Inner Beauty is the sixteenth episode of Lizzie McGuire's second season and the forty-seventh episode of the entire series.
Summary[]
Miranda has a misconceived notion that she is fat and begins to skip meals to look slim for a music video directed by Gordo. Miranda begins to develop an eating disorder and Lizzie and Gordo are concerned about it. However, in the end Lizzie convinces Miranda to be comfortable with her body and persuades her to stop dieting. Meanwhile, Matt shows a great artistic potential and his parents encourage him to pursue it. However, he gets into trouble when he trashes their house and uses their family car as canvas for his paintings.
Plot[]
Miranda and Lizzie are rehearsing dance steps for a music video Gordo is making. During a break he makes an offhand remark about how much snack food Miranda is putting away. The next day at school Gordo shows the girls some still photos he took the day before. Miranda, already putting pressure on herself to make better grades and improve herself, reacts unreasonably to one picture, saying that she looks terribly fat, even though Lizzie and Gordo assure she's not at all. Later at lunch Miranda, quite unlike herself, doesn't eat anything. At the McGuire house afterwards, the trio is rehearsing for the video again. Miranda grows faint and almost passes out in front of Mrs. McGuire. Miranda assures everyone that she's alright, but Lizzie is still concerned. When Lizzie tries to talk to her later, Miranda is very unresponsive and uncooperative.
Lizzie talks to her mom about Miranda, saying that she's especially concerned about her new eating habits. Jo McGuire agrees to talk to Miranda and her mom in a few days if the situation continues. Gordo is concerned about Miranda too, and when she shows up for a video shoot in a sullen and depressed mood, he and Lizzie talk to her about what they think is wrong. Miranda admits that she has been feeling a lot of pressure lately with schoolwork, grades, planning her future, etc. She tells her friends that how much she ate was one area of her life that it seemed she had complete control over, but now she realizes that she went overboard. With things back on track, Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo complete their music video.
Also, it seems that Matt has been encouraged at school to believe that he has great artistic potential. Mr. and Mrs. McGuire are surprised to hear this, but they try their best to support his artistic endeavors. But that gets hard to do when Matt, with Lanny's help, trashes the house with his "artistic" creations, ending by using the family car as a canvas!
Trivia[]
- Filming dates were November 4-7, 2001.
- Even though this episode is concerned with eating disorders, the word "anorexia" is never used.
- The music video Gordo directs and Lizzie and Miranda perform in is entitled "Detention." The video's ID tag says "Rosman Records." Mark Rosman is the director of this episode.
- Miranda wears a shirt with a "word search" puzzle design.
- In the "music video" footage near the end, Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire) executes a round-off back handspring, apparently without a double, Just Like in The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
- The choreography for the "Detention" video was done by southern California dancer Nicole Bastidas, who is only 16.
- Sam's vehicle is a 2000 Volvo V40 Turbo Wagon, although it's a little hard to tell from the side view and with all the paint Matt put on it. It is also seen in the episode, "Aaron Carter's Coming to Town."
- Sam McGuire asks if Matt snuck into the kindergarten class to take a nap again. This is a reference to "Bad Girl McGuire," in which Matt had no bedtime and was staying up too late, then was taking naps at school.
- When Matt is painting in the back yard he asks Lanny to slightly close his left eye. In fact he slightly closes his right one. From the audience's point of view, it looks as if he closes the "left" eye, but from Lanny's perspective it would have been his right.
- In Gordo's music video, they show the hall for the first time with flyers on the ground. Though, right before Lizzie and Miranda throw the flyers off of the lockers, there are no flyers on the ground.
- When Jo walks in Lizzie's room to talk to her, Lizzie puts down her magazine twice.
- When Miranda arrives to the video shoot, her hair is down while Lizzie's is back in a ponytail with a head band, but when we see the video, Miranda's hair is up and Lizzie's is down. Although, they did go to breakfast, so they had time to change their hair before shooting began.
- Just before Matt draws the picture of Lizzie that he calls "Girl That Makes Me Hurl," you can see that particular picture already drawn on the notebook under Lanny's arm before he hands it to Matt.
Music[]
- Us Against The World" by Play, which is heard in the video and rehearsal scenes. The song is included on the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack album. It was also previously used in "The Courtship Of Miranda Sanchez."
- "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy. It's playing when Matt and Lanny are going through the junkyard. This disco instrumental adaptation of the famous first movement of Ludwig Van Beethoven's Symphony Number 5 hit the top of the charts in 1976. It was the only hit for the arranger Murphy.
- Portions of "Overture to The Barber of Seville" are heard when Matt is painting Lanny. It was written by Italian opera composer Gioaccino Rossinni, who is famous for his stirring opera overtures, in 1816.
- The "Ode to Joy" section from the fourth movement of Beethoven's Symphony Number Nine, played when Matt is presenting his parents with his new works of art. Also one of the most famous of Beethoven's works and one of the best-known pieces of classical music. Unusual for a symphony because it uses solo vocalists and a chorus.
- "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, when Matt was making a mock drawing of Lizzie near the beginning of the episode.
Quotes[]
- Jo: We'll have to encourage him. Artists are very sensitive.
- Sam: Sensitive? Matt eats mud.
- Miranda: How come no one has ever told me I have like, six chins?
- Lizzie: 'Cause you only have one.
- Toon Lizzie: Okay, something serious is going on with Miranda. She's not eating, practically fainted and just lied to my mom. It's times like these when I have to say... [holds up a sign] HEEEEEEEEELP!
- Gordo (to Lizzie): I don't want to start panicking or anything but what's the deal with Miranda?
- Lizzie: OK, well I think sh...
- Gordo: She's obviously not herself, you know, with the whole diet thing--I, I mean you were there, she, she nearly fainted rehearsing for my video! I don't know, maybe, maybe I should shelf the project.
- Lizzie: Gordo, I think you really....
- Gordo: Or maybe--you should talk to her. I know that the three of us are best friends but it's just that you two have that girl thing.
- Lizzie: Well, you know...
- Gordo: Look, I, I know that magazines these days are telling girls that they have to be thinner, ah, they're telling me I have to be more muscular, and for whatever reason Miranda's buying into it and I'm not. Uh, not that saying you are, of course. It's just that I think you have a better handle on the situation than I would which is why I think you should talk to her.
- Lizzie: Gordo, wait!
- Gordo: What?
- Lizzie: OK. I wanna talk to her just as bad as you do, OK? In fact, we're going to the mall tomorrow, I'll talk to her then.
- Gordo: Wh...that's, that's great because I, I think she needs to know that we're her friends, and if she ever, ever needs anyone to talk to, that we're her go-to peeps, through thick, through thin, we'll always be there. And I gotta tell ya that the whole idea of you talking to her is a huge relief because frankly, I'd have no idea what to say.
- Lizzie (very softly): OK. (pats Gordo lightly on the? shoulder)
- Lizzie: Miranda, we're best friends. You're obviously going through something. Why can't you just talk to me?
- Miranda: Is this the part where I'm supposed to thank you?
- Lizzie: Miranda... wait. Look... I'm sorry about what happened at the mall. You're right--it's, it's your body, it's, your life, and... it's your business. But I... I guess I just said that stuff because... I really care about you, and... y-you're scaring me.
- Miranda: I am?
- Gordo: You're scaring both of us. I mean, what's going on?
- Lizzie: Well, call me blonde, but what does all that have to do with losing weight?