''The Great Mom Swap'' is a 1995 American made for television comedy film directed by

Jonathan Prince Jonathan Alexander Prince (born August 16, 1958) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and movie producer. Career Prince embarked on an acting career following graduation from Harvard University. His played Leo in the 1981 CBS series ''M ...

and starring

Shelley Fabares Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (; born January 19, 1944) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom ''The Donna Reed Show'' (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom ...

Valerie Harper Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She is best remembered for her role as Rho ...

, Mary Kate Schellhardt,

Hillary Tuck Hillary Tuck is an American actress. She had roles in the NBC Saturday Morning sitcom '' Hang Time'' (1995–1996) and Disney's '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show''. She has also guest starred in such television series as ''Roseanne'', '' ...

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

Andrew Kavovit Andrew Michael Kavovit (born July 19, 1971) is an American actor. Kavovit played Paul Ryan (formerly Stenbeck) on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' from 1986 to 1991, when both he and the character were teenagers. He won the Daytime ...

and Kelsey Mulrooney. It is based on the novel of the same name by Betsy Haynes. It premiered on ABC on September 23, 1995 and was released on video by

Hallmark Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

Plot

Terri Venessi (Mary Kate Schellhardt), a local straight-A student and ‘deli girl’, always seems to be at odds with the cheerleading captain, Karen Ridgeway (Hillary Tuck). Terri is the daughter of Grace (Valerie Harper) who is a widow and Karen is the daughter of Millie (Shelley Fabares) who have been known rivals since the day their friendship was strained. One day, their pranks on each other go too far when a revenge-fueled stink bomb in Karen’s locker gets out of hand and the school has to be evacuated for two days as a result. The girls are called to the Principal's office where they and their mothers meet with Officer Patricia Smith (

Esther Scott Esther Scott (April 13, 1953 – February 14, 2020) was an American actress. Early years Scott was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, on April 13, 1953. When she was a child the family moved to Brooklyn, New York. She developed an interest i ...

). Although she initially plans to have them sent to a

work farm A prison farm (also known as a penal farm) is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are forced to work on a farm legally and illegally (in the wide sense of a productive unit), usually for manual labor, largely in the open air ...

, Officer Smith instead tells them that the girls should switch lives for a while to experience the other girl's life even upon also noticing that both mothers act the same way toward each other. Under threat of expulsion, the girls and their families agree. Karen's family is quite affluent, but both parents work and are gone quite a bit. As a result, Karen, when she was home had to take care of her little sister Tiffany (Kelsey Mulrooney), and now Terri is made to do it, despite having no babysitting experience or siblings of her own. Tiffany (who is constantly telling " Knock-knock jokes") gets on Terri's nerves at first, but eventually, she comes to think of Terri as a "sister-figure", especially during a

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

, which causes a temporary loss of power. During the switch, Terri learns that Karen never stands up for herself to her mom who grew up in the neighborhood with Terri's mom, and is now a social climber. While at Karen's, Terri and Karen's brother David (Andrew Kavovit) discover they like each other, especially after Karen gives Terri a "makeover." At Terri's house, Karen is living with Grace and grandfather Papa Tognetti (

). Terri's is a blue-collar family that runs an Italian deli. Karen's friends make fun of Terri and now are making fun of Karen, who discovers that her "friends" are very superficial. Her "best friend" Nicole Henderson (

Marnette Patterson Marnette Provost Patterson (born April 26, 1980) is an American actress and singer. Early life Patterson was raised as an only child by her mother in Los Angeles, California, where she was born. Her name is her mother's middle name: Marnette. ...

) starts snubbing her and even tries to steal her boyfriend Chad Elkins (Hunter Garner), which causes problems for the couple. She also discovers that Terri's mom is much more "hands on" than her own mother and doesn't like things to change. She also can be very controlling. As time goes on, Karen starts to bond with Papa and even joins in the search when he turns up missing. As a result of the switch, Millie and Grace gain perspective and restore their friendship. They apparently had a falling out when they were teens. Grandpa moves to a retirement village (he wasn't missing after all). Terri and Karen discover they like themselves and each other. Millie decides her family is more important than her clubs and Grace quits trying to hide in the past and embrace life again. Everyone benefits from the Mom Swap, especially Terri and David, who go to Prom together, and Karen and Chad, who are voted Prom Queen and King, but not before Nicole gets called out for trying to rig the election. Karen and Terri end up as best friends.

Cast

as Millie Ridgeway *

as Grace Vanessi * Mary Kate Schellhardt as Terri Vanessi *

as Karen Ridgeway *

as Papa Tognett *

as David Ridgeway * Kelsey Mulrooney as Tiffany Ridgeway *

Vasili Bogazianos Vasili Bogazianos (born February 1, 1945) is an American actor, best known for his role as Benny Sago #2 on the television series ''All My Children'', which he played from 1980 to 1990. He began his television career by playing the small role of ...

as Jack Ridgeway * Lance Robinson as Louis *

as Nicole Henderson * Hunter Garner as Chad Elkins *

Kenneth Tigar Kenneth Tigar (born September 24, 1942) is an American actor, primarily on American television, and translator. Life Kenneth Leslie Tigar was born into a Jewish family in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and raised in the Greater Boston Area. He receiv ...

as Mr. Harlow *

as Officer Patricia Smith

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Mom Swap, The 1995 television films American teen comedy films 1995 comedy films 1995 films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films