''Student Exchange'' is a 1987 American

made-for-television 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 ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Mollie Miller and produced by

Walt Disney Television The first and original incarnation of Walt Disney Television was an American production company and the original/former television production division of the Walt Disney Company, which was active from April 18, 1983 to 2003. Productions from ...

. It originally aired November 29, 1987 as a presentation of '' The Disney Sunday Movie'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

Plot

Carole and Neil, two

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...

y teenagers, get only perfect grades but have no social skills. When Carole learns that two foreign exchange students from France and Italy have gone to another school, they grab their chance and dress up as the exchange students. For their last semester, they see a fresh start to become popular as the Italian Adriano and French Simone. But for how long can the scheme go on?

Cast

* Viveka Davis as Carole Whitcomb / Simone Swaare *

Todd Field William Todd Field (born February 24, 1964) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is known for directing '' In the Bedroom'' (2001), '' Little Children'' (2006), and '' Tár'' (2022), which were nominated for a combined fourteen Academy Award ...

as Neil Barton / Adriano Parbritzzi *

Maura Tierney Maura Lynn Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009) and Helen Solloway on the myst ...

as Kathy Maltby *

Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod ( ; born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's ''The Love ...

as Vice Principal Durfner *

Mitchell Anderson Mitchell Ogren Anderson (born August 21, 1961) is an American character actor and chef. Anderson was born in Jamestown, New York, to a retail store owner mother and a businessman father. He attended Jamestown High School and Williams College ...

as Rod *

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and an Independent Spirit Award. After appearing in tel ...

as Dorrie Ryder * Kim Walker as Kit *

Lee Garlington Ann Leslie "Lee" Garlington (born July 20, 1953) is an American actress. Early life Garlington was born in Teaneck, New Jersey on July 20, 1953. She spent her teenage years in Wilmington, Delaware. Career She has guest-starred in a number of not ...

as Mrs. Whitcomb * David Selburg as Mr. Whitcomb *

Nancy Lenehan Nancy Lenehan (born April 26, 1953) is an American actress. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1980 action comedy film ''Smokey and the Bandit II'' and later had supporting roles in films '' She's Having a Baby'' (1988), '' Pleasantvi ...

as Mrs. Barton *

Glenn Shadix William Glenn Shadix (April 15, 1952 – September 7, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for his roles as Otho Fenlock in Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' and the Mayor of Halloween Town in ''The Nightmare Before Christmas''. ...

as Mr. Barton * Virginya Keehne as Lucy Whitcomb *

Lisa Hartman Lisa Hartman Black (born June 1, 1956) is an American actress and singer from Houston, Texas. Hartman gained prominence after her role in the prime time drama ''Knots Landing'' from 1982 to 1986. She recorded four solo albums between 1976 and ...

as Peggy Whitcomb * Nancy Fish as Mrs. Vera * Edward Edwards as Mr. Gordon *

Rob Estes Rob Estes (born July 22, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Harry Wilson on the teen drama series '' 90210'', as Sgt. Chris Lorenzo on the crime drama series ''Silk Stalkings'', and as Kyle McBride on the primetime soap ...

as Beach *

Moon Unit Zappa Moon Unit Zappa (born September 28, 1967) is an American actress, singer, and author. She is the daughter of musician Frank Zappa. Early life Moon Zappa was born in New York City, the eldest child of Gail (née Sloatman) and musician Frank Zappa ...

as Biker Joe *

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

as Soccer Coach *

Lindsay Wagner Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science fiction television series '' The Bionic Woman'' (1976–1978), in which she portrayed character Jaime Sommers. S ...

as Principal

Reception

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 ...

there is no critic consensus but audience reactions were favorable.

Home media

Disney released a DVD-on-Demand version of the film as part of their "Disney Generations Collection" line of DVDs on June 26, 2011.

External links

*
''Student Exchange'' DVD
* {{William Davies 1987 television films 1987 films 1987 comedy films American Broadcasting Company original films 1980s teen comedy films American teen comedy films Student exchange in fiction Disney television films Films with screenplays by William Davies 1980s English-language films 1980s American films American comedy television films Films with screenplays by William Osborne (writer)