Movie Movie Podcast

Model MissBehavior is inspired by “Model Misbehavior”, a movie that I have no idea what it is about.  I saw the TV listing for it in a bar, and I thought “That could be a movie” but I’m making it in my image.

So here we go!

Model MissBehavior is about a High School for Models in NYC.  These are your average beautiful high school girls who go to private high school, but also are learning to become the next generation of SUPERMODELS.  The school is run by famous model-centric people.

Gisele Bundchen teaches Math

Kate Moss teaches Chemistry

Iman is the Headmaster

Janice Dickinson is Model Gym

Tim Gunn is Art/Fashion History

and Tyra Banks and Kate Upton are Guidance Counselors

The story is basically about a girl named Lia, played by Sarah Hyland, who transfers into HSM after her mom dies.  She lives with her rich former baseball player father, Allan played by Jerry O’Connell.  She doesn’t want to go to the school, but her mother before she died told her she’s beautiful and shouldn’t waste her gifts.  So upon arriving to the school, she meets Tyra, her counselor.  Tyra tells her that HSM is a school where girls are taught to be fierce women, but the only way that will happen is if she opens up to what the school can offer.  Her first day of classes, Janice, rips Lia apart for falling off the tightrope during her catwalk effiiciency exam.  Maitlyn, one of the most popular girls in school, played by Taylor Momsen, laughs at Lia, with all her minion-like girlfriend, and says that Lia isn’t HSM material.  Wexler, the obviously not popular, sardonic ginger model girl, played by Jane Levy, helps Lia up and tells her to steer clear of Maitlyn cause she’s a megabitch.

Wexler introduces Lia to the less popular girls in the school, who are all gorgeous by the way, just in more of a unconventional sense, so that’s the big difference in the girls at this school.  Textbook pretty is the popular girls and Unconventional pretty is not popular.  Anyway, Lia begins to find her place at the school and does everything to stay out of Maitlyn’s way, who gives her dirty looks all the time.  She is doing well in the classroom and starting to enjoy herself at the school.  In one scene we see Tim Gunn and Kate Upton talking about how creative Lia is and how her fashion designs plus model ability might earn her the coveted Model Miss slot at Teen Fashion Week.  Maitlyn overhears this and makes it a point to start sabotaging Lia in classes, and showing her up.  This pisses Lia off, and under Wexler’s advice, they decide to start an all-out prank war with each other.

So for the next third of film Lia, becoming the new leader of the unpopular girls and Maitlyn, wage an all-out war across the school getting into each others way at every turn.  Tyra and Kate both try to intervene to the students and warn them that if their behavior doesn’t shape up they are all in danger of being expelled by Iman.  Iman has not been seen or mentioned so far this film, but it is implied she runs a very tight Model high school ship.  Anyway, the hijinx continue into the final tryouts for the Model Miss slot at TFW.  Both Lia and Maitlyn sabotage each others outfits before the catwalk run, and the judges dislike both.  Iman being utterly embarrassed that her school will not be sending a student to Model Miss for the first time in 25 years, decides to expel both Maitlyn and Lia.   Lia is really upset, because the girls of HSM were like family to her.  We get the hint that things have been tough on her and Allan since her mother died.  Allan’s way of coping is to hangout with the guys and ignore Lia.  Lia being expelled means they will have to spend more time together or something.  It is here that we find out Allan pushes Lia away because she reminds him too much of his wife, who is only seen in one flashback to be played by Rachel Weisz.  Anyway they have some sort of cute father/daughter breakthrough and she designs a really cool baseball inspired outfit that definitely would have won her the slot at Model Miss.  She gets sad again realizing she’s expelled, but Allan tells using a baseball analogy that she’s got to fight until the last out, because theres always hope you’ll hit a homerun.

Lia decides to find Maitlyn and end their war once and for all.  Maitlyn’s actually kinda poor and on scholarship at HSM, and that’s why she hates competition so much because her parents don’t have much and she’s afraid to let them down etc.  Lia and Maitlyn come to an understanding and decide to try and get back into HSM.  They enlist Wexler’s help who is begrudging at first because she doesn’t like Maitlyn, but realizes school is less fun without them.  Wexler sneaks them into school, and distracts Janice who also serves as campus security.  Lia and Maitlyn sneak by and head into Iman’s office.  Iman says they shouldn’t be there, they are expelled,  and they say they are sorry and got so caught up fighting that they forgot what Modeling is all about.  blah blah blah, but Iman says her decision is final.  But right as she is saying that,  teachers/counselors , Gisele, Kate, Kate,and Tyra all come in to talk about how they all used to be catty and it’s a part of growing up to realize you don’t have to be.  There is room for everyone to be beautiful.  Iman eventually relents and allows them back in temporarily, however, neither is permitted to participate in the final Model Miss tryout.  Instead they have to help someone else to make it, and if they can work together and have some other girl win, they will be allowed back permanently.  This obviously means that they are going to have to make Wexler the next Model Miss.  Wexler has never thought she has what it takes, but between Lia and Maitlyn they feel like they can help her.  Maitlyn starts coaching her on her posture and walk, and here we see the icy veneer of their relationship melt into friendship.  Lia is tasked with creating a knockout outfit for Wex.  She has a really hard time until she remembers that funky baseball outfit that she made.  Maitlyn and Tim Gunn both think the outfit might be too risky, but Lia says that modeling is about risks and stuff and Wexler agrees.

Anyway at the final tryout, Wexler obviously wears the baseball uniform, after adding her own flair, and wins the competition, to make it to Model Miss. Ru Paul is the judge along with Heidi Klum.  Everyone is happy, Iman is happy, and Lia, Wexler, and Maitlyn’s friendship has united the school completely.  All the model girls are friends now and everything works out! Except Janice Dickinson is still a total b to everyone.

The End.