"The Clique" is based on a series of books written by Lisi Harrison, aimed squarely at the tweener girl population.  This first film introduces the characters and I'm sure more films are planned, as there are a lot of books to base future films on.  The story, while predictable, does have some good lessons for young girls on social behavior.

The film stars unknowns, with Elizabeth McLaughlin as the snooty head of the Clique, while Ellen Taylor Marlow plays the outsider from Florida who tries to fit in but eventually changes the attitudes of the girls, who belong to the exclusive "Pretty Committee".  Mean tricks abound as they wreck havoc on the new girl but she's stronger than they figured and is equally sneaky on several occasions.

The disc offers both fullscreen and widescreen formats and Dolby 5.1 sound.  There were no aparant flaws in the disc that I found.

Extras include a number of featurettes on casting the film; a nationwide casting call went out for the girls roles.  There is also a gag reel and some PC DVD-ROM features.  The digital copy is offered via a web site but is not free and is windows only and not ipod compatible. I don't know whatthe studio was thinking here but as many discs offer free digital copy of a film charging a $1.99 for a film already purchased and not being able to put it on an ipod is ridiculous.

"The Clique" is a tweener film with a predictable storyline that will appeal to young teen girls in your family.  Its pretty tame by today's standards but the girls do get mean but lessons are learned.  Extras concentrate on the casting of the girls and the digital copy option is not free.  A rental for the tween in your family.