Top 10 Lizzie McGuire Movie Moments That Make No Sense

If Lizzie wants to spend time with the pop star Paolo, she has to convince her overbearing chaperone that she's too sick to tour with her class group. Although she only lays in bed and puts on a weak voice, her performance fools the suspicious Ms Ungermeyer and what has to be the worst doctor in Italy. As Lizzie’s “sickness” drags on for days, we're left wondering why she wasn’t sent to the hospital for a second opinion. It's also hard to believe that Lizzie's parents received none of Ms Ungermeyer's messages about this mysterious illness. (*xref) Not a single adult in this movie handled Lizzie’s “sickness” correctly. It’s no wonder she was able to sneak out.

Italian singing sensation Isabella wanted to expose her former partner Paolo as a bad singer at the International Music Video Awards. Her plan required someone to adjust his microphone volume during the live show. But after Isabella orders a professional to make changes, Gordo appears behind the soundboard. While he’s an intelligent student, there is no way he’d be allowed to control anything during a major award show without an extensive resume. And even if Gordo had experience, his lack of headphones would’ve made it hard for him to hear any changes in the microphone levels. If Isabella wanted her plan to work, she would have left the soundboard in the hands of a professional.

When Lizzie arrives in Rome, she discovers that she looks exactly like a famous pop star named Isabella. We can accept why no one confused the two in America. But there are huge billboards with Isabella's face in Rome. For some reason, none of the locals or Lizzie’s classmates notice that she looks like the pop star until Paolo points it out. Although Lizzie’s hair is admittedly lighter than Isabella’s, that doesn’t fix this mistake. Imagine if someone walked down the street looking just like Beyoncé with a different hair color. We think the average person would at least do a double-take. The fact that no one confuses Lizzie for Isabella until the plot demands it is hard to swallow.

As we mentioned before, the pop star that Lizzie is mistaken for has dark brown hair. Most of Isabella’s fans assumed their favorite singer got a dye job. But when a pair of tall Italians ask Lizzie who colored her hair, she says excessive sun turned her into a blonde. While the sun's rays can lighten locks, a brunette would need a ton a solar power to bleach their hair. And if a person managed to get a free solar dye job, they’d also be very tan. Lizzy's lack of a tan should’ve been a dead giveaway that she was lying. Fortunately for her, the tall locals ignore this gap in logic and let her continue the masquerade.

Within a few minutes of meeting their future principal Ms. Ungermeyer, it’s clear that she’s not a great chaperone. She constantly insults her students and ignores parents when they try to give her crucial health information about their children. But why was the no-nonsense adult the only chaperone for a European journey? Most American field trips require at least two adults to supervise. And even if she could legally go solo, Ungermeyer constantly complains about looking after more than a dozen students. She even tries to trick them into thinking the hotel staff will be helping her chaperone. Instead of trying to deceive her students, Ungermeyer should’ve used her weight as a higher up at the school to bring another adult along.

Just before Ms Ungermeyer can discover that the “sick” Lizzie has left her hotel room, Gordo lies and confesses that he's been sneaking out alone. She punishes him by sending him on a flight home… by himself. His punishment makes absolutely no sense. If Ungermeyer believed Gordo was sneaking out under her nose, why would she trust him to go unsupervised to an airport? The fact that he never boards the plane and sneaks back into Rome is proof that she made a huge mistake. The other issue is the airline itself. Certain airlines don’t allow minors to board planes without special police authorization. If she didn’t follow proper protocol, Ms Ungermeyer’s punishment would’ve ironically gotten her in trouble.

Lizzie was fully prepared to lip sync at the International Music Video Awards. When the pop star Isabella unexpectedly shows up, the two ladies end up performing a live duet. After sharing the stage for a while, Isabella leaves Lizzie to finish the song alone. But why? Before the performance, Lizzie told Isabella that she was nervous about singing live. Although they sang well together, there was no guarantee Lizzie wouldn’t mess up when she was onstage solo. Isabella should’ve either finished the song herself or cut the performance short. While leaving Lizzie alone might’ve given the tween a confidence boost, Isabella’s reputation could’ve been tarnished if the solo performance went off the rails.

Paolo asked Lizzie to sing while a lip sync track played over her voice in front of a live audience. However, he secretly planned to turn her mic on during the performance. Paolo believed this would convince everyone that Lizzie’s popstar doppelganger Isabella couldn’t sing. But there’s one big hole in his plan. Lizzie’s a fantastic singer. Her singing voice even sounds like Isabella’s. Although Lizzie might’ve been caught off guard by the mic suddenly turning on, the unsuspecting audience would’ve believed she was Isabella once she started singing. Paolo could’ve and should’ve heard how talented Lizzie was during their rehearsal session. But since he ignored Lizzie’s great singing voice, his evil plan was destined to fail.

Remember when Gordo lied about sneaking out to protect Lizzie from Ungermeyer? Well, his plan should’ve backfired. Gordo lied to try and prevent Ms Ungermeyer from going to Lizzie’s room when she wasn’t there. But after he gives his fake confession, the chaperone immediately forgets to check on Lizzie. Ms Ungermeyer was determined to bust students for being a little loud. She would’ve definitely gone to Lizzie’s room after Gordo’s fake confession. The sad thing about this plot hole is that it would have made the movie’s third act more exciting. If Ms Ungermeyer remembered to do her job correctly, she would’ve discovered the truth and gone hunting for Lizzie across Rome while Gordo tried to keep the chaperone away. Unfortunately, this exciting version of the teen comedy’s third act got lost in a plot hole.

Before Paolo was exposed as a liar and a fraud, he shared some romantic scenes with Lizzie. While the movie initially frames their romance as adorable, it’s actually creepy on several levels. First of all, Paolo is stated to be 17. Since Lizzie just graduated middle school, she’s either 13 or 14. Despite their sketchy age difference, Paolo takes her to unfamiliar places, showers her with compliments and holds her hand. Even if he was just pretending to flirt with Lizzie, the pop star still manipulated her and planned to humiliate her in front of a live audience. Every aspect of their relationship is messed up and toxic. The film should’ve never portrayed their connection as cute.