"I get 'she doesn't even go here,' a lot, 'I want my pink shirt back,' and 'you go Glen Coco,' and I love those," Mean Girls star Daniel Franzese tells me about some of his most common fan interactions. After all, who else could possibly "get" those phrases on a frequent basis besides Damian himself? "It's really fun to hear people say that kind of stuff. And I know that 'she doesn't even go here' must have come in handy at an assembly somewhere at some point," he says. However, Mean Girls isn't the only thing Franzese has been a part of that delivered instantly quotable lines. In 2012, he posted three "Shit Italian Moms Say" videos to his YouTube channel, the first of which currently has over 3.7 million views. Since, obviously, no one can get enough of Mean Girls and the "Shit Italian Moms Say" videos are so popular, why not combine them? I asked Franzese if he'd be interested in making a new video to chronicle some of the interactions he tends to have with fans.
He happily obliged.
Since the film's release 10 years ago, Franzese has heard Mean Girls' most memorable lines over and over. But that doesn't mean it bothers him — with one exception. The actor explains that though it doesn't happen often, he doesn't like when people quote "too gay to function," because in the movie, it's meant to be an insult, a point he discussed in the powerful coming out letter he wrote in April. Everything else, however, is fair game, which will become quite clear when you watch "Shit Mean Girls Fans Say" below.
In the original "Shit Italian Moms Say" videos, Franzese dresses up as a stereotypical Italian-American mother (inspired by his own mother circa 1994) and with a flawless Brooklyn accent, delivers lines instantly familiar to anyone who grew up in an Italian household. And for any fans who have been eagerly waiting for an update since the third installment was posted in April 2012, I have great news.
Franzese reveals that he's planning on turning the videos into a 10-part web-series just as soon as he can shave his beard. That, and a lack of time, are the main reasons he hasn't returned to the series sooner, but hopefully once he's done filming his upcoming arc on HBO's Looking and the film Mind Puppets, Franzese will be able to return (beardlessly) to the videos. If you're not already familiar with "Shit Italian Moms Say," check out the first installment below and see why this news of a webseries is so exciting.
So if you happen to run into Franzese and want to stand out from his many other fans, maybe "Shit Mean Girls Fans Say" can help tell you what not to say.