Megan Fox's Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen Character Explained (& Why Nobody Remembers The Movie)

Megan Fox was the Hollywood It-girl of the 2000s, but her first major movie performance in 2004's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is largely forgotten. Prior to that, most of Fox's credits were on television, including a memorable guest-starring turn as Prudence in a Two and a Half Men episode. Fox's big break came in 2007 with Transformers, in which she played love interest Mikaela Banes. She also starred in the 2009 cult classic Jennifer's Body. The actress' career took a hit after Fox made controversial remarks about Transformers director Michael Bay, but she has since resumed her career.

Fox wasn't the only Hollywood A-lister to star in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, as Lindsay Lohan played protagonist Lola Cep in the 2004 movie. Based on Dylan Sheldon's 1999 novel of the same, Confessions sees 15-year-old aspiring actress Lola heartbroken when her family moves from New York City to a New Jersey suburb. But the plucky Lola isn't afraid of a challenge, and she's determined to get the lead part in her school play and become the most popular girl in school. And the only person standing in her way is Megan Fox's character.

Megan Fox Plays Carla Santini In Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen

Carla Is The High School Queen Bee Who Is Threatened By Lola

Every high school has one (especially in teen comedies): the perfect, beautiful, rich Queen Bee. Mean Girls had Regina George, Jawbreaker had Courtney Shayne, and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen has Megan Fox's Carla Santini. Carla gets what she wants, and unfortunately for Lola, she has her sights set on playing Eliza Doolittle in the school play.

Fox's icy, confident demeanor as Carla makes her a formidable opponent to Lola, though Lola ultimately bests her at every turn. However, Carla's vulnerability sets her apart from other iconic movie mean girls. Whereas Regina George and Courtney Shayne have ruined reputations and lives — and in Courtney's case, ended one — Carla is simply an over-privileged girl who has never been challenged before Lola's arrival. Her meanness comes from her insecurity, and as Lola proves, it's fine for Carla to want the things she does; she should just go about getting them through drive and hard work, not cruelty.

This may make Carla seem a bit boring compared to the Reginas and Courtneys of the teen movie genre, but Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is rated PG, and aimed at preteen and young teenage girls. This target audience deserves to get the fun of a movie mean girl along with the lesson that popular kids have insecurities too.

Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen Got Lost Amongst Lindsay Lohan's Other 2000s Movies

Freaky Friday & Mean Girls Were Much Bigger Hits

Between Megan Fox and Lindsay Lohan's star power, it's a surprise that Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen remains such an obscure movie. But this is likely due to its release being sandwiched between Lohan's two most famous films, Freaky Friday and Mean Girls.

The body swap comedy Freaky Friday was released in the summer of 2003 and became a box office smash. It helped that it was a remake of the popular 1977 Disney film of the same name starring Jodie Foster. The 2003 movie also had some major star power with veteran actress Jamie Lee Curtis as Lohan's co-lead. The actresses' comedic chemistry is unmatched, and both Lohan and Curtis are returning for Freakier Friday, a sequel to be released in 2025.

Meanwhile, Mean Girls, which was released in April 2024, became an instant classic. With a razor-sharp-funny script by Tina Fey, Mean Girls is one of the teen comedy genre's most quotable movies. It shot Lohan's co-stars Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried to the top of the Hollywood A-list, and spawned not only a Broadway musical but a 2024 movie based on the Broadway musical.

And then there's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. Released in February of 2004, the odds were already stacked against the charming comedy, as studios famously dump movies they don't have any faith in into cinemas at the beginning of the year. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen doesn't have the brand recognition or showy star power of Freaky Friday, nor the pop culture icon status of Mean Girls, and alas it has become a forgotten gem in both Lohan and Fox's filmographies.

Why Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen Deserves To Become A Cult Classic

Movies Aimed At Pre-Teen Girls Were Unfairly Maligned In The 2000s

Also not helping Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen's case are the abysmal reviews it received from critics. Sitting at 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, pundits dinged the film for being "fluff" and too "juvenile". So, in other words, the movie did its job. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen wasn't made for high-brow cinephiles; it was made for 12-year-old girls, many of whom live in suburbs like Lola and Carla.

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These audiences want a fun story with characters who are inspirational yet relatable. To dismiss Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen as "fluff" is to say that these stories don't deserve to be told, which is a terrible message to send to young girls. Thankfully, film criticism is finally starting to respect movies featuring young, ambitious female protagonists. Greta Gerwig's 2017 directorial debut Lady Bird saw Saoirse Ronan's titular heroine pursuing the very teenage desires of getting into a fancy college and being popular.

2023's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., based on the classic Judy Blume novel, is about a preteen girl who wants to grow breasts and get her period. Both Lady Bird and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. earned rave reviews, and though they're a little artsier than Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, that doesn't mean the 2004 Disney film isn't worth revisiting. Its story about a young girl shooting for the stars, unafraid of taking up space or being too much, is so much more than fluff.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, directed by Sara Sugarman, follows Lola, a teenager who relocates with her family from New York City to suburban New Jersey. Determined to pursue her dream of stardom, Lola navigates the challenges of her new environment, filled with music and adventure.

Director Sara Sugarman

Release Date February 17, 2004

Writers Dyan Sheldon , Gail Parent