Solution: 2004 comedy written by Tina Fey - NYT Crossword

Speaking of horror movies! Kidding, kind of — the film referenced here is ostensibly a comedy, one that seems newer and somehow older than its 17 years. It takes place in a high school and I imagine teenagers (and others) still watch it and will continue to until the Earth wiggles off its axis: MEAN GIRLS. Although Tina Fey based her screenplay on a modern self-help book, she also borrowed from her own childhood and even her mother’s mastery of the art of the snarky faux compliment, the kind of controlling behavior that transcends time and gender.