''Model Behavior'' is a 2000

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

that aired on ABC's '' The Wonderful World of Disney'' anthology series. The film starred Maggie Lawson,

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

in his film debut, and

Kathie Lee Gifford Kathryn Lee Gifford (Given name, née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress, and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live with Kelly and Mark, Live! wi ...

, and was directed by Mark Rosman. It is based on the book ''Janine and Alex, Alex and Janine'' by Michael Graubart Levin. It is also a modern-day gender-bending take on the classic story ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot conce ...

'' by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

Summary

Alex Burroughs is a shy, insecure teenage girl who dreams of becoming a fashion designer. While helping her father with his catering business at a party, she meets beautiful Janine Adams, a famous teen model. Meanwhile, Janine is fed up with her manager mother making her life nothing but work. Especially after not being home when she has her first book signing, because her younger brother Max is going on a publicity tour. Through a strange coincidence, the girls meet and realize that they look identical to each other, the only real difference being that Alex has to wear glasses. Through this realization, Alex and Janine decide to swap places for a while. Alex gets to date Jason Sharp (

), a young, gorgeous, but sweet, male model, while Janine gets a date with Eric Singer, the most popular guy in Alex’s school. However, she has to deal with Janine's domineering mother, Deirdre (

). When they start their new life, they both end up with dates for Saturday. Even though they were supposed to change back Friday, they call each other up and extend the date. Janine warns Alex to stay away from Jason because she believes that he is using her for the attention. Meanwhile, Alex warns Janine to stay away from Eric Singer. Alex's younger brother Josh tries to reveal her "Janine" secret. Towards the end when Alex wants to tell Jason that she is not Janine, but she is seen by Eric and he thinks she's cheating on him. Jason walks off on her as well. So Janine and Alex swap back the next morning. Alex is grounded but she goes to the ball and so does Janine, disguising herself as Alex. After both families show up, everyone finds out their secret. The two are able to convince their families to not be so hard on them and Eric leaves the most popular girl in school, Mindy, to be with Janine. Jason shows up having seen Josh's tape which Alex sent to him to show him the truth and dances with her.

Cast

* Maggie Lawson as: **Alex Burroughs **Janine Adams *

as Jason Sharpe, Alex's love interest *

as Deirdre Adams, Janine's widowed mother *Jim Abele as Ted Burroughs, Alex's father * Daniel Clark as Josh Burroughs, Alex's younger brother * Karen Hines as Monique, Janine's assistant * Jesse Nilsson as Eric Singer, Mindy's boyfriend and Janine's love interest *Cody Gifford as Max Adams, Janine's younger brother *

Vendela Kirsebom Vendela Maria Kirsebom (born 12 January 1967) is a Norwegian- Swedish model, television host, and actress. Early life and education Kirsebom was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to a Norwegian mother and a Turkish father. At the age of 13, she was ...

as herself * Jake Steinfeld as himself * Nobody's Angel as Themselves *Lisa Ng as Sharon * Ramona Pringle as Mindy Kaylis, Alex's rival * Ann Turnbull as Mrs. Burroughs, Alex's mother * Nobody's Angel was featured during the prom scene.

Crew

*Directed by Mark Rosman *Writing credits ** Michael Levin - ''Janine & Alex, Alex & Janine'' book **Matt Roshkow - teleplay *Produced by **Jack Brodsky - co-producer **Mike Carz - executive producer

Soundtrack

*"Here We Go" sung by *NSYNC (

JC Chasez Joshua Scott "JC" Chasez (; born August 8, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He started his career as a singer, actor, and dancer on '' The All-New Mickey Mouse Club'' before rising to prominence as a ...

and

) *"Hello World" Performed by Belle Perez *"Walking on Sunshine" Performed by Katrina & the Waves *"Power to the Meek" Performed by

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

*"Let That Be Enough" Performed by

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock music, rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drum kit, drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (g ...

*"If You Wanna Dance" Performed by Nobody's Angel *"Ooh La La La" Performed by Nobody's Angel *"Wishing on You" Performed by Nobody's Angel *"I Can't Help Myself" Performed by Nobody's Angel *"Beautiful Thing" Performed by

All Star United ''All Star United'' is a Christian rock band that was formed by solo artist Ian Eskelin in 1996. The band is known for clever and sometimes sarcastic lyrics, as they frequently use their songs as vehicles to lampoon perceived excesses in Wester ...

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''Model Behavior'' has a 65% approval score based on 136 reviews and an average rating of 5.9/10; one review: "A cross between the Parent Trap and Freaky Friday, this Disney Channel movie introduces a new twist on the ol' switcheroo".

References

External links

* {{Mark Rosman 2000 television films 2000 films American teen comedy films Disney television films Films directed by Mark Rosman Films about fashion Films based on books 2000s American films American Broadcasting Company original films