There are certain movies that are deeply ingrained into the fabric of Marlborough Culture. They are often quoted, and usually carry a allegorical message relevant to the life of the average high school student. These are the films that every Marlborough girl absolutely must (and definitely will) see before she graduates:
Mean Girls
For those poor, unenlightened souls who have yet to undergo the Mean Girls experience, here is a brief recap: The 2004 flick follows new girl Cady Heron through her first year at an American high school from Africa, where she grew up and was homeschooled by her parents. Cady eventually falls in with the “Plastics,” the premiere clique at her new school, and hilarity ensues. How could it not, really, with a screenplay written by Tina Fey. The flick stars Lindsay Lohan (pre-meltdown), Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Amanda Seyfried, and Rachel McAdams.
Though everyone should watch Mean Girls at some point in their lives, it’s especially important for Marlborough girls. The girl who has never seen this movie won’t understand when their friend yells, “Get in, Loser, we’re going shopping!”, or why everyone gets so excited when they get to write, “The limit does not exist” as a solution on their calc test, or what all the Facebook posts mean on October 3rd. Don’t be that girl. Watch Mean Girls. Humor and clever lines aside, Mean Girls also has some pretty relevant allegorical value concerning the dangers of popularity and clique-iness.
Clueless
Clueless follows the story of Cher Horowitz, a romantic and affluent Beverly Hills fashionista who can be a bit clueless. From her outfits (which are now back in style, I think) to her terrible driving, and blindness when it comes to guys, Cher can feel alarmingly relatable at times. The ultimate throwback, Clueless is set and made at the height of the 90‘s. The movie also gets bonus points for featuring a young Paul Rudd and costumes that are the absolute quintessence of 90’s fashion.
Like Mean Girls, Clueless has serious educational value, from learning about Los Angeles traffic patterns to seeing how to get good grades. The storyline is also loosely based off of the Jane Austen Book Emma, published in 1816, so it has real literary weight, too.
Easy A
Easy A tells the story of Olive Penderghast, a normal, invisible girl who gains notoriety in her high school after a nasty and untrue rumor spreads throughout the student body. The movie also deals with timely issues like slut shaming and double standards concerning sex. It stars the incredible Emma Stone, as well as Amanda Bynes and Penn Badgley (aka Dan Humphrey of Gossip Girl).
Like Clueless, Easy A is based off a classic novel: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which is required reading in 10th-grade English. This definitely makes it a must-see for anyone in that class.
