The 3 Act structure: Mean Girls

I've probably caught Mean Girls once on the big screen and about 30 other times on ABC Family, TBS, etc. But anyways, it definitely follows the 3-act structure.

In the first act, the audience is introduced to the film's protaganist, Cady (played by Lindsay Lohan). She is a regular teen, except she's lived in Africa all of her life, traveling with her parents. They end up settling in the suburbs of Chicago, in Evanston, yet because of her cultural difference, she is naive about the social cliques and social norms. Her original motive is to not be lonely and try to "fit in" as best as she can. She's introduced to the off-beat Janis and Damian, who encourage her to hang out with The Plastics, the richest and hottest girls of the high school, in order to sabotage and ultimately ruin them.

The plot starts to develop (35 minutes in) when The Plastics, consisting of Regina George (played by Rachel McAdams) and her "minions," embed Cady into their world of fake 3-way calling, boyfriend ruining and backstabbing. The plot peaks when Regina kisses the guy that Cady is crushing on, Aaron, right in front of her, when Regina said she would actually put in a good word about Cady. The latter is a mini-climax that propels the plot further in the second act.

In the second and heaviest act, Cady becomes vengeful. She starts hanging out with The Plastics more and more, wanting to ruin Regina George while simultaneously becoming addicted to the Plastics' popularity. She starts to veer away from Janice and Damian and pursues her own "sabotage" of The Plastics, whilst ultimately becoming one of them. Another mini climax ensues when she throws a party to get closer to Aaron and doesn't invite Janice or Damian. The party is ruined when Aaron makes her realize how she's changed, she's shunned by Janice and Damian and Regina finally figures out that Cady was sabotaging her social status. Regina decides to print hundreds of copies of a rumor book The Plastics made and scattered them across the school, allowing chaos to ensue among all of the junior girls.The latter point was another mini-climax that propels into act three. The main goal of the protagonist of the movie is repeated, as she finds herself alone once again.

In the final act (time at 75 minutes in), all of the girls are lectured on basically female empowerment and how rumors, gossip and social disparities gives males the to also degrade them. The third act's mini climax is at the Spring formal, when Cady apologizes for her actions to The Plastics, Aaron, Janis and Damian. Like the typical Hollywood 3-act structure, the movie ends in a high-note resolution, with everyone reaching their optimum place.Cady is happy with Aaron as her boyfriend and finally finding true friends.