How Mean Girls Fans Can Watch The Full Movie For Free (Warning: It's Ridiculous)

Rejoice, "Mean Girls" fans, for today is October 3, the national holiday for those who are both for and anti-Plastic. The teen-comedy, which highlights all the lows and perils of high school, debuted in 2004 and instantly became a classic. Widely beloved and quoted to this day, "Mean Girls" has taken on a life of its own, emerging as one of the definitive works from the early 2000s. The Tina Fey-penned flick launched several of its stars (Rachel McAdams, Lizzy Caplan, Amanda Seyfried) to stardom and continues to persist in its relevancy.

While speaking with The New York Times in 2014, McAdams, who played Queen Bee Regina George, expressed how she was taken aback by the film's legacy. "[The success] was surprising to me because when you're making something, you kind of have no concept of it," McAdams admitted. To celebrate the film's legacy and the impact it has had on popular culture, Paramount has made the Mark Waters-directed film available for fans to watch for free on October 3. Quick recap: October 3 is "Mean Girls" day because it's the day Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett) asked Cady (Lindsay Lohan) what day it was (it was October 3, by the way). 

To make the day a bit more exciting, the studio behind the cult comedy has debuted the film on TikTok, the video-sharing platform, for fans to watch. Seeing as TikTok emphasizes short-form, bite-sized videos as opposed to feature-length films, "Mean Girls" is available to watch in full across 23 clips on the social media site. As great as it is to celebrate "Mean Girls," fans can't help but point out how ridiculous this marketing move is.

Yes, it's a brilliant move on Paramount Pictures' part to capitalize on the memes and social media chatter by releasing "Mean Girls" for all to watch for free. However, it's a bit ridiculous to have the film cut up in 23 parts. Then again, "Mean Girls" has always been popular with teenagers and those who are perpetually online, which is why TikTok is the perfect platform to release the film on — at least from a marketing perspective. A survey from Pew Research says that two-thirds of American teenagers use the app, making TikTok the best way for studios and marketers to communicate with youngsters. 

But a strategic move doesn't make it any less ridiculous. Fans of "Mean Girls" have taken to social media to call out just how hilarious and ridiculous the decision is. "I hope there's subway surfer gameplay and asmr footage playing on the top and bottom of the screen," joked Reddit user u/Mythologist69. "Quibi lives!!" shared user u/MediosMazapanes, pointing out how the move to cut up a film into various pieces is pretty much a move from the now-defunct streaming service Quibi, which crashed and burned in 2020. Some fans, however, are taking the marketing move in stride. "Watching the entire Mean Girls movie on Tiktok like the good Lorde intended it," shared X user @feverdreamliz. 

While we're not Paramount execs, it's fair to say that this bold move (literally uploading a movie on social media) is a way for audiences to remember just how iconic and great "Mean Girls" is. After all, January 12, 2024, sees the release of the new "Mean Girls" movie — the long-awaited cinematic adaptation of "Mean Girls: The Musical." What better way to get fans excited for the reboot than by making the film trend on social media?