Villain of the Month: Regina George

Though it may have come out in 2004 (has it really been that close to a decade already???), Mean Girls is still a staple film for the high-school set. In fact, I hear it quoted more than any other movie by my teenagers. I will contend, that much of its enduring popularity is due to its fantastically fabulous and equally brutal villain: Regina George.

Here are my TOP TEN reasons why I think Regina George makes such a fantastic villain:

10. She looks angelic with those long flowing locks and rosebud lips.
9.  Her compliments are vague and served with a smile.
8. Her cruel assessments of the receiver of the compliment the minute she turns her back are equally specific and brutal. And still served with a smile. 
7. She has stolen her parents' bedroom (such a small detail to convey such dominance. genius.).
6. She can and does date the hottest guys in school. (Even if she has to lie, cheat, and steal to do it.)
5. Her car. Her house. Her waistline.
4. She falls. When faced with a rival, she actually stumbles thereby gaining our sympathy. How can one fully demonize a beautiful girl in a back-brace who has been secretly fed weight-gainer by a "friend"?
3. She fights back. At a time when it is incredibly difficult to navigate girl-world, she doesn't let others determine her status -- no matter how far she has fallen.
2. She's funny. Cruel-funny, but funny.
1. She does what so many great lust-worth villains do: she fulfills in the reader the hidden desire to say what one wants to say regardless of the cost. And is often rewarded for it. Such a silly lot of us: to crave/desire to be the ones we despise the most.

She's such a great villain, in fact, that "Regina George" even has her own Twitter account with almost half a million followers. Check it out any time you want to get inspired by/inside the head of the original mean girl: https://twitter.com/ItsReginaG (Twitter handle: "ItsReginaG"). You're welcome.

Why do you think she makes such a great villain?