#kyle downes

[lizziemcguiregifs]

avoiding people and those without masks in public for my own safety

Lizzie McGuire, And the Winner is (S02E11) [incorrect quotes]

[seriouswill]

/* has anyone seen higher ground? I wanna make a Scott Barringer account but idk

[peterstanslizzie]

Re-watching Lizzie Mcguire: Episode 1.10 (I Do, I Don’t)

Lizzie is giving Gordo the side-eye but Gordo rolls his eyes without any care lol

- We first overhear an interesting discussion about which X-men character Lizzie and Miranda would choose to be in order to obtain Ethan Craft’s affection. Miranda chooses the shape-shifting Mystique while Lizzie opted for Rogue. I wouldn’t choose Rogue because touching your crush with your bare skin could lead to his demise.

- Gordo thinks this entire discussion is pointless because he predicts Ethan will end up working at a gas station, part-time in the future. Ouch! That’s not a very nice thing to say about someone, Gordo!

- Matt interrupts her phone conversation because he’s looking for a flashlight and starts rummaging through Lizzie’s pile of clothes on her bed until he is able to find it. Their dad, Sam also enters her room to ask her why Matt is covered in dirt to which she says she has no idea and she has other things to worry about like getting married the next morning! Married?! *Why am I shocked? I already kinda know what happens in this episode.

A Temporary Marriage

- For their social studies class, Lizzie and her peers are required to be paired up with one another and they must essentially act as a couple for one week and make decisions as a unit. Also, the pair that has the best ‘marriage’ will be rewarded by not having to write a paper.

Here are the pairings alongside their designated occupations:

1. Kate Sanders (TV anchorwoman) and Larry Tudgeman (mailman)

This is going to be hilariously entertaining!

2. Lizzie Mcguire (lawyer) and David Gordon/Gordo (sanitation engineer)

Gordo, a sanitation engineer is not a garbageman. You still need to be trained as an engineer, specializing in different elements like hydraulics, project design and environmental technology. Get yo’ facts straight lol.

3. Miranda Sanchez (homemaker) and Ethan Craft (surgeon)

The girls are hating on Miranda right now

Getting to Know One Another

- Miranda skips having lunch with Gordo and Lizzie to have lunch with her fake husband, Ethan and she shows off her fake (I’m positive) diamond ring that Ethan gifted her. That is such a middle school thing to do.

- Gordo isn’t going to let his designated occupation as a self-proclaimed ‘garbageman’ get him down. He is planning to build a huge and successful “trash empire”. Meanwhile, Larry wants to sit down with Kate and have lunch with her but she’s trying really hard to pay him no mind.

Honestly, the way Larry is interacting with Kate despite her being so mean to him is adorable. The way he calls her his wife and the way he tries to give her his Brussels sprout is just precious. Kate if you don’t want Larry, you can give him over to me.

- Gordo is trying to talk to Lizzie about his 20-year career plan as a ‘Garbage Business King’ but she’s preoccupied with the sight of Miranda and Ethan hanging out so closely with each other. Gordo notices this and he tells Lizzie to stop neglecting him. Crush or not, Lizzie should really treat her best friend, Gordo a little better here.

Jealousy and Matt’s Cave

- At home, Lizzie vents to her mom about not being paired off with Ethan and instead, she’s stuck with Gordo. She’s your best friend Lizzie! How would you feel if he said the same thing about you? She got on my nerves here.

- Jo is also worried about Matt behaving a little too well lately and she once again tasks Sam to go out and check up on him. *Please, I hope this B-plot with Matt is not complete filler in this episode....again*. Apparently, Matt has been digging up his own cave for the past couple of weeks because he wants his own place to just hang out by himself; Essentially, it’s a ‘man cave’.

- Let’s just cut to the chase. Sam and Matt decide to not tell Jo about the cave so that they can relax and seclude themselves away from the house. But eventually, Jo discovers their cave and forces them to leave because she feels like the cave could collapse anytime, which is true. Anyways, this whole storyline is just another instance of episode filler.

Kate’s Conspiracy

Oh no, Kate and Ethan are cheating on their spouses!

- At their go-to coffee shop, which I think is the ‘Digital Bean’, Lizzie spots Kate and Ethan sharing a smoothie and tries to sneak up on them and eavesdrop on their conversation under their table. Kate reveals to Ethan she’s planning to leave Larry at their reunion, which is basically where they are going to present and give a mini report on their respective marriages in front of the entire class. Ethan, being the not-so-bright person that he is, is just agreeing to everything she’s saying to him and he is convinced by Kate to also leave his partner, Miranda.

- All of a sudden, a waitress kneels down under the table to hand over Lizzie’s drink. This blows Lizzie’s cover and she is caught by Kate and Ethan. Awkward!

- Lizzie tells Gordo about Kate’s plan and she asks him for advice on what to do. He suggests to her to tell Miranda in person about what’s going to go down. I mean, Duh!!! That is such obvious advice but of course, it’s more complicated than that since Lizzie is jealous of Miranda being married to Ethan.

- At the cafe, Lizzie tries to tell Miranda about Kate and Ethan’s plan but as soon as Ethan shows up to sit down with them, she hesitates and backs away.

School Reunion and Lizzie’s Big Decision

- On presentation day, Gordo lets Lizzie know about his own feelings again about being taken for granted by her and being neglected by her all the time ever since they were paired off for this project. Lizzie feels bad about it. At least she’s self-reflective.

Kate’s hair looks like a lion’s mane here

- Kate and Larry are up first to present and Kate took over the entire presentation and comes up with her own narrative, leaving Larry with no room to say anything. This doesn’t bode well with their teacher, Mrs. Stebel.

- Lizzie musters up the courage to finally tell Miranda about their scheme and I am so frustrated by Miranda’s reaction. She completely jumped the gun and accuses Lizzie of being jealous and tells her she’s a bad friend for making stuff up. I mean, fine, Lizzie was and probably is still a little jealous of her but Miranda’s reaction was a little uncalled for. But again, I can’t blame her; She’s still a young teenager and sometimes they can be a little irrational (no offence to young teens reading this of course).

- It is now Miranda and Ethan’s turn to present and Miranda decides to trust Lizzie (thank goodness) and confronts Ethan on stage about his plan to leave her. She gives this awesome speech about standing up for herself and her dignity. She proceeds to run off the stage, leaving Ethan hanging and looking really clueless as to what just happened.

- Honestly, this moment should be THE moment Lizzie and Miranda would stop crushing on Ethan. But if I could recall, they still have crushes on him after this episode.

In Lizzie Mcguire, karma always gets to Kate within just one episode.

- Meanwhile, Kate is forcing Larry to admit to Mrs. Stebel that their poor presentation was due to a mutual decision they made but Larry decides to stand up for himself and even pours over a huge punch bowl over her. Kate, you deserve it and Larry, good on you!

- At the end of the episode, Miranda apologizes to Lizzie and Gordo for the way she has been acting and Lizzie even apologizes to Gordo for taking him for granted. All’s well that ends well.

Overall Thoughts

- This episode was not bad. My favorite part was how the main characters plus Kate, Ethan and Larry were paired up with one another. We got to see some interesting interactions between different characters. I particularly liked how Gordo called Lizzie out for ignoring him, which causes Lizzie to reflect on her behavior towards him and realize how important he is to her. As for the other 2 couples, they were mainly played out for comic relief. Also, kudos to Miranda for trusting her best friend instead of letting her emotions get the better of her by the end.

- As for the negatives, I don’t quite get Kate’s plan to leave Larry for Ethan at the reunion. First of all, Miranda and Ethan weren’t actually a couple; It was for a project. And secondly, if she wants to get together with Ethan, they could have just done it after their own presentations. What does she actually think this will accomplish besides being reprimanded by their teacher? I’m a little confused by her plan.

[ansonbagleymyhero]

I really will never understand why everyone on the show thought he was ugly, Larry was a STRAIGHT UP BABE !! (this shit was my childhood)

[meghanoryswife]

[peterstanslizzie]

Re-watching Lizzie Mcguire: Episode 1.5 (I’ve Got Rhythmic)

You know what this moment is? It’s Lizzie about the hit the floor from tripping

- The episode begins with Lizzie approaching the bulletin board to check what her grade is for her school English test; Turns out, Lizzie only got a ‘B’. She gets frustrated because she feels like she’s not amazing at anything when comparing herself to her peers like Gordo who is an aspiring filmmaker and Miranda who is good at arts and crafts. 

Lizzie discovers her Talent

- During gym class, Coach Kelly introduces rhythmic gymnastics to the girls and Lizzie and Miranda are not feeling it. As someone who used to do gymnastics at school, I think they’re being too dismissive of the sport. I found it to be really fun and I actually enjoyed playing with the different apparatus.

- Coach Kelly asked the group of students if there is anyone who would like to volunteer and demonstrate some basic gymnastics. Miranda without thinking, blurted out a big fat “NO!” and she was subsequently chosen to demonstrate first. I don’t think I saw Coach Kelly teaching them any moves. So how is Miranda supposed to demonstrate anything? Maybe this wasn’t their first gymnastics class?

Why did Miranda throw those clubs like that? It’s like she really wanted them to be flung far far away from her

- Miranda is handed a pair of gymnastics clubs and as expected, she flopped really bad. Kate’s next and she hurts herself by dropping one of the sticks on her foot. I did not expect that; She seemed so confident. Lizzie couldn’t contain her laughter and Coach Kelly does not respond to her reaction well and asks Lizzie to use the ribbon in front of the class.

For the honor of Grayskull! Sorry, I just had to include a She-ra reference in here

- Lizzie shocks everyone by being so graceful and elegant with the ribbon. When watching this episode back then, I think I already knew Hilary Duff had prior training in gymnastics. She could do cartwheels, flips and all the sort.

- Kate who just cannot let Lizzie outshine her asks Coach Kelly if she can be given a second chance to re-do the demonstration to which she agrees and proceeds to ask her to do it again on the spot, with the ribbons this time. Kate flops once again.

Oh Kate, just give it up! You stink at rhythmic gymnastics

- Coach Kelly who was so impressed by Lizzie’s natural ability persuades her to represent the school in the ‘Rhythmic Gymnastics Regional Competition’. Lizzie isn’t so sure about it but Coach Kelly asks her to take some time to think about it.

A Big Decision to Make

- Lizzie fills in all the details with her best friends and they support her to actually go for it. Side note: the number of times they cut to the scene when Kate hurt her foot is ridiculously funny hahaha. At home, she also asks her parents if she should pursue it to which they give the generic answer of yes because that’s what parents do. 

An athlete’s dream is to appear on a cereal box

- Lizzie proceeds to dream about winning a gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics and even dreams about her picture appearing on a toasted oat meal cereal box. She smiles in her sleep and I believe that is the moment when she is going to go for it for all its glory.

- The next day, Lizzie still reeling from her dream announces to Gordo and Miranda that she made the decision to be a gymnast, which surprises them both as they had mixed feelings about it.

‘Olympic’ Training Montage

- We get a special montage with a surprisingly catchy music track of Lizzie training for the competition. Here are some of my rundowns of what was shown:

1. Lizzie struggles to wake up at 5:00 am and Gordo shakes her to wake her up. Wow, Gordo is fully committed to making this documentary for Lizzie; Waking up before 5:00 am just to go over to her house to film her?! Did he stay over or did Lizzie’s parents let him in lol?

2. Her mom prepares her a cup of several raw eggs to drink. I wouldn’t dare drink it but thank goodness Lizzie poured them onto a pan to fry them. Phew!

3. Lizzie has a one-to-one training session with Coach Kelly. A super intensive one I will say. However, Lizzie seems to be managing pretty well....

...for the most part

This All Better Be Worth It

- Lizzie is found by her friends in a state of exhaustion and couldn’t bring herself to stay awake. Kate, now with a foot brace, pops up with her posse and delivers this line that is immortalized as a forever popular gif:

Remember when .coms were included in jokes?

- Gordo burns her good by asking her to repeat what she said into the camera and tells her he’s casting the part of the bitter talentless girl. Oh, snap! Kate is such a pain in this episode. Can’t she just stop being so obsessed with Lizzie being better than her in one thing?

Introducing Larry Tudgeman

- We actually got a mention of Larry in the first episode when he was caught on camera picking his nose and eating his snot by Danny Kessler. But this time, we got to actually see him in the flesh. I actually love Larry; He is kinda like Gordo but only much weirder and nerdier.

- Kate puts on her popular girl charm and asks him to do a little favor for her, which we will find out towards the end of the episode.

- Lizzie is baking cookies at home, which worries Jo because she has noticed that every-time Lizzie bakes, it’s because there is something bothering her. Lizzie tells her mom it’s because she’s stressed about competing but the truth is, she is just not passionate about the sport.

Time to Compete!

- It’s the day of the competition and Lizzie is busy warming up while Gordo is filming her and providing commentary for his documentary. He trips over a pile of gymnastics equipment and accidentally angles his camera up over to the ceiling and catches Larry doing something fishy. Lizzie’s turn is next and she starts her routine.

- He tells Miranda about Larry and they both try to help Lizzie from getting sabotaged by him. During her routine, she does a great job so far but when she tosses the hula hoop up in the air, Larry catches it with a broom. Lizzie froze a little because she did not expect her hoop to disappear but luckily, Gordo with his quick thinking throws Lizzie a ribbon and she continues her routine.

- Larry is then spotted by Miranda, who is armed with a fire-extinguisher and threatens to spray him if he doesn’t drop the hula hoop. He drops it and Lizzie manages to catch it at the right time and finishes her routine strong. Kate is stunned her plan failed.

Honestly, Kate always seems to get the funniest edit

- She then storms out of the gym and Gordo catches her leaving with his camera and she was basically caught red handed.

Smile for the camera sunshine

Lizzie’s Confession

- Lizzie wins 1st place despite the setback. That’s a little surprising considering the fact that she just started training for it but amazing job nonetheless.

- Her parents congratulates her for winning the competition but Lizzie confesses to them that she hates rhythmic gymnastics and the only reason she likes it is because she’s good at it. Her parents are supportive of her regardless of her position. Such understanding parents; My parents would have been the opposite.

Overall Thoughts

- In my opinion, Lizzie suddenly realizing she’s good at rhythmic gymnastics and actually winning 1st place in a regional competition is kind of a one-off plot device thing for Hilary to showcase her gymnastics prowess on Lizzie Mcguire. It’s just not realistic to me but this is fiction and loopholes like that aren’t meant to be analyzed deeply by people like me.

- That being said, I do really like the underlying message presented in this episode, which is we should pursue something we are absolutely passionate in and commit to it. And if we haven’t discovered what our destiny is yet, it’s never too late to figure that out.

[peterstanslizzie]

Re-watching Lizzie Mcguire: Episode 1.9 (Election)

- At the school cafeteria (it seems to be used as the opening setting quite regularly), Claire is seen talking to and being friendly to everyone. This confuses Lizzie and Miranda because it is very out of character for Claire to be nice.

- Gordo tells them she’s actually running for class president, which explains everything. Larry is also running his own campaign to be president as well, by eating worms to secure people’s votes. Interesting strategy but that can’t be good for your health.

- They are worried about the possibility of either Claire or Larry becoming their class president and they wish someone ‘normal’ would run as well. Gordo comes up with an idea to nominate Lizzie for class president; Miranda seconds this. Lizzie is the embodiment of what a regular middle school student is like and I think it’s a great idea for her to run. Lizzie is on board and she announces that she will do it! Good luck Lizzie! *Even if I already know you lost.

Destined for Greatness

I love it when the actual cast members use actual pictures of them for flashback images of their fictional characters

- We cut to Lizzie having breakfast the next morning and her parents being thrilled with the idea of their daughter running for class president.

- B-plot, here we go *rolls eyes*: Matt has a new friend named Jasper and he’s his imaginary friend. I know that having an imaginary friend is normal for kids to have but Matt is taking it to a whole other level and he’s a bit too old to be having one.

- Gordo seems to have a crush on Claire. This piece of information completely slipped my mind since watching the show several years ago. Anyways, Lizzie is on the phone with her friends and she’s having some doubts about running against Claire. But her friends are supportive of her and are confident in her chances of winning.

Let the Campaigning Begin!

What a contrast!

- At school, we see signs posted all over the hallway and lockers as part of Lizzie’s campaign, all thanks to Miranda. Larry is still employing his worm-eating tactic whilst Claire is relying on her popularity as a cheerleader.

“Let me tell you something Claire witch-project!”, that’s a good comeback Lizzie!

- Claire and Kate approach Lizzie and they try to talk her down and let her know she’s not going to win the election because she isn’t popular like them. Lizzie doesn’t let this get to her and she gives Claire a piece of her mind saying that people at school want to see change and she’s going to help bring that. I love it when Lizzie grows a backbone and stands up for herself.

Veruca and the mathletes have Lizzie’s vote

- OMG! Veruca?! We finally get to see her; I actually thought I will only get to see her much later in the season. I remember really liking her character but we will see if my opinion about her stays the same as I continue watch her throughout the series.

- One of Lizzie’s campaign promises to the student body is to make frog slicing and dissections optional. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know this is an issue that can be brought up when campaigning for a middle school election since it’s an issue that is bigger than it seems but good on Lizzie. Using animals for the sake of science is a very controversial topic and as a former science student myself, my opinions on this is varied and dependent on the situation.

- Gordo is essentially acting as Lizzie’s campaign advisor by helping her write her speeches and suggesting various things she should do to win people over such as speaking foreign languages to students belonging to the foreign exchange club. And Miranda is in-charge of going around campus and handing out flyers to ask people to vote for Lizzie.

The Biggest Challenge: Winning Over the Drama Club

- It seems like things are going smooth for Lizzie and she actually feels like she has a good chance of winning. Now, if she is able to convince the drama groupies, whom are the second most popular group in school behind the cheerleaders to vote for her, she will definitely take this. 

- Lizzie gets excited about the idea of being able to ‘hang out’ with the drama club but she has forgotten about her promise to have lunch with the foreign exchange club. She even insinuated that they are not as cool as the drama groupies. Lizzie is starting to get a teeny bit obnoxious.

- Miranda is against Lizzie’s decision to ditch having lunch with the foreign exchange club because they made that appointment a day ago and they even brought in their signature dishes from their respective cultures. Gordo thinks the opposite; He believes that being seen talking to the drama club will give her more attention and therefore, more votes.

- I am so on Team Miranda on this one. Lizzie made a promise, there’s no backing out of one unless there’s a really good reason. Plus, those drama groupies look really unfriendly. Lizzie decides to listen to herself and Gordo. Bad move Lizzie!

B-Plot: I Simply Don’t Care!

A fun and classic end-of-episode water fight in the backyard of the Mcguire home

- I want to limit talking about Matt’s story-line on his relationship with his imaginary friend, Jasper to ONE paragraph. It’s just so unnecessary! But to sum it all up, Matt is only pretending to have an imaginary friend to get his parents to buy him things like video games to get him to play with his real friends. He gets caught by Jo and is then forced to wash an imaginary dog with a sponge. What a weird and unusual punishment. But at least we got a cool water fight at the end.

This Election Is Getting To Lizzie’s Head

- Lizzie is starting to act a little stuck-up around her friends. When Gordo brings her apple juice, she grimaced and complained how it was from concentrate and it wasn’t freshly squeezed. She even wants to start drinking coffee only because the drama club drinks it and she bosses Gordo around to serve and bring over her drinks. Miranda notices all of this and calls Lizzie out for acting like Claire to which she denies her bad behavior.

This is so cringe-y to watch back

- The show then kinda compacted Lizzie, Claire and Larry’s election speeches into a few seconds; Claire did a cheer and she accidentally knocks over Larry’s bowl of worms. All of this made Lizzie appeared even more ‘normal’. So, it seems like she’s a shoe-in to win.

- Miranda doesn’t seem too excited about it because Lizzie’s attitude has changed so much. She’s always blowing people off and she’s been spending less time with Miranda as well. Miranda also accuses Gordo for making Lizzie the way she is. Miranda is absolutely right to be upset with Lizzie but I think she shouldn’t put the blame on Gordo. Lizzie’s behavior is her own responsibility.

Lizzie the ‘monster’, dressed in a leather jacket and sporting shades.

- Gordo tries to voice his and Miranda’s concerns over to Lizzie but she’s still so stuck on only hanging out with the drama club.

And the winner is... featuring Sara Paxton

- It’s voting time and we get a mini montage of the students entering the voting booths to cast in their votes. We then arrive at the school assembly, where the official class president will be crowned.

Hey Sara Paxton from Aquamarine!

- The outgoing class president, played by Sara Paxton announces she’s really really really bummed to step down but she’s really really really excited to see who the new president is.

Larry won! And all he did was ate worms the whole entire time

- Claire and Lizzie both thought they had this in the bag. But turns out, Larry is announced as the newest class president. Both girls are simply stunned they lost the election and Lizzie suddenly realizes how bad a friend she’s been to Gordo and Miranda.

- At the cafe (Is that the Digital Bean?), Lizzie apologizes to her friends for acting like a jerk to them and she says she doesn’t blame them if they didn’t vote for her in the election, which to her surprise, they did actually vote for Lizzie. Gordo and Miranda accept her apology because after all, they are still best friends.

- Also, they are actually glad Larry won the election because someone other than a popular kid a school had finally won.

Overall thoughts

- The general consensus for this episode seems to be quite positive, especially the message that comes along with it. Lizzie let all of that attention and admiration get to her head and she became a stuck-up person because of that. She eventually realizes her poor behavior and makes amends to those affected by her behavior. This is a good lesson to take away but in my opinion, how she because this snooty person was a little over the top.

- I mean, she because this mean person after hanging out with the drama club, who albeit look a little unfriendly but I wish they had dive a little deeper into the the general personalities of the drama club members so that I am able to justify more as to how and why Lizzie’s character had changed all of a sudden. 

[vimeolikes]

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