Why "The Clique" is a TERRIBLE Movie For Kids *Full Movie Analysis*

The Clique is a kids and teen movie based on a popular book series... but can a memorable cast save this terrible script? Watch to find out! Shop my merch at: bit.ly/nickmerch
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Today we're diving in to The Clique, a straight to DVD adaptation of the young adult novel series by Lisi Harrison. This movie stars Ellen Marlow and Brigit Medler, along with a script full of confusing moments and areas that could be improved with a little more thought. Let's take a look and see why The Clique might be one of the least well written children's movies I've ever seen! As always, don't forget to like and subscribe! Become a member of my Patreon for exclusive bonus content and extras delivered every month! bit.ly/nickpatreon
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Nick DiRamio
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I'm Nick DiRamio, I publish witty/funny/sarcastic videos on all of my favorite things: pop culture, tv, lifestyle topics, toys, and comedy! Some favorite videos series I've created include Clip Breakdown, Trying Instagram Products, Toy Commercial Commentary, and commentary on the latest from thew internet. On this channel you will find a variety of content like reviews, reactions, analysis videos, and more! Make sure to subscribe and enable ALL notifications!
#NickDiRamio #Commentary #TheClique

[@ellentmarlow]

Why you gotta do me dirty in the thumbnail 😂

[@isbellamoore5483]

OMGGGG

[@NickDiRamioTV]

It’s queen Ellen Marlow! Thank you for your iconic performance in this movie 👑❤️

[@strawberrylime33]

Kuh-laaaaaaaire!!!!! Hi!!!!!

[@SLashafrass]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@gardengorl]

Nooo waaaaayyyyy!!! Love this!!!

[@brookeberg3598]

I saw this movie in 5th grade and that weekend I had a Kohl's shopping spree and started dressing like my husband was running for state senator

[@crystolas.]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 omG. That made me snort 🤣🤣🤣

[@jademerrick8758]

LMAO

[@kactuskutie]

you’re a young angela!

[@kaemincha]

i ghostwrote this comment

[@jboao]

lmfao stop it

[@sienabrown2612]

When I was in 7th grade I wanted to be pun queen Massie Block so bad so I said to my parents “Are you a calendar? Because your days are numbered” and I got grounded 💀💀💀

[@jademerrick8758]

Your parents: "Is.....is she threatening to kill us???"

[@turner15]

Fccgbjjtfk

[@ophelia1398]

SAME i literally used a joke she made about being H*RNY i had nooo idea what it meant...

[@sholem_bond]

I'm torn between "oof, that's cringe, condolences," and "your parents got mad enough about THAT to ground you?" Like, don't get me wrong, my parents got irrationally mad about stuff that wasn't a very big deal in retrospect too, but like... that's clearly something your kid says when they think they're witty + maybe they read it somewhere. Like... that's a baby. Chill.

[@asi9ghost]

Lol you got grounded because you said the corniest threat ever

[@ArtsyHumanbean]

Hearing those lyrics “you can look, don’t touch” and watching those CHILDREN walk down the dark hallway is my dystopian nightmare. Tyra, they’re twelve!

[@fruitygarlic3601]

My dystopian nightmare is Modelland, and Tyra was responsible for that too.

[@ms.marvelous8156]

@@fruitygarlic3601 trees did not deserve to be torn dow for that book’s existence

[@jewelxiat]

I'm so glad someone pointed that out because HOOO the discomfort 😂

[@pollypocket4323]

In her defense, that stuff is straight out off the books

[@nelsonwilkins347]

@@pollypocket4323 there is no defending tyra atp

[@blkhawtie]

In the book, Alicia was insecure about her "big boobs" so that was the whole point of Claire's comeback. However, you would only know that if you read the books. They could've done better with making sure that these things were understood by an audience that hasn't read the books.

[@artinstructor4020]

I found it weird that it was brought up in EVERY book. Like...that was one of the few character descriptions she had

[@Nicole-zc9hk]

@@artinstructor4020 and she was only like a C cup so it wasn’t like she had absolutely ginormous boobs either 😂

[@CFlipify]

Yeah but obvi they changed a lot they meant to maybe even to secure a pg rating or who knows when is the movie ever fully like the book u know?

[@artinstructor4020]

@@Nicole-zc9hk right? Loke it was such an essential part to her. It made me feel weird why hyper focus on that? What about the other girls?

[@yespls4184]

@@artinstructor4020 well, Dylan in the books was insecure with her body and constantly dieting so I think they all had their thing. It was weird how much Alicia's boobs were focused on in the books though. But as someone who developed earlier than my friends, i was also teased quite a bit for mine at that age too.

[@microbinson]

About Dylan and her mom body-shaming her: there was a whole book in the series about it that flashes back to before claire. Her mom works as a tv personality of some sort and was obsessed with staying skinny and her assistant switched all her mirrors with funhouse-type ones that made her look skinnier and her daughters also used those mirrors. In the book, they're all an average weight, but when they see themselves in normal mirrors, they look bigger than they're used to seeing, which if I remember correctly, led to an emotional breakdown. Hence, their mom is a total jerk about Dylan's pants in the movie and book 1.

[@breetoldyouso]

What in the psychological horror was this book series

[@Philosofishy]

I think she breaks down and cut all her hair off or something

[@gtickno2946]

I remember that book. It was sad seeing her go from being confident with her appearance to the diet obsession (probably an eating disorder) she has in all the other books. It's like the one thing I remember about the series

[@ballinangel3231]

@@breetoldyouso I read all the books AND the spin-offs when I was little and honestly it’s wild

[@PoptartParasol]

Petition to drug test children's/teen book writers before they even put pen to paper because I swear half of the books I read as a kid felt like a more mild version of 'The Mouth of Madness'.

[@leahdavis9434]

Dylan was never overweight, they just treated her like being a size 8 was a crime.

[@ollieno971]

I think that was the point. Bc girls are constantly shown tiny size 0 models and are told and brainwashed into thinking that’s what you should be and anything over it is overweight, especially when this movie was made.

[@sapphirek5244]

The thing that’s confusing me is size 8 in what? Teen sizes? Kids sizes? Like they’re twelve, I’m pretty sure all of them would be a juniors size 4 at MOST, based on my experience. Like I get the point, but I don’t think it makes sense for 7th graders?

[@sfooshy4517]

I was size 8 or 7 when I saw this movie yiiikes

[@annastasiaonstage]

My dad once said "you don't need to be a size 6 to be popular." My mom and I just stared at him for a few seconds before she said "try double 0." 😅

[@sholem_bond]

I thought they made her bulimic or something too, right? And then acted really casual about it?

[@sophiahughes5355]

Bruuuuuuh these books were very popular with my school, and looking back I'm like.... why are these literal children acting like the real housewives of Ms. Jamsen's language arts class

[@TayTayGrace03]

Hahahaha seriously though, the author should've at least made them high schoolers. I sure as hell wasn't acting like them when I was 12 😂

[@sholem_bond]

My sister and her friends acted a bit like that, I have to say. Like, not mean to other girls (AFAIK), but with that same apparent idea that being like 11-14 made them super sophisticated. She also read these books.

[@cleobinx]

🤣🤣🤣🤣housewives of Ms. Jamsens language arts class

[@rhiannalee9360]

😂😂😂

[@eirdiaz8317]

Omg same hahaha

[@CyberStockholmSyndrome]

I remember Dylan saying that she liked being sick because she couldn’t keep anything down and kept throwing up, so she lost weight. That was supremely fucked to read at 12.

[@Alexis-wg5nx]

dylan's crash diets in the book despite being (according to one of the books) "2 inches wider and 2 inches taller" and the fact that she was the thinnest cast member in the film really fucked with me ngl

[@ms.marvelous8156]

Slight spoiler and trigger warning but apparently in the books, Dylan’s body image issues stemmed from a stylist for her mom using those special mirrors that make you look smaller on her and her sisters which she found out about at a New Year’s Eve party before she met the pretty committee. It was incredibly messed up.

[@kiaracolon9076]

I still think about it in my 20s never knew some books I read in middle school would affect the way I think about things

[@peachygirl2374]

Kind of related: I remember watching TV with my brother and cassie from skins really shaped my relationship with food, now I have food avoidances and aversions ✌️ thanks British TV.

[@kiaracolon9076]

@@peachygirl2374 that scene taught me how to fake eating and the most shocking thing to me now its how well it worked

[@deborahelizabeth3788]

Massie had a lot more depth in the book. In this film, they just gave her a typical “mean girl turns nice” plot. But throughout the series, she never loses her mean streak; she just develops more of a bond with Claire. That was the beauty of the book series-Massie was always kind of mean towards her other friends, but she actually loved Claire like a sister. I like to think that Claire was the first “real” friend of Massie’s, because what Claire had to offer was her personality and kind heart. Before Claire, Massie would only associate with people who were rich and pretty-regardless of their moral values. However, that’s the interpretation I came to after reading a couple books-I guess one can’t fit Massie’s deeper character development into a short, made-for-TV film. UPDATE: Your comment about the sleepover not having food is so accurate! In the books, Massie actually has really good stuff at her parties (licorice, popcorn, pretzels, Perrier, etc.) so that’s another detail that the film adaptation left out.

[@tiffanyferg]

I definitely read the books in middle school and basically all I remember is 1) Claire being roasted for wearing Keds - I didn’t even know what Keds were so I didn’t get the joke?? And 2) Massie making a point about patting your skin dry with a towel to avoid wrinkles

[@vfam.4308]

omg as I'm wearing keds... 😂 I love my knock off vans

[@bekah13]

i love keds lol they are kinda like vans/converse

[@Elena-vx8pu]

I remember "Kuh-laire" and "ehmagawd"

[@synthiasparkle6482]

Meanwhile at the same time I would see ads in Teen Vogue for Keds and so I was extremely confused by these conflicting messages. I am left to assume it was a Westchester thing. At least in these books 😂

[@hali2715]

The keds thing totally shaped my personality like I still to this day think of keds as cheap shoes

[@cowgirlsosa]

these books shaped MY IDENTITY. saying “did I invite you to my bbq? Then why are you all up in my grill” was a personality trait for me ages 9-13

[@jordyngalvan8558]

oh nooo

[@xxIluvyouguysxx]

Honestly same, even though I was probably the least popular person in school

[@Mels0103]

It's ok, we all make horrific mistakes during those stages of life

[@cowgrll]

YES EXACTLY. and no one at my school knew about the clique so i definitely thought quoting all the lines made me cooler than i actually was

[@niceshoelaces808]

Thinkin bout edgy preteen me setting my AIM away message to “Do I sell fertilizer? No? Then why do u think I’d give a crap” 🥴🥴🥴

[@abundanceofzoeys]

The books were toxic, classist garbage and I was OBSESSED.

[@weruleyoudrool]

Gossip Girl was like the older version 💀💀💀. The books got messy

[@rw9399]

Gossip Girl, the Private and Privilege series... the clique, I needed it ALL. Anything with spoiled rich teens-college age kids getting into outrageous scenarios was (and is) my jam 🤣

[@abundanceofzoeys]

The It Girl, Jenny's well deserved spin-off.

[@ktkeller9168]

Same

[@Nicole_cherise]

Lmao same I had like 15 of these books 😂 I knew about all the designer brands from them lol

[@isabellavicco7558]

Learning that Tyra Banks had a production company was like receiving a slap to the face

[@ShiningSeraph]

Fun fact, her production company also produced America's Next Top Model and her talk show!

[@isabellavicco7558]

@@fruitygarlic3601 there’s a book?? dear god

[@doperagu8471]

@@isabellavicco7558 yup! It's called Model Land. If you remember the All Stars season, the top 4 I think did this totally cringey mini movie thing about it. Laura digging through trash and filling her mouth with whipped cream out of the can with black raccoon makeup. It was awful. There's also a few decent KZbin videos of people reviewing the book that I would recommend checking out if you want to know all the cringe of the book but don't want to actually take the time to read it 😂

[@SirChubbyBunny]

@@isabellavicco7558 It was going to be a full on series, but after the first book came out, there hasn't been any new updates. Imagine a Harry Potter series but it's centered on modeling with unpronounceable names, incomprehensible and nonsensical storylines, and Clive Barker amounts of gore flung in at random times. Edit: Oh, and cat girls. How could I forget that.

[@maggers2580]

@@doperagu8471 omg yes! I recommend allison pragler's book review. The book sounds so fucking wild!

[@hali2715]

I loved the books as a little girl in the 2000s and honestly in retrospect they were super destructive to young girls' sense of self worth. They set Claire up like she's gonna come in and change the whole school system and tear down the mean girls like Cady Heron, but she just becomes one of them instead.

[@beloooga_whale]

I know right? like as a young kid I was obsessed with trying to get any designer items to be like part of the Pretty Committee despite being poor. I was so much like Claire, even down to being from Florida, but absolutely refused to accept the similarity.

[@LuvFearlessly]

…no…she doesn’t. She’s friends with Massie but still maintains her own independence. In retrospect I actually find Mean Girls pretty problematic. This series was essentially written as satire.

[@candybunny2462]

They kinda set up the "tear down the whole school" plot with Claire in the second to last book, but even then it sorta fails

[@cloudstrife4534]

@@LuvFearlessly How is Mean Girls problematic? It was just as much of a tear down of cliques and damaging societal standards. And it was honestly done better than The Clique. Which is a satire, but not a well done satire. I liked the books as a teen, but they really don’t hold up as good or deftly-handled satire. And they still have many of the same elements as Mean Girls, so if you think The Clique holds up to the test of time, but say Mean Girls is problematic, that seems disingenuous and biased.

[@Ezra4224]

“She’s Luke’s estranged daughter from Gilmore girls” she’s also one of the main two girls from Switched at Birth

[@alisaurus4224]

I know her from Dexter

[@propogandalf]

Loved Switched at Birth!

[@amandatidey5751]

@@alisaurus4224 OMG nice catch! At first I thought she was Rita's daughter when I read your comment until I looked her up, I would have never made the connection that she was Trinitys daughter!

[@g1ng3r_b1tch]

plus her sister is laura morano, known for playing ally in austin and ally. i was too old for that show but i remember seeing her EVERYWHERE for a while in promo stuff and later memes. the two look very similar

[@Bleep831]

She plays Echo in finding Zoey as well- based on a book of the same name. Great book for early teens.

[@jl4260]

The girl who played Massie admitted to having a crush on the dad during filming, like lol as if you wouldnt he's fine as hell

[@NickDiRamioTV]

Lolll that would be meeee

[@niceshoelaces808]

I watched a vid of the actress who played Claire reacting to the movie and she said the same thing lol

[@rissym222]

I live for this

[@blackeveryseason]

Double comment: Brief reminder to anyone who hasn't read the books, there's a whole book dedicated to the girls using a teddy bear with a camera in its eyes to spy on their crushes/boyfriends in school during their "therapy" class, so they can use the information to get closer to them and the guys get really confused and call them out, saying, 'we were just lying that we felt that way so we could pass, wtf you psychos.' Top tier problematic junior high kids 👌

[@jademerrick8758]

"Sealed With a Diss"! That one was a rollercoaster from start to finish lmao

[@Alexis-wg5nx]

@@jademerrick8758 the series' peak

[@Alexis-wg5nx]

why stop there? how about that time when massie scammed multiple classmates for kissing classes all the while not knowing how to kiss herself and then never paid them back when they all realized that she was lying

[@ms.marvelous8156]

There’s also the time Massie’s friends were just so done with her that they un friended her and then she hired actresses to be her friends so she wouldn’t look bad.

[@jalapeno1119]

And then they flooded the whole school and destroyed an entire ass building so

[@killerqueen7489]

"I find it homophobic that the dad is the most attractive person in this whole movie" made me subscribe ya'll

[@christalcavanaugh]

You won’t regret it 😂

[@spicymcchickpea953]

I’m jealous you get to watch all his videos for the first time lol

[@kennedysmith9553]

@@spicymcchickpea953 everyday I WISH I could watch Nick’s Grinch’s video for the first time again. He dragged the production for f i l t h.

[@elphbwckd212]

Easy to impress

[@aarontheperson6867]

@@elphbwckd212 that line alone took 50 minutes of writing

[@abbim2531]

Dude when I was a young, closeted gay I legit thought Claire and Massie were going to get together at the end. I mean, c'mon it's RIGHT THERE. Massie can so easily be read as having internalized homophobia. And the whole flower thing?? There's no heterosexual explanation for this.

[@fortunamajor7239]

I used to ship them as a kid lmaooooo. I still have old middle school journals with Claire/Massie fic somewhere in storage

[@stefanmakara373]

Huh now that you mention it it does make sense. Even in the books as they grow EXTREMELY close, like, Claire literally becomes Massie's bff to the point of making other girls jealous

[@courtneycherry5582]

Thanks you!!! I thought the same thing!!!

[@sandroselladore3506]

IKR

[@abidizzne892]

How do people make everything gay related

[@AS-fi7hc]

I love how often Nick mixes up Claire and Massie’s names, towards the end they both just turn into Cassie

[@Outlawgirl63]

I know they are like 12 but when they get to high school that can be their ship name

[@laurenc4138]

As someone who went to an all girls private school, if that period thing had happened, at least 4 girls would’ve run up to her with a jacket and any type of tampon or pad you could think of. Unsurprisingly in a school full of girls that are hitting puberty at different times, that’s the one thing all girls are super nice about (at least when there are no guys around to act grossed out)

[@jalapeno1119]

One time when my overly heavy period leaked through my pants some girls walked behind me and loudly talked about it and when I turned around to look at them, they acted as if I was weird for "staring" at them. So.

[@justjulie1113]

@@jalapeno1119 here's a virtual pad and a hug. On behalf of all people with uteruses, we don't claim them

[@benten2462]

I was a pad pusher in my class for many years. Every single girl had come to me at some point, and I swear they could all cry from gratefulness. A real life hack is always having a pad on you just in case a uterus needs you.

[@laurenc4138]

@@jalapeno1119 yeah it was common in my school for girls to loudly announce they needed something for their periods, it was an all girls high school so no one was ever weird about it. I’m sorry that happened to you, that’s so immature. I think all of us have a mishap story of our own so it’s awful they were cruel about it.

[@laurenc4138]

@@benten2462 haha true! I saw someone on Reddit say one time “it doesn’t matter how much you hate the girl, if she asks you for a pad/tampon and you have it, you give it” and that was so true lol My sister is a teacher and is always well stocked, she was super popular when the kids found out lol Edit: also, thank you for being cool about it. A lot of teachers weirdly aren’t (even though it happens to almost all young girls)

[@soph6324]

the actress who played claire recently reacted to this movie also! she said the entire group of girls were obsessed w the hot dad

[@lexismith8325]

Yes! Everyone watch her video!

[@COSun25]

Ew. They needed more guys their age, back in the day, to distract them from their daddy fantasies.

[@friendlyneighborhoodloser2639]

can you link the video? i wanna watch it lol

[@friendlyneighborhoodloser2639]

@@COSun25 thank you!

[@3242vibe]

i was just about to comment these exact words 😂

[@shellymay-cutpastememories6667]

‘2 blobs of tissue sitting there trying not to die’ is the best description of babies I have ever heard.

[@victoriashevlin8587]

Also, strangely accurate...

[@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494]

When my first kid was about a month old, they started responding to me with smiles. Like, real ones, not gas. That was a precious experience, and when I gushed to my dad about how that was the first real discernable moment of humanity, he replied "yeah - they're pretty binnable till about then". Man's a savage.

[@AspiringCrybaby2018]

@@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494 I don’t know what that’s so funny to me. 😭😭

[@sisterslothington]

So accurate. I've always been partial to "crotch goblins" too. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@roachqueen1973]

The white pants “accident” literally happened to me in middle school. My mom told me not to wear them. I did. And my period started in English class. Fun times

[@imitationporcelain]

It happen to me too luckily my friends got my back and one lend me a sweater to cover until I got back home .

[@emilyrasputin]

Yeah that scene brought back some 5th grade trauma I wasn't ready for 😳

[@skylarjohnson7779]

those girls were in love. That ending with the flower was a fucking declaration. The bullying is just because internalized homophobia is one hell of a drug.

[@DeathnoteBB]

Like that one Tumblr post about a girl giving another girl a note to get out of her school and how she just didn’t know how to deal with having a crush 😭

[@CHloE748]

Ugh stop making everyone and everything gay. Most people are straight, like it or not.

[@DeathnoteBB]

@@CHloE748 Why are you here?

[@secretmagicalgirl]

@@CHloE748 Go be homophobic somewhere else, we're not doing that shit here.

[@CHloE748]

@@DeathnoteBB why wouldn’t I be here? I love this sarcastic, witty man that reacts to movies and videos and makes me laugh. I have a right to be here just as much as anyone else. But what I hate is people constantly trying to change the sexuality of characters for no reason whatsoever. If someone was saying a gay character was actually straight everyone would throw a tantrum, even though it’s the exact same thing.

[@rgs8970]

This movie combines the bullying of middle school with the logistics of middle school. I'm struggling to remember how I maintained my will to live through those years

[@SkellaBella1396]

I think we should, as a society, delete middle school. It’s nuthin’ but bad juju and vibe killers.

[@yespls4184]

@@SkellaBella1396 right?! Middle school was AWFUL. just home school everyone during those years-- better for everyone 🤣

[@skittlekitty7264]

everyone was straight vicious in middle school. even high school wasn't that bad.

[@SirChubbyBunny]

Middle school was the unwritten tenth circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno.

[@morbidsearch]

I'm so glad Ireland doesn't start secondary school until 13. I don't know how I would have coped at 11.

[@LitlleLovelyOwl]

This book series is why I named my dog Claire. I constantly called her CUH-lair when I was little. Also my English teacher told me to “pick a higher quality book series” than the Clique. Rude

[@gloriana13]

My para educator and the librarian when I was in 7th grade (they are mother and daughter) told me to never read manga again as well as checking it out, which was totally ableist since I’m autistic. Plus, there were several students reading and checking out manga but I wasn’t allowed to anymore??? 🙄

[@stefanmakara373]

@@gloriana13 I was a extremely advanced reader in school and teacher once tried to pull that shit with me- not with mangas but like cheap books like Gossip Girl She was like "ugh, you could be reading something better you know" and I fucking snapped like "I read Ana Karenina yesterday, I'm allowed a bit of trash, and you should worry about the kids in this class that are barely literate" I don't remember her reaction but I'm still proud of that because teachers were VICIOUS about tearing me down for smallest things when I was one of the best students and most well read??

[@easelminch6887]

I read the clique in one day and read it time and time again, I loved it

[@gloriana13]

@@stefanmakara373 fucking bitch. I’m a high reader as well and I still cannot buy books with smut in them, thanks to my mom. I’m 21 now and she still won’t let me read anything involving smut.

[@SoSoMikaela]

@@gloriana13 Don't you think you're a bit old to be letting your mother dictate what you can and cannot read? Like...girl. Liberate yourself already.

[@sighcantthinkofaname]

This adaptation made me so mad. I was in middle school when it came out, so well within the target demographic, and I liked the books. I can deal with movies having to change things or cut scenes, since it's a different medium. What I can't stand is when they completely change the characterization. In the book, when the girls ask the popular but everyone hates you vs. friendless loser question, they all say friendless loser, claiming they'd rather be lonely than fake. The exception though is that Massie's lying. She remembers seeing a Christmas tree in the Middle of the night once, and that it was this beautiful special thing that no one was admiring. Her biggest fear was being like that Christmas tree. Massie doesn't know who she is without her glitz, glam and popularity. When Claire comes in she chooses popularity, and they make fun of her for that. Claire isn't this "I don't care what you think o me, I'm going to be who I am" kind of girl, she's someone who's insecure and desprate to fit in. She'll ditch a real friend at a slight chance of popularity, even when she's clearly not wanted. It also goes into how Massie and Claire are actually very similar. There are many points in the books where it feels like Massie admires Claire, but she would never want to admit that and bullies her relentlessly. So yeah, the movie made my 13 year old self very mad lol.

[@c0ttage]

you're so right, the books were so powerful

[@Lolirock971]

I'm glad they changed that cause those girls were faker than press on nails anyway

[@asia742]

Yes exactly! Massie’s vulnerability in the books made her a protagonist you could root for.

[@LivLuvsMakeup]

My biggest personality red flag is that my preteen friends and I idolized the mean girls in the clique and the plastics Also yes I am now on Zoloft

[@yespls4184]

Same-- I'm on Celexa now, lmao

[@shannona.289]

me too, also on zoloft

[@X0X0j]

Omg same. Lmaoooo

[@higeorge4060]

zoloft sucks. try depocoat. NEVER ABILIFY

[@lithiumkid]

@@higeorge4060 Depakote is known to cause fertility problems in women! please don’t go around telling people to try it willy-nilly. and it’s a bipolar disorder med, not an SSRI, most people on just an SSRI aren’t bipolar.

[@katherinej3445]

“Fashion editors really had teenagers dressing this way back in the early 2000’s. Looking like a Victorian ghost trying on modern day clothes over her burial frock.” lmao

[@ontxtteredwxngs]

best part XD

[@sandroselladore3506]

XD

[@cafebrianna]

One weird detail I always remembered from the books was Massie’s mom turned her rings around whenever the Lyon’s family came over

[@lita_v53]

Why?

[@cafebrianna]

@@lita_v53 in the book they explain that she didn’t want to show off her diamonds in front of the Lyons bc they weren’t as rich as them

[@kinseydesignsbrands]

This unlocked neurons that I haven’t accessed in over 15 years lmao

[@lita_v53]

@@cafebrianna oh, that makes sense, thanks. I haven't read the books in like...8 years? Yikes 😬

[@z0mbi3peach95]

@@lita_v53 girl, same except I think it’s been more like 12 for me 🥴 I wanted to be Claire tho lol. Except the all girls school because high school was hard enough without twice the estrogen

[@shannonlee4622]

dylan's mom refusing to buy her daughter size 6 pants sent me back lol. this movie is my trauma personified.

[@ambriaashley3383]

that's terrible. I'm sorry, dear 💔 hope you are healing from that...

[@melodysafo5437]

I hope you learned how to love yourself

[@ShelbyTaylorExists]

Hi. I read these books as a kid and ended up typing my own "state of the union" every day for like a week before I abandoned it.

[@kamilareeder1493]

Omg me too 😂😂👌 I also found a tweed suit at tjmaxx and wore it to school

[@ac-jn1iq]

To be fair, Michael Kors wasn’t nearly as trashy of a brand as it is now when this movie was made. I remember seeing him on project runway back in the day judging when a was a wee 9 year old and being impressed by him never hearing of the brand before

[@Ew-qb4uq]

As someone who works at Michael kors in sobbing rn

[@CyberStockholmSyndrome]

So fun fact: I remember Alloy holding a nationwide casting call for Massie Block. I remember seeing a black girl absolutely NAIL the audition, and thinking “This is so sad bc they absolutely will NOT cast her.” They made it seem like anyone of any race could audition, but ended up casting only white people anyway.

[@hannahhelton3789]

That’s terrible!

[@gunteralise5428]

Try being native American.

[@rw9399]

Just like the books. I don't think there were any black characters at alllllll.

[@annevanity3922]

@@gunteralise5428 it’s not a contest.

[@julianbluefeather8491]

Did you audition for the role?

[@kaylab774]

Ok but now he has to do the other iconic preteen movie: angus, thongs, and the perfect snogging

[@thomasb7347]

That book was everywhere. The girls treated reading it like they were smoking lol

[@ErinHonor]

omg YES

[@thomme8539]

Yes pleaaase

[@ggirl11191]

YES!

[@evonnastrange1242]

And Wild Child

[@Mrpickle83]

This movie filmed at my boarding school, and we were obligated to be extras.

[@NickDiRamioTV]

Omg yessssss did you make it in to any scenes

[@cherryblossom7120]

Wow.

[@Mrpickle83]

@@NickDiRamioTV Yes! Most of the lunchroom scenes! They used our dining hall mostly. The place they were exercising was actually an art gallery they removed all the statues from.

[@gloriana13]

Wow.

[@UdoADHD]

Please share a clip with you in it and explain why the girls were acting like they don’t know each other in that once scene 😂

[@Laurenjoinsyoutube]

Why did Claire cancel her plans with someone who was interested to go to a slumber party with ppl who hate her?

[@hanna-wp6es]

she wants to be popular!!

[@DeathnoteBB]

@@hanna-wp6es Were they even popular though?? It seems like they were just rich and mean.

[@hanna-wp6es]

@@DeathnoteBB that what the popular girls at my school were like hahahaha. the rich people were popular

[@lithiumkid]

a party > regular plans

[@candybunny2462]

@@hanna-wp6es Most of the girls at OCD came from well off families. What set the pretty committee apart were their different attributes. Massie was the schemer always trying to increase their popularity, Alicia was considered one of the prettiest girls at school, Dylan had a celebrity mom, and Kristen was the captain of the soccer team.

[@venerablevalkyrie2849]

“Looking like a Victorian ghost trying on modern day clothes over her burial frock”. I fucking choked on my coffee.

[@mennaz646]

this book series is single-handedly responsible for how unbearable my internet vernacular was for all of middle school. everything was "ah-mazing" to me for 3 years straight, it's why I refuse to enjoy anything now I feel like I need to make up for who I was back then

[@gardengorl]

That’s a cute and hilarious and hilarious comment so you’re doing great 😊 😂

[@cowgrll]

my “quoting lines from the clique” phase was intense. i can’t even imagine the secondhand embarrassment my family had listening to me call everything ✨totally ah-mazing✨ rip

[@nefarious_seraph13]

Aw, don’t hate who you were it made you who you are!

[@mennaz646]

@@gardengorl hahaha thank you that's actually very reassuring 😭

[@mennaz646]

​@@cowgrll oh my god me too I once spent an entire weekend trying to wipe that phase of my life off the internet so I could pretend like it just never happened but I'm still haunted by the memories

[@liv97497]

"free education, I feel like I'm living in France" THE CASUAL JOKES ARE MY FAVE

[@cicita5716]

“Those blunt bangs... there are shots I am certain I can see the ends of her hair touching her eyeballs” ☠️ She gets ripped on in the books for those bangs too 🤣🤣🤣

[@DimaRakesah]

The costume designer of this show seems to think that "fashionable" means "I wear a jacket indoors". Also, that whole period plot point just goes to show have far we have to go normalizing periods. It's really no big deal, but this movie turned it into a whole story like it's embarrassing to have a period when you're... a teenage girl who would totally have one? She seems to handle it well, though. She's just like "oh, ok, I'll change and get on with my day."

[@LuvFearlessly]

This movie doesn’t turn it into that. It’s reflecting reality.

[@hambeastdelicioso1600]

I agree. Especially since it's an ALL GIRLS SCHOOL. Plenty of them had already been there or were going to be there. And why did the teacher have to act like she was going to sit on his lap with her blood-stained death pants or something?

[@mashaghost8522]

to be fair, and maybe it was just me being an anxious insecure little teen, but that was absolutely one of my worst nightmares when i was still in school, and the one time i did have to go home bc of An Accident, no one seemed bothered by it but i was still beyond embarrassed about it

[@tiffany1705]

You talking about the lack of sleepover food was so spot on. In the books, the slumber parties are a huge deal with excessive theming and trays of baked goods (which everyone but Dylan was too skinny to eat) made by Massie's overworked foreign housekeeper.

[@monkeysxplaybills]

"To all the people on Twitter who said they used to watch this movie every day as a kid, what SSRIs are you on now?" I only watched this movie once when it came out when I was 15, but I was very OBSESSED with the books when I was a preteen and now I am, in fact, a Lexapro girl. 🥰

[@aidafuentesv]

I’m also a Lexapro girl 💕

[@Alexis-wg5nx]

25mg of prozac 😩

[@soggypizzapi8794]

Zoloft 😂

[@esperanzarobertson4823]

Xanax.

[@FieryPixel]

lexapro gang

[@mad3210]

have an insanely vivid memory of begging my mom to rent this at blockbuster. she pre-screened it while folding laundry and decided i was not old enough to watch it because they said the b word and talked about periods

[@SoWhosGae]

What? How old were you?

[@doperagu8471]

Ok I can get the B word if you were very young. But because they spoke about periods?? Like the natural bodily function that most people born with uteruses experience throughout their lives? As if we needed more societal shaming around menstruation... We definitely don't need them to be deemed "inappropriate" speech. Especially in a movie directed at young girls. Sorry not blaming your mom, just a pet peeve of mine how periods are treated in media and by society. Nothing more inherently inappropriate about periods than sweating, crying, eating, breathing, or any other totally natural bodily function.

[@AJ-pu9jq]

I learned what a period was by watching this movie with my older sister and her friends😭

[@SoWhosGae]

@@doperagu8471 Thankfully my mom talked to me about periods since I was like 6. When the day came I knew exactly what I needed to do.

[@sholem_bond]

lol my mom wanted to show us "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" until my dad vetoed it (also, no offense, but... your mom didn't want you to watch a movie where they talk about periods? are you ok?)

[@gabriellaamaya7645]

Okay but this book series was everything to me

[@sleg4859]

Omg I read the first one and I remember the cafeteria scene where they were bullying those poor Juicy-tracksuit-wearing Mathletes 😞

[@rickyspeople]

Yes!! So good

[@breakfastatdds670]

@@sleg4859 same

[@bushdenae]

Omg same read every single one!!

[@SonderLifevlogs]

Im about to reread them because they were EVERYTHING

[@isiaadiel3468]

This movie suffered from what I like to call "Hollywood script rash" where the source material is shaved down and altered to be better soaked up by the old white guys funding them. It happens to every anime and video game adaptation, most comic adaptations, and in the worst of cases book adaptations. Don't get me wrong; this series was classist, binary, and cringey AF for anyone past puberty, but them throwing details into a field of plotholes did its worst.

[@PoptartParasol]

Then what happened to Spike Lee's horrific adaptation of old boy? Half the time it's the director using the IP to just get enough money to make the movie they *actually* want to make It's gross but it's not new. I just wish it was discouraged, there is no point in ruining things just because you weren't funded for the project you actually wanted to work on.

[@LuvFearlessly]

It’s meant to be silly and satirical, fam (the books)

[@morbidsearch]

​@@LuvFearlessly Even good satire can have harmful effects from people taking it at face value

[@lovemarlee]

I just want to point out that there were TWENTY books in the Clique series (including the five summer books and prequel) + the Cliquetionary. Not to mention the four book spin-off series Alphas. And I read every single one of them.

[@SoCalJellybean]

I don’t get it... if Claire’s so poor, how are her parents affording private school for both kids?! 🤨

[@tenleyhorton5731]

I believe in the books they explain that Massie's parents are paying for them for some reason

[@Nobodyimportant85]

There are some poor kids who go to private schools, especially ones who have academic scholarships or whose parents scrimp and save whatever money they have to cover tuition. But that's more common for Catholic schools or military schools than it is for elite "day schools" like the one in this movie.

[@katc2040]

@@Nobodyimportant85 it seems absolutely ridiculous to me that someone who's poor would waste money on something as extra as private school

[@Nobodyimportant85]

@@katc2040 well we don't know their story. Maybe they thought the private school offered a much better education, especially if they're from a place where the public schools weren't very good. They also might have really valued the religion of the school they picked, or going into the military or whatever.

[@lucyla9947]

I read the first book, Claire and her Brother's schooling was covered by Massie's parents.

[@jessicat3691]

Bean needed to be shown off in his cute little outfit that was a relevant scene

[@OneRandomBritishGirl]

I don’t know if Wild Child was big in the US but I loved it as a preteen and need Nick to rip it to shreds

[@peachygirl2374]

Wild child was my LIFE when I went to boarding school I was gutted it was not identical to the movie

[@OneRandomBritishGirl]

@@peachygirl2374 I’m now in my early 20’s but still completely crushed to hear that, was the head teachers son fit at least?

[@peachygirl2374]

@@OneRandomBritishGirl I don't even believe he had one. And it was a mixed school too which totally blew any chance of me having a Freddie. 😭

[@washedblue]

yes! I love this movie, but it's so terrible at the same time lol. like the supporting cast were better actors than the lead (Emma's improved since), a lot of scenes were clearly filmed before (you can see her braces in the final scene), the dancing scene, Freddie having almost no personality, and the wig is super obvious once you notice it. it's almost fanfiction-y when you think about the plot. it felt like the creators watched Aquamarine and tried to replicate a lot of that in this project but I'd be lying if I said I haven't watched it over 20 times

[@LizOzone]

He's done wild child already on Patreon! Join us 🌵💜

[@wileykoyote2]

it's so funny that he brings up uniforms bc in one of the books Massie and the rest of the clique wore very revealing outfits (for halloween i believe) and got in so much trouble that the school forced uniforms on everyone

[@wileykoyote2]

and i just remembered that the school made them change into clothes from the lost and found but Claire (who became friends with the nurse) had taken all the cutest clothes, so they were forced to wear very ugly clothes

[@Scoopski_Potato]

When he said, “Getting revenge on the mean girls is the _best_ part of _any_ movie,” i f e l t t h a t .

[@kelseywhite3293]

“I think it’s homophobic that the dad is the hottest guy in the movie & we never see him again.” 🤣 I was just rereading this series ☠️ I’m so excited you posted this. The movie, its fashion, & sometimes even the casting were appalling...

[@jl4260]

When I was 11 their fashion was everything to me lol. I'd dress in my mums coats to feel rich and preppy what a time...

[@TheWholeEntireCake]

The books made me feel FOMO emotions because I wasn’t on vaca in The Hamptons.

[@cicita5716]

@@jl4260 I loved the book fashion - I don’t think the movie measured up

[@DylanRomanov]

And he wasn’t even that cute lol

[@Sarah-lh6qw]

“to all the people on Twitter who told me they watched this movie every day as a kid - what SSRIs are you on now?” when I tell you I’m WHEEZING

[@lukaj679]

Dylan was always made fun of in the books for being a size 6. The author said she got the inspiration for the series while working in media, but even Dylan's spinoff book featuring her summer has her doing tennis and hoping to lose weight because of it 🙃

[@gorilla-grip-pussy-support7976]

Haven’t read the books but at this rate if it’s so prevalent in them it sounds like the authors insecurities shes trying to grapple with while writing pre teen books. 🤔

[@KitsuneAdorable]

@@gorilla-grip-pussy-support7976 I thought that also. And I’ve never read the books, this is the first time I’ve heard of it.

[@koolaidman_]

@@gorilla-grip-pussy-support7976 Dylan legitimately says that she likes being sick because she throws up and cant keep anything down. It's fucked up

[@kamilareeder1493]

Tragic lol

[@kamilareeder1493]

Pa thetic

[@HauntedandStunning]

I just wanna say that Nick is a genius and could’ve saved those last seasons of Glee just by the power of his one liners

[@Patricia-gy4wd]

At the beginning of high school, I had a friend who loved the books and assigned us each a character, she called herself Massie and she assigned me Claire. I didn't get the reference but after seeing this, wow she really told on herself without realizing it.

[@gor-jess]

The actress who plays Claire did a reaction to this movie recently and it was so awesome to hear some behind the scenes stuff and she agreed that some jokes and scenes were not kid appropriate and some jokes were outdated

[@popcandy44]

Just saying, Nair in the shampoo bottle wouldn't be nearly as effective as Nair in the conditioner bottle

[@jalapeno1119]

Not if you're conditioning the right way

[@Deangirl86]

@@jalapeno1119 nah, conditioner should be in your hair longer than shampoo, making Nair in it more effective.

[@amandasmith2740]

@@Deangirl86 yea but shampoo would get the hair all the way to the root instead of just mids-down

[@Deangirl86]

@@amandasmith2740 but Nair needs to stay on longer than a couple of minutes. People don't really need to shampoo longer than that. Put it in conditioner and it'll have time to penetrate the hair. I personally cover every inch of my hair with conditioner to detangle/deep condition it because its coarse and dry. I don't know anyone who only conditions midway to ends.

[@jalapeno1119]

@@Deangirl86 yes but conditioner doesn't touch your scalp or your roots, and nair needs to burn the roots out.

[@propogandalf]

Fun Facts: ● Samantha Boscarino (Alicia) sang the song you were trying not to bop to. ● Liz Gillies was the character who's party Massie is trying to go to in the beginning. ● C-laire (Ellen Marlow) did a KZbin video talking about making the movie. Gave some interesting insight into some scenes. Check it out!

[@segaface3]

In the books, Dylan was not overweight, but she was kinda supposed to have Anorexia or Bulimia if I'm remembering them right. Like, they never went right out and said it, but she was constantly trying new crash-diets or just skipping meals, and that was broken up with periods where she'd binge-eat. In one of the books (the sixth one, I think), the diet she's on is one that's making her super sick. Also, in the prequel for the book series, it's implied that Massie was a big catalyst for Dylan developing an eating disorder, because literally the first thing Massie does when she meets Dylan is start bullying her for looking too fat in an outfit.

[@rosereviews2492]

These people are unlikeable. It's why I never liked the books.

[@stephaniefrost4910]

I remember being so pissed that I wasn’t allowed to watch this movie as a kid bc my parents said they didn’t want me to imitate the way the girls acted (just based on the trailer). I watched it once it got on Netflix & I’m honestly kinda thankful 😂😂

[@nai2053]

“the sonic waves coming out of your mouth are softening my bones” STOP LMAOOOOOOOOO

[@snippetsofvictoria]

"I know I just met you, but the sonic waves that are coming out of your mouth are softening my bones." I am going to use this in every encounter with people from this day forward.

[@anti-usernamesaltaccount3623]

Soft bones taste good

[@thatgurl101]

🤣🤣🤣

[@MrsxEdwardCullen96]

I used to be obsessed with “The Clique” book series and I read them all and was so excited for the movie, and I’m so embarrassed to admit I watched it over 50 times and loved it. Seeing it now it is horrible, but it was really fun to see the characters I loved from the books come to life

[@imthatgirl9935]

the clique made me a lesbian lol

[@ortajoanneASL]

I had the exact same experience! I would obsessively watch the DVD over and over as a kid and I loved the books. When I rewatched it recently to see if it held up I was literally cringing through most of it it was hard to get through lol

[@gensai93]

@@imthatgirl9935 the fact that they would make references to 12 year olds having C cups, those books are kind of weird now

[@liallialcroc]

Yeah the movie was just like the book mostly lol even the dialogue and a lot of the dialogue nick makes fun of is in the book 😂😂

[@ursamellis264]

“Just two blobs of tissue sittin’ there trying not to die” is going in my vows. TY 😂😍

[@rainbowcanoe17]

i never understood why Massie didnt find our Claire hacked her IM when they got in the car and were wearing the tights.

[@rainbowcanoe17]

@@yukijames1321 i just meant that when Massie asked Alicia what she was wearing, Alicia didn't say "what are you wearing, I thought we were going all t-vogue... like we had talked about last night"

[@jjjjj4787]

Never seen this movie, no nostalgia element, yes I’m watching this entire breakdown cause Nick is too funny 😂💯

[@anomaliebleue]

same!

[@doperagu8471]

Same!

[@timera1234]

lol that’s my situation w most of his videos

[@l.p3861]

Same!

[@jbb222]

I'll watch anything he does

[@marisadaniela6]

It makes sense that this was produced by Tyra

[@valtheimpaler3346]

Me, an adult bisexual woman who still dresses like a goth Victorian ghost: Nick, why you gotta attack me like this?

[@skittlekitty7264]

you're awesome mkay🤣

[@moxiemaxie3543]

Okay, thats not your identity. Whats your fav appetizer and are you tolerant of grown men leaving stains on the toilet seat? Lol

[@MyWorld-xg5cz]

@@moxiemaxie3543 what

[@gabilovelace5953]

In eighth grade my friends and I read the books around the same time. They gave one of my friends the idea to pull the period thing on a girl she didn't like. I thought that was messed up and told a teacher. I got ostracized from my "friend" group for the rest of middle school. Needless to say I am no longer friends with anyone from that time of my life

[@melodysafo5437]

I hope you have you have made one friend! I hope things are better for you!

[@alexfodor2461]

Someome give me a gay Clique reboot with a Massie/Claire enemies to lovers AU 🙏

[@MinhChuLe]

My friend and I were so obsessed with The Clique books, we held auditions to create our own clique. Only like 3 girls auditioned and nothing ended up happening, idk what they were thinking also so don't ask me about that. I was 12 okay

[@ArturGlass.C]

Did you at least become friends with the girls who auditioned ?

[@MinhChuLe]

@@ArturGlass.C They were already my friends which is how they even agreed

[@ArturGlass.C]

@@MinhChuLe Oh...

[@obiependragon9660]

It's okay dude I did the same thing in 6th grade and gave "clique points" to my friends who had the best puns or burns. Did not last long. Thank goodness.

[@RM-gm3rw]

Omg same but in 4th grade lmao

[@peekaloo12]

The fact that I felt the fear of wearing white pants tho. I think every girl has known that fear.

[@stefanmakara373]

But the thing of them being at an all female school? Like, I get that Claire would be embarrassed, but I DON'T see other kids so openly mocking her- it can happen to any of them lmao. ESPECIALLY at 12 when most of them probably didn't get it yet and it can catch them by surprise.

[@suigeneris2663]

Fuck that. White pants themselves are a fucking nightmare. I wouldn’t even wear that shit if I were 00, forget it.

[@TheApoohneicie]

I lived the nightmare. Twelve years old. White shorts, in the middle of a pottery store. Some sweet lady let me know and I had to wash them out in the sink and dry them with a hand dryer. I’m in my 40’s and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

[@g1ng3r_b1tch]

@@TheApoohneicie how nice of that lady to let you know! once this horror happened to me at school in eighth grade and my friend actually noticed it on my chair when we stood up. he was so good about it though he told me to stay where i was and brought me stuff to clean it from the bathroom while the teacher held the next class in the hallway. that was many years ago now too but just like you i won’t ever forget that 😂

[@TheApoohneicie]

@@g1ng3r_b1tch I’m glad your friend noticed. In front of an entire classroom would have broke me.

[@zoec8643]

Less than a minute in and I feel called out. I wrote a book report for The Clique in middle school and someone probably should have stopped me.

[@wintermelonboba9903]

"business in the front, franciscan monastery in the back" YOUR HUMOR GIVES ME LIFE

[@jag9918]

Fun fact the girl who plays Alicia wrote the song ‘find my way’ that you were trying hard not to enjoy because it’s a banger

[@jjjjj4787]

“You’re just a chip off the old block ruffle skirt” I can’t 😂😂😂

[@AlliBrunnerMusic]

i hate-read this entire book series in middle school, but i made my mom check them out of the library for me so no one would know

[@shyamalarye7581]

Honestly, the whole admiring long-term straight couples was such as thing!! Like, I think my senior year, the couple that won "Best Couple" for the yearbook was dating since middle school and everyone was like awed and shit - including me. Like, why?? I overheard of their friends say they weren't even together at that point and just wanted to win that title. Damn!

[@stefanmakara373]

Okay but being chill enough with each other to just go "fuck it we want the reward let's just LIE" is a power move lmao. Children SHOULD lie for crappy shit lmao. I am sure they both made it far in life XD

[@peachyjinri]

+q1

[@DeathnoteBB]

@@stefanmakara373 Seriously the skills some kids learn are way more helpful in life than algebra

[@thegillmachine]

@@stefanmakara373 this is a point I never thought of but will now always consider whenever I get mad about something being fake

[@choux8372]

I would really love for you to read Queen Bee by Chynna Clugston. It's an anime-style comic where a young girl with telekinesis is deemed a freak all her school life and when she's given a chance to move to a new school, she decides to learn as much as she can about being popular from films like Valley Girl, Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Clueless, and updates her wardrobe to the latest styles. She becomes torn between befriending sincere, like-minded and hanging onto her popular girl status, while also dealing with her powers. The comic is full of b1tchy teen drama, some questionable tropes and outdated dialogue, but it's still an enjoyable read. The artwork has a very clean look and a lot of the outfits are super cute and very 00's. I hardly see anyone talking about this comic when discussing mean-girl tropes.

[@avainautumn]

you brought me back to my childhood with this comment! I read it so much in elementary school and I never thought I'd find anyone else who did!

[@choux8372]

@@avainautumn I'm so glad to find someone else who's read it!!

[@X0X0j]

I loved it!

[@Outlawgirl63]

That was my favorite book in middle school they should’ve made a sequel

[@eveyaspaas3667]

Reader of the books here! First of all, these books are literally Pretty Little Liars books without the mystery, so you just have to stew in the horrible people you’re reading about. But also, in the beginning of the book, it’s not a party Massie wants to go to, it’s a spa trip with her friends. She doesn’t manipulate her friends into not going. Instead they go without her, and it shows that Massie is terrified that people won’t include her, and will forget about her. It’s also like Pretty Little Liars in that it name drops a lot of fashion designers to paint a picture of the differences and materialistic ideology the characters have adapted, and works as a plot device to show Claire slowly pulling a Katie Heron. In this movie they completely ignore the fashion as a nice plot device, which is stupid because it might have been a little more effective. It also is written in third person limited between Claire and Massie.

[@lukaj679]

The actors literally admitted to doing the "whatever loser" hand signals when they were elementary students in a bonus feature interview 😭 why didn't the writers change it??

[@bridgeb8281]

after watching this movie as a kid, i went downstairs wearing shorts and exclaimed to my parents that i had "thunder thighs." they were like....how do you know what that means?????? LMAO

[@katesolar]

ugh I hate how many "clique of popular girls" stories there are. I wish we would stop forcing stories about female cattiness and "frenemies" onto girls!!! sure, there was a popular group at my school, but the idea of a "queen bee" ruling the school just feels so unrelatable as a trope. is this kind of dynamic relatable for other people?

[@sholem_bond]

Same, the "popular girls" at my school were generally nice to people, at least people outside their friend groups (like me, an awkward loner). Like, they were conventionally attractive and I think probably trended kind of rich, but part of the reason they were popular was like... they made a lot of friends, because they got along with lots of people. And depending on who you hung out with, I think there were different "queen bees" who would be kind of at the top of each mini-social-order, but even that was more of an aspirational thing than a "keep everyone under control by making them believe they're not as cool as you and making them scared of you" thing. I think this must have been some kind of Boomer-/Gen-X-specific model of high school or middle school popularity, because most of the people writing this trope seem to have come from those generations. I think the 2012 "21 Jump Street" had a bit mocking this, actually, where the joke is that the main characters don't know how to impersonate 21st-century high-schoolers, because they don't realize that acting overtly like a dick isn't "cool" anymore (unless it's "ironic," maybe), the way it apparently used to be? I mean, maybe a lot of this stuff went over my autistic and non-cis head, but like... I was prime bullying material, and no "popular girls" ever tried to cyberbully me or spread weird rumors about me (at least none that ever affected my life or got back to me) or exclude me, or any of the stuff you hear about girls doing when they bully someone? All the times I got bullied, it was by boys, tbh.

[@katesolar]

@@sholem_bond Yep, exactly!! The boys at my school were always WAY worse. It's always annoyed me how fiction about middle/high school often treats the "popular girl" as an evil, Machiavellian figure, who finishes the story by getting humiliated/embarrassed/exiled, while the "popular boy"/quarterback/etc is usually someone who is a bit clueless, and possibly being manipulated by his evil girlfriend, but is ultimately redeemable (and who ends up dating the protagonist). The trope really just feels like misogyny, and enforces a culture that values heterosexual romance over female friendship. The mean boys I knew would actually have friend groups that thrived on homophobia/racism/misogyny/general cruelty.

[@v.anessa1451]

@@katesolar this is all so well said 👏👏👏

[@weruleyoudrool]

@@sholem_bond The popular kids at my schools were the nerds basically. They did the extra classes, some sports, even theater, and not all of them were conventionally attractive but people liked them because they were generally nice.

[@Gaby-fb7gh]

Yeah same. There were no set of popular kids at my school bc we had like 3k students.

[@katiesmith5913]

So I read the books when I was in middle school. I was obsessed; and from what I remember you were like supposed to be team Claire but also team Massie. Which in hindsight, it probably was not a good idea to have a bunch of middle school girls reading books where they were actively cheering for the mean girls.

[@LuvFearlessly]

The author wrote that she loved all the characters as if they were flawed but real people. They’re intentionally silly and satirical. You’re not supposed to like the girls being mean. But they are definitely nuanced characters.

[@lewis5341]

"they're just two blobs of tissue sitting there trying not to die" relatable 😂😂

[@thelittleveganmermaid3653]

33:14 In the books Alicia's biggest insecurity was her assets (they were bigger than other girls her age at the time).

[@sfooshy4517]

This movie is sooo triggering. My friends in 7th grade idolized the mean girls of these books. They told me over yahoo messenger that I was too weird to be friends with them lmaooo. Also I was 5'7 and size 8(Dylans size) and had too many things in common with claire.

[@isabelleburdge4308]

That's so shallow. Sorry that happened.

[@obiependragon9660]

Sounds like you got kicked out of the right friend group. Who needs that energy.

[@melodysafo5437]

I hope you found nicer friends that loved you (and still love you) for who you are!

[@lhsdgfh7208]

I read all the books as a kid and let me tell you they were wild. My favorite was when the clique get access to a hidden webcam set up in the all boys' school's group therapy class. When the webcam breaks, they sneak into the school to try and fix it and end up breaking pipes that cause the school to flood and the boys to temporarily go to the same school as the girls.

[@Mels0103]

This comment was a ride

[@keli15yearsago6]

@@Mels0103 fr💀

[@katb6112]

I like how you said you would never harm a dog but never take back that you’d cut Massie’s vocal cords. I’ve never felt something so strongly

[@jax001993]

I read the books in the middle school and some things I remember: 1) Keds are apparently awful 2) Alicia had big boobs (really it was mentioned many times in every book). 3) The "bitch" moment was great in the book too. -I remember the first book being not the best and I think the clique could've have been as an actual series bc future books fleshed out the characters more and they clearly grow up (some). I think the book series might be a good tv series today with better clothes and better messages and taking out the things that haven't aged well like these middle schooler s crushing on high schoolers and the constant mentioning of how big Alicia's chest was. Also the casting in this movie could've been better. Alicia was always described as exotic and I just see the actress playing her just being slightly tanned.

[@theimplications635]

Alicia being described as exotic in the first place is bad

[@emmy_platinum]

Her cousin being introduced had a really weird vibe in the book series. I remember they were like "Ooh her cousin from Spain who is seen to be seductive with her weird bangs-- and is also a huge thief"

[@LuvFearlessly]

@@theimplications635 I don’t think that’s the word they used. She’s just half Mediterranean. The actress is Italian. Alicia is Spanish. The actress originally tried out for Massie.

[@theimplications635]

@@LuvFearlessly Nah I remember being a kid and remember it describing her as having an "exotic" look. I remember cause people had said the same about me and I didn't like it.

[@sheezasupafreek]

This movie and these books, that had not a single solitary POC in sight, really had me by the neck 💕😭

[@toohauteforyou]

Alicia Rivera is hispanic, I read the books lol

[@sydneykuznia9142]

@@toohauteforyou but then they were super racist to her and called her ‘fannish’ every time she tried to express her culture.

[@toohauteforyou]

@@sydneykuznia9142 Thats true

[@propogandalf]

@@sydneykuznia9142 What did they mean by "fannish"?

[@LetsSingTheDoomSong]

@@propogandalf "Fake Spanish"

[@jademerrick8758]

Yes, in the books Dylan was the funny one who was obsessed with her weight (even though she really was never overweight, maybe just a little thicker than the other girls). Her storylines rarely touched on anything other than what new diet she was trying.

[@Alexis-wg5nx]

except that one book when she was dating derrington. as a chubby girl who had a crush on a guy who was exactly like derrington this fact ✨radicalized me✨

[@jademerrick8758]

@@Alexis-wg5nx omfg i shipped them so much, i wish they'd stayed together 😭 #dylington for life

[@Alexis-wg5nx]

@@jademerrick8758 when i was in high school, teaching myself how to write fiction, i essentially rewrote the clique series but in a way that i feel would make more sense to me (like i made it take place in high school, dylan was actually fat and her "fad diets" was due to ED, massie is awkward and hides behind the queen b persona bc she has no personality, claire actually becomes an actress after Dial L for Loser, ect.) in my version, dylan does indeed stay with derrington.

[@stefanmakara373]

@@Alexis-wg5nx I think the books truly went to shit after Dial L for Loser- there were other insane storylines too, like that crap with Alicia and another girl cheating to win the uniform contest (that never went anywhere in school) and having a whole magazine debacle issue You could tell the writer ran out of the material and inspiration when the shit wild and so out of proportion Same thing happened to Private by Kate Brian- first the plots got really flimsy (I didn't mind the drama and murder since it was obviously planned, but that girl avenging the girl that supposedly killed herself, and the whole sex tape thing, was extremely flimsy writing) and then the plot went INSANE by adding magic- which then was completely abandoned by the next book. I did like the magic prequel but I think it would have been better without magic, just extreme witchy vibes.

[@claudiaperi4990]

I feel like if the series were remade as a comedy with a more obviously satirical, self-parody kind of tone it could work really well. Give everyone snappier but still really petty-sounding dialogue and it could be hilarious.

[@jalapeno1119]

Given all the idiots in the comments who didn't know the books were satire, you'd probably have to have some sort of message in the beginning of the episodes warning the audience it's satire...and even then it would go over people's heads.

[@kaniahankston4310]

Reading the books made me SO happy when Claire got her glow up being in Hollywood and then Massie got put on the back burner. It was refreshing!! 😂😂👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@eli-fm5zz]

you’re actually so funny, like you make me consistently laugh out loud throughout your videos its incredible “the sonic waves from your mouth are softening my bones” STOP