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Kate is having a big birthday party and her mother is making her invite her whole class, including Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo. Lizzie is dead set against going until she finds out cell phones will be given out as party favors. But her mom puts the brakes on her idea of going because there will be no "acceptable chaperone" there. Miranda suggests the three of them say they are going to the mall, then sneak out to the party. Lizzie is reluctant to go along with the idea, but she does. Gordo gets his parents' permission to go, but that only frustrates him since his parents think he's such a good boy he couldn't possibly get into trouble. So he tries, rather unsuccessfully, to show he has a dangerous "dark side."

When Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo arrive at Kate's house the party is ragin': loud music is pumping, Lizzie gets handed over people's heads like a stage diver in a mosh pit, and the supposed "chaperone," Kate's 18-year-old cousin Amy, is making out in the closet! None of their classmates are there, only a bunch of older kids. When Amy brings out a cake, Kate is disappointed to find that it has no candles and no one sings "Happy Birthday." In fact, Amy didn't even realize it was Kate's birthday! Kate's face gets pushed into the cake. Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo plan to leave, but before they can, Lizzie overhears a phone call Kate makes to her mom. It seems that Kate wanted a small party with a few friends, but her mother insisted she have a big bash, then she didn't stick around for it. Now there are none of her classmates there, just a hundred or so of her cousin's friends. Soft-hearted Lizzie offers Kate her sympathy, and even asks her to go to the movies with her, Gordo and Miranda, which Kate agrees to. But there's a problem: Kate can't leave the house in the hands of all these party animals. So Lizzie finds a way to bust up the party--she gets a mom, specifically her own mom, to come over. Jo McGuire arrives on the scene and runs everyone out in short order. Lizzie hopes her "mature" handling of the situation will keep her from getting grounded, but of course it doesn't. As for Kate, she does manage to thank Lizzie, but she sneers at her the next second, so things are back to normal.

Also, Matt and Mr. McGuire have big news: at the mall, a producer spotted them and wants to put them in a commercial for Cardio Punch Sports Drink. But Mrs. McGuire is skeptical that her very camera-shy husband can do it. When Sam and Matt arrive at the commercial shoot, the director puts a harness and line on the guys and has them climbing a rock wall. Sam is scared of heights and gets paralyzed while doing the climb, and the director says some nasty things to him. Matt rappels down the rock wall and tells off the director in no uncertain terms. But the guy likes Matt's fiery speech and edits it so the commercial has Matt delivering it to an animated dragon that he fights off. Add a recap »