‘Mean Girls,’ in the pink at 15
Share the love with memorable quotes.
There’s nothing more fetch than quoting “Mean Girls.”
The 2004 teen comedy starring Lindsay Lohan became culturally iconic almost instantly, creating quotable moments, catapulting the careers of Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried to superstar levels and sparking a sequel and a Broadway musical adaptation.
In honor of the film’s 15th anniversary Tuesday, we’re settling in with some Kalteen bars and mocktails (thanks, Mrs. George) to celebrate the genius behind Tina Fey’s whip-smart script, partially based on Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 selfhelp book, “Queen Bees and Wannabes.”
After combing through the movie’s gold mine of comedic quips, we’ve rounded up the 15 best quotes from the cult classic.
15. “On Wednesdays we wear pink.” – Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried)
Part of the allure of the titular mean girls in the movie is their seemingly perfect facade, dictated by a set of bylaws and rules that included only wearing jeans and sweatpants on Fridays, absolutely no vests and wearing pink on Wednesdays.
14. “You can’t sit with us!” – Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert)
Gretchen finally stands up to Regina, screaming this line in the cafeteria as if she has been storing it in a plastic Pandora’s box. It’s similar to when she says “We should totally just stab Caesar!” but now she’s untangling herself from Regina’s clutches instead of struggling in them. You can sit with us, Gretch.
13. “Damn Africa, what happened?” – Kevin Gnapoor (Rajiv Surendra)
This quote from mathlete Kevin Gnapoor to Lohan’s Cady Heron, a Chicago transplant who spent her childhood years in Africa, has come back into circulation in the past few years. As life seems to spiral out of control in a variety of ways across the world, people have resurfaced this quote as a way to simultaneously remember the “better” days and roast the current state of affairs.
12. “It’s October 3rd.” – Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan)
This quote sparked an entire day dedicated to the movie each year, and it’s not even the strongest quote from the movie. That pretty much proves the film’s cult status.
11. “I’m not like a regular mom, I’m a cool mom!” – Mrs. George (Amy Poehler)
Eat your heart out, Kris Jenner. Amy Poehler’s role as Regina’s plastics-wannabe mother set the (very high, Juicy pink) bar for “cool moms” everywhere. Trading her room so Regina could have it? Done. Helping Regina get ready for prom after she gets hit by a bus? Done. Your favorite mom could never.
10. “Get in, loser, we’re going shopping!” – Regina George (Rachel McAdams)
This line is teen suburbia at its finest. After the movie became a hit, teens everywhere could be heard yelling this in school parking lots.
9. “That is so fetch!” − Gretchen Wieners
We know, we know, this is low on our list. But that’s exactly the point: The British “slang” Gretchen tries to use doesn’t cut it for Queen Bee Regina, but who can forget it?
8. “I can’t go out tonight. I’m sick.” – Karen Smith
This is the ultimate fake-out, and on a three-way call, no less. The fake cough Karen inserts after saying she can’t go out has made its way into the lexicon of excuses to not get off the couch.
7. “It’s like I have ESPN or something!” − Karen Smith
Karen Smith’s ESPN/ESP mix-up is one for the ages. This is a character, yes, who doesn’t understand why it’s bad to make out with your cousin and thinks
4. “Four for your Glen Coco! You go, Glen Coco!” – Damian (Daniel Franzese)
there’s a 30% chance it’s already raining, but the ESPN gaffe is palatable to any and all fans of this film who may not otherwise enjoy some of the more subtle comedy.
6. “Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by Regina George.” – Ms. Norbury (Tina Fey)
Whether someone is making fun of you in the family group text or your boss calls you out in a meeting, it’s 2019 and we’ve all felt victimized at this point. Thanks to Fey, we have the perfect way to express it.
5. “Made out with a hot dog? Oh my God, that was one time!” − Amber D’Alessio (Julia Chantrey)
Yes, Amber D’Alessio admitted to making out with a hot dog after the Burn Book went public. There’s a series of other gut-busting lines that happen during this scene but no other delivery sticks quite like this one. The quote also is easily recyclable in typical trashy banter. “Was my pun that horrible? Oh my God, that was one time!” for example. Although this is not Damian’s funniest quote from the movie, nor the most memorable scene, this line has withstood the test of time. To this day, people recite the quote in Damian’s Santa Claus accent whenever they’re distributing four of something to anyone.
3. “You could try Sears.” − Salesperson (Jo Chim)
Who knew four words could cause third-degree burns? A sales associate at the store “1-3-5” deadpans the line to Regina after she can’t squeeze into a size 5 dress. While “get in loser, we’re going shopping” is also iconic, there’s something about the specificity of Sears that makes the quote shine. Regina probably wishes she could’ve put it in the Burn Book herself.
2. “Oh my God, Danny DeVito, I love your work!” − Damian
This is one of the most underrated comedic lines in the entire movie. When a female classmate calls out Damian for being in the girls’ bathroom at school, he responds with the unmatched quote, comparing her to DeVito while running her out of the bathroom, gender norms be damned.
1. “She doesn’t even go here!” − Damian
This Damian line, which he shouts during an all-girls assembly after the movie’s infamous “Burn Book” comes up more often than you’d think in every day life. “Does that man even work in our office? He doesn’t even go here!” Case in point: We’re glad Tina Fey went here.