itself make girls fake and bitchy, but also actual eating disorders, or being anorexic. I can't count how many times someone's said something like, "that girl is too skinny", in a way that's clearly judging the girl for either her natural body that she didn't choose to have, *or* a literal psychological disorder that she didn't choose to have. My best friend has struggled with anorexia, and the idea of someone calling her fake or a bitch because of it, makes me seethe.
I think the thing is isn't that Regina is more real, but that Regina is more nuanced as a character.
Also, ohmygod I would love to hear your thoughts on Do Revenge, Julia
Yah she basically kind of summed it up at the end. By the end of 1 you aren’t supposed to see Regina as a villain/antagonist, but a morally grey character that was a big cog in the system and Cady isn’t a holy hero/protagonist. They’re all morally grey. While 2 has Mandy just straight up as a cliche villain with no redeeming qualities or arc.
Regina IS more real by being nuanced though. People in real life are nuanced. The only thing that separates Regina from real mean girls is that she’s written to make script jokes (that still feel more real actually)
It would be an interesting project to revisit these videos every couple of years to see how your viewpoint and arguments evolve. Like in 4 or 5 years you watch *this* one..
I totally understood why you were going for a film bro CinemaSIns kinda vibe cause that was way more popular back then. I relate tbh. When I was a book reviewer on Goodreads I was guilty of doing the exact same thing and I'd write these overly-angry, gif-filled reviews of trashy YA books because it was the popular thing to do and would get me tons of engagement. I didn't really say many deep, analytical things, I just pointed out the obvious and took cheap shots cause I desperately wanted to seem funny and follow a trend. I'm sure most of us had this phase when we were younger.
100% im guilty of this.
HEAR ME OUT. If this wasn’t marketed as a mean girls 2 and instead was just a regular Disney original people would eat this UP.
The problematic sexist elements would still be there, but honestly I feel like nobody would care if it wasn’t a sequel to such a successful and beloved film
TRUE. It could have been comparable to Sleepover.
Maybe it’s just me, but no. The characters are irritating asf ☠️
also i love how this video isnt a critique on mean girls 2, it’s a CRITIQUE of your initial critique… kinda mind blowing
Ooh, for me I think the worst difference between the two is that Regina feels like a bitch you knew in high school. Even if her actions seem exaggerated, her behavior, her manner, the way she carries herself feels like someone you've known. And she was intimidating! Mandy (I only remember her name because a clip just said it in the video lol) might have had even worse, bigger evil actions but she just feels ... pathetic. Not sly, cunning, manipulative, or clever the way Regina was. She's like a villain in a kids cartoon but she's SO bad at it that you feel bad for her when she gets her ass kicked.
Mandy committed stupid crimes and almost went to prison; Regina George could ruin your entire life with a single, perfectly legal phone call on a whim and never face any consequences. I know who MY mean queen is
13:34 I love how there were 4 different numbers listed in 5 screenshots.
Ill never forget when a girl from Argentina stole completly your Mean Girls 2 script video
Wait whats the context here
IS IT STILL UP
What who is it
Personally I love the overly critical nitpicking, I don't take it too seriously it's just really funny (Re: the deleting the photo bit)
Great video Julia! It was really interesting hearing your present-day take on your past critiques, and it made me introspective as well, thinking about why I dislike certain things in movies, not just boiling it down to "this movie good, this movie bad", end of thought.
Also I do believe I found your channel through your Mean Girls 2 garbage movie video, but I have to say your recent videos have been some of my favorites! So I def think you have improved over time! (my personal favs have been the Teen Wolf, Scooby-doo, and Bridgerton videos, even though those are all IPs I'm not intimately familiar with, your videos are easy to digest and follow along with the plot!)
Thanks Julia!
I'm fully with you. I found this channel via the Mean Girls video, but I stay for the more recent, more deep-divey videos. The Teen Wolf video is my comfort food, and it was almost singlehandedly responsible for me watching and obsessing over the show, so I have you to thank for that Julia.
@@robbiesmith8055 yes exactly! I've considered watching the show as well, but I'm worried it won't live up to Julia's video on it 🤣
@@TheDrFishalicious Lmao very fair. It definitely did for me as far as the first 3 seasons go (especially the hallowed season 3b), and after that it's just kind of fun to lament with her how bad the show gets.
your point about someone with wildly different views than you watching your old video and thinking you agree with them is actually such a good one! im sure most of your young female audience never needed the extra explanation, but its so so interesting and im glad you brought it up.
I can't wait for you to see the mean girls the musical - either the real show or when it gets turned into a movie musical adaptation of musical adaptation of a movie. There is only 3 emotions people have for it - vitriolic hatred on how empty it is or the acceptance and enjoyment of mediocrity or a deep love no one can explain.
I like the songs and staging, it'll never replace the movie, its far from the best show but its fun
The movie adaption of the stage musical is a bad idea, and I really hope they don't go through with it.
She’s seen it! We went last year with some family members. It’s where she got that hoodie actually!
I somehow feel all three of those emotions towards it
Halfway into the clip and I see nothing wrong about what you had said previously.
Yes, Mean Girls was more realistic in a way that the characters felt more relatable and more like how highschoolers act. Real mean girls are not Disney villains ruling high schools with an iron fist. They're mean by faking and pretending and starting rumors to ruin lives. Which led to the final conclusion of the movie that the mean girls weren't just the Plastics, every girl had meanness in her which sorted it out in the end, and had a chance at redemption and growth. Even Regina. Because that's how it is in real life, every bully hides a deeply hurt person.
In Mean Girls 2 though ... yeah ... cartoony misunderstood main hero defeats the cartoony villain, "hero" gets happy ending, villain gets crappy ending. No lesson learned here, no relatable character, and how are we supposed to even love the main character?
im gonna show this to people when they say that content creation isn't a real job. it's a craft you've finely honed xx
You know whats interesting, is the part where you said its hard to tell the story of mean girls with a main character you're supposed to see as the coolest person ever. And it got me thinking- I feel like its really hard to tell a story in general with a character that is supposed to be "the coolest in the room". Usually, the coolest person in a movie or a story isn't the main character, at least not right out of the gate. Usually the coolest person is the mentor figure for the protagonist, maybe the rival, or the villain. Its really hard to have a protagonist that is the coolest person right out of the gate. Take john Wick for example- yes he is a complete badass, but the movie does not present him like this extremely cool person in the beginning. It's only when the bad guy's son kills his dog that he is now portrayed as this badass assasin who just snapped and is about to murder everyone.
Fight club started in a situation and then took you back to how he got in that situation. Like it has the 'so how did I get here'
something i realized about the parking space clip... They're already out of their car and walking about, so they clearly already parked , so im not sure why they're acting like they just found this out? i feel like the scene couldve been better if they were just... in their car
girl you ARE so smart and we DO love you 💜 but seriously this amount of growth is genuinely aspirational and it's so refreshing to see someone actually look back at their old content to acknowledge how their views have changed since instead of (only) cringing at how they used to say stuff
One thing I felt wasnt said was...the plot of mean girls 1...it makes sense why Cady slowly became like a Regina...in mean girls 2 Jo randomly becoming like Mandy (although not really but they frame it that way) is so random and forced. It's just dumb...and makes the movie feel even more like a cheap clone remake with zero originality rather than an actual proper sequel.
I was literally just thinking about how my life would be better if you released a new video (mainly because I was rewatching your Taylor Swift videos). This is not the first time this has happened, you really have good timing or we are somehow connected, either way I am happy.
I was thinking the same thing today 👹💗
You are being far too hard on yourself babe. Most of your intentions actually came across clearly to us in the video.. I can only speak for me but I don't think it's an uncommon opinion. I by no means ever thought you were anti girl and the movie needed to be called out for its lazy "feminism baiting". This movie is trash and hilariously bad and it's fun to watch you just be sassy. Its just entertaining and stress relieving. The old video feels like watching a shitty movie with my witty, funny friend. As a self depricating human myself I get how hard it is but try to give yourself more credit! This video is popular for a reason!
this video has made me realise that the main character in mean girls 2 is JESS FROM UNTIL DAWN. i am truly and utterly shocked by this news because i loved jess with all my heart and when u said her real name i thought, wait that sounds familiar... truly i have never been more overwhelmed
lol i did not know Tess from Camp Rock (Meaghan Martin) voices Naminé in Kingdom Hearts, just like how people discovered there was a second Mean Girls film.
I can't have sugar in my drinks because I'm diabetic. So glad you brought up that it's not a bad thing to be concerned about diets and sugar, because some people have to be concerned about those things for health reasons.
Also, if it makes you feel any better, I found you through your review on the Bratz movie when I was, funnily enough, looking to see if Cinema Sins made a review on it (and he didn't, not at that time, anyway...).
i think another big problem with mandy vs regina is that mandy isnt a believable threat or villain, shes not intimidating, shes not clever, she feels more like a comedic relief than a villain
It's been so fun to watch your videos since that first Mean Girls video and see how you've evolved. I can't believe that video is 4 years old I feel aged 🫠🤣
I really appreciate this video and your willingness to admit the ways you have grown as a person.
Okay but I still really enjoy your original Mean Girls 2 video 😂😂
Also your space buns are so cuuuuute
OMG I watched this original video a while ago... makes me realize how much I love your videos and how much they've changed over the years!
_Mean Girls 2_ wasn't Direct-to-DVD, it premiered on ABC Family (now Freeform). Another movie that, while not as atrocious as MG2, was pretty bad and stabbed fans in the heart was _Life-Size 2_ which also premiered on Freeform.
I genuinely don't know what vendetta Disney has against Lindsay Lohan's films. The latest _Freaky Friday_ remake was atrocious too. They're ruining all the franchises.
Fun Fact for your repertoire of knowledge, 'The Thin Man' (the famous classic film) as filmed in about 16 days 👍
jessica from until dawn and the the main character of mean girls 2 being played by the same actor will absolutely never sit right with me
I can fucking HEAR the cinema sins now whenever I watch that old video now. Why did you point it out 😭
Dude I cannot wait for this! I started watching you right from your first video and I now make video essays of my own. Thanks for the inspiration Julia, I’ll def be tuning into this!
Oh my gosh, I was just watching your hollyhock video!
Small world!!
Your really good! Keep it up! 😊x
@@Hammerhead4 dude thank you!! I’m glad you enjoyed it! :))
every year i get so excited for ur mean girls video 😭😭 SO EXCITED TO SEE IT BACK THIS YEAR!!
I remember first watching your video because youtube recommended it right after i watched mean girls pirated on youtube when i was like 12. The nostalgia is hitting hard, love you julia!
imo I think it's fair to compare a piece of media to the original when it keeps trying to desperately copy the original 🤷🏾♀️ If MG2 had done it's own thing then the comparisons would've been unfair
I think the sexual harassment thing might be a reference to the first movie, the coach sleeping with a student, because the line is the *school* can't deal with another it's not necessarily the principle
Your hair looks really nice in this video ❤
You're so smart, we love you!
you’re so smart, we love. can’t wait for you mean girls musical review.
i found your channel thru this video and i liked how my own taste in video essay type videos grew the way your content grew too
Mean girls 2 is that one person that no one invited to the party because they are super annoying. And yet they show up and have the audacity to eat all the food.
I’m so glad you decided to make videos, you are one of my favorite UA-camrs and your content is always such a joy to watch!!!
I just chocked on my chicken parm when you said "well regina got hit by a bus so penance"
Hi Julia Happy October 3th! I am trying to think of what movies I like that has narration in the beginning that works.
The only ones I can think of are Tangled Movie (when Flynn Rider/Eugene says “this is the story of how I died”, Emperor’s new groove Movie, Lemonade Mouth Movie, the first episode of the Gravity Falls TV show, Disney Stuck in the Middle TV show,
*I can’t think of anymore examples at the moment. if any one knows anymore movies/tv shows that have narration in the beginning. Please feel free to add more.*
I think Ratatouille does it too
Megamind.
I feel like it half counts, but there's the opening credits for Avatar: The Last Airbender
@@ShitakeMushrooms eh it kind of counts. The intro serves as necessary exposition, especially for the first episode.
@37:45 nooo i love that you included that bit LOL. don’t give this movie shit
I remember watching you a lot around the time of the mean girls 2 video. Your channel is what got me into movie commentary youtube. Now I need to catch up on all the videos I missed on
physically cannot wait for this
Watching this video (after having watched the original years ago) made me realize that internalize this movie and wrote my novel based on it just with interesting characters and a better story
This is a great video idea honestly loved it lmao, would be super interested to hear your thoughts about Do Revenge!
forever of the opinion that the reason claire hoult was cast as reccebeca in the vampire diaries so that she could redeem herself for being in this film, she was the true queen bee
Please make this a series, I love seeing people react to old videos ❤ I saw your bratz movie review years ago and loved it !
Meaghan Martin is actually a very good actress, she starred in 10 things I hate about you and she was great in that. And she was good in Camp Rock. She was in a film called Geography Club as well and that was good. Meaghan’s acting was bad (as was the other actors) was because the script was written so badly.
The iconic mean girls 2 is a garbage movie where I know every line in the video 😭 also let’s not try and ignore the Betty and hug head video 🤓
You’re so smart! We love you!
NOW YOU HAVE TO COVER THE MUSICAL
Julia roasting her mean girls 2 roast
The Thin Man was made in less then 20 days and that movie is hella iconic
You're so smart. We love you.
do you guys remember how when this premiered, they also aired a new avril lavigne music video during the commercials? i remember watching this more for avril than the movie lol
I loved your vid on Mean Girls 2! It made me want to watch the original movie, which was honestly so good!!!
This is such a comforting place o just want to live in Julia’s videos
Oh my god that 'she doesn't even go here' hoodie is so fetch!!
You should seriously consider reviewing some of Lindsay Lohan's more underrated films in the lead up to her comeback movie _Falling for Christmas_ which comes out November 2022 on Netflix. Each week a new movie review, preferably in this order:
_Just My Luck_ (2006), _Labor Pains_ (2009), _Life-Size_ (2000), _Georgia Rule_ (2007).
Then in the lead up to her next movie in 2023, probably _Irish Wish,_ you could do the following reviews:
_Get a Clue_ (2002), _A Prairie Home Companion_ (2005), _Herbie: Fully Loaded_ (2005), _My Scene Goes Hollywood_ (2005).
Think about it.
Yes!
I feel like I understand your bringing in the not like other girls trope during the woodshop scene. these tropes (not like other girls and take no shit feminist) often go together, because of the framework of sexism the movie is operating under: that femininity IS vapid and shallow and undeserving of respect, but that Other Girls don't deserve to be denied respect by association. Through the lens of the beginning of the movie (
i was lol this whole video girl you’re hilarious. i originally subbed from the original mean
girls 2 video
This was great, please do the same with your bratz video 😂 i love that one too
This hairstyle is so cute omg
Julia, there is gonna be a musical adaption film to mean girls... Tina Fey announced this two years ago (2020)...
Is this…based on the Broadway show or like a whole separate thing??
@@HayleighPaige broadway (2018) version, i think. You will have to look it up and see for yourself, sorry
omg your hair is fabulous
Girl u ate this and u ate in the old video too don’t be too hard on yourself
I just discovered your channel and I must say, I LOVE your voice. It’s so beautiful 😭💗
Ok so totally unrelated to the content of the video, but your sound quality is so good!! Like it might be because I'm listening to you with headphones for the first time, but I was taken aback by how clear you sound. Also, it's so relatable to see you cringe at something you said when you were younger😂 Happens all the time, and it's cool that you're so honest about it!
To piggyback on the “20 days” thing, it’s not really a problem if you have a good script and focused direction. Short shooting periods can in fact an incredibly good sign as it’s less expensive, it allows the staff to move on to other projects faster and speeds up the movie’s production timeline, allowing for more effort being placed in other aspects of filmmaking such as editing, sound design, etc. Obviously it also just depends on the story, Mean Girls 2 is not a movie that requires a long shooting period as it can be filmed in its entirety in a few locations and doesn’t require time to be alotted into stage setup or hair and makeup, it’s no Lord of the Rings. The problems plaguing Mean Girls 2 are always gonna come down to the subpar script and bad direction so it was always gonna be bad regardless of how long they’d shoot for.
I remember watching your vid all those years ago. We’re around the same age so I can understand being influenced by cinema sins and just how film UA-cam was so different back then. I think a video like this just shows how much older we are and how much we’ve grown as people because… yeah this movie is still bad, but we are noticing faults in our mentality in how we critique media.
Wait… in what high school is there an abstinence club? 😂 and I’m not making fun of abstaining until marriage. I’m one of them. my body, my choice. But abstinence is not really a unifying thing like religion, asexuality, physical disorders or trauma are (aka reasons why people would choose abstinence). Those other things, you could start a club around. I mean it’s nice to have friends that have the same ideals as you. But I know a club like that would probably be bullied to the ground because people are crappy. I think maybe a sex education or safe sex or a “we don’t make fun of peoples choices” club would be better 😅. But yeah sexist movie is sexist
Meghan Martin is also in another shitty remix of 10 things I hate about you, but it’s a tv show 😂😂😂😂
YOUR HAIR IS IMMACULATE
Finally, real cinema
Im gonna keep bringing this up in every video about mean girls 2; does anyone remember when the queen bee of this movie was invited as a GUEST onto the Dr. PHIL show to talk to a real life mean girl?? Shit was wild. Yoi could have had the original author of queen bees and wannabees put on there but instead you got meena from cory in the house? :/
This is brave, I don't have the mental fortitude to rewatch that monstrosity
A video I never thought I needed until now
I stated this in the original video and I will say it again because it keeps coming up. But I think one of the biggest issues with dialog that I just cannot get past is the way the narration has her speak in military-style talk. I found that annoying and I know that it's petty to point that out of all the issues this movie did.
this is my comfort channel
I looked it up because when you said "people liked her in a videogame" I had a feeling and HOLY SHIT SHE'S NAMINE??? I THOUGHT IT WAS BRITNEY SNOW THE WHOLE TIME..MY WORLD IS SHOOKTH. I KNEW OLD DISNEY STARS PLAYED THEM AND THERE WOULD BE OVERLAP BUT XION AND NAMINE ARE LITTERALLY MEGHAN AND ALLISON...AKA..TESS AND CAITLYN. And she does it so well!! How did I not now she did 99% of the voice work for namine??? Even back in chain of memories in early 2000s ?!?!
To be fair in mean girls the basis of Cady liking Aron is that hes hot, their’s never any real depth there apart from maybe the math thing so both movies are guilty for that one lol
The big difference is that Tyler comes across as a bit of a jerk right from his first scene, and you don't really see why he and Jo would start liking each other, whereas Aaron is more likable in comparison.
i literally love your room!! its adorable!