Trinity (Shuang Hu) is the new girl at school. She quickly learns that a run-in with this school's most populars isn't exactly what you'd expect it to be. 

Meantal Health Girls is a delightfully energized and entertaining 4-minute comedy short set to screen at Indy's own Indy Shorts International Film Festival this upcoming week at several venues throughout Indianapolis. Obviously taking its foundation and rhythms from a certain other Lindsay Lohan-led flick from 2004 that has become a bit of a cultural icon. 

Created as part of the ViacomCBS Sketch Comedy Showcase for 2022, Meantal Health Girls features a delightfully diverse cast and a mental health-friendly message served up with lots of laughs, cheekiness, and teenage attitude. Everything happens quickly here, the film is only four minutes after all, but it's fun, spirited, and an oasis of positive in a sea of social media these days that seems awash in negativity. Directed by Tess Paras and written by Sahana J. Srinivasan, Meantal Health Girls was perhaps the perfect short film to watch on the day that America's new 988 suicide intervention number was released nationwide. Featuring a strong ensemble cast, Meantal Health Girls is screening as part of the comedy block at Indy Shorts and will no doubt have viewers repeating one certain line about Lexapro for days to come. 

This year's comedy shorts block is a blast. Be sure to check it out. Get your tickets at the Indy Shorts website. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic