The Even Stevens Movie

Plot

Louis ruins Ren's junior high graduation after he plays a prank on Coach Tugnut. Meanwhile, Gil breaks up with Ren, so she takes a job babysitting Beans in an effort to move on from Gil. After Ren and Louis get into a fight and accidentally hurt Miles McDermott, he talks the Stevens and Beans into going on a vacation, which is the set of a new reality TV show called Family Fake Out. It is set on the fictional island of Mandelino, which is only a short distance off the California coast.

Louis accidentally destroys the house they were meant to live in, making the island's natives shun them and forcing them to live on their own. The family separates into two groups pitted against each other. Both groups encounter various situations, such as facing starvation and a "killer squirrel." Ren seeks solace with a native named Mootai, and they fall in love; although he is an actor named Jason, who is supposed to fall in love with her to boost ratings, Jason has a genuine interest in Ren.

Louis' best friends, Twitty and Tawny, come to the island to rescue them. Twitty is caught by the show's staff though he escapes, and shuts down the equipment monitoring the Stevens' groups. Donnie, the oldest Stevens' son, finds Tawny, and the newly reconstituted family comes together and learns the truth. They unite with Twitty and Tawny to stop Ren from killing Louis, because she believes he sold her and her new boyfriend out after being told by one of the island's natives. Ren corners him on a cliff, and despite the protests of the family and Miles McDermot, the show's host who tells her the truth, she pushes him off to his apparent death, much to the viewers' and Miles' horror.

As Miles breaks down in guilt, a helicopter from another reality show called "Gotcha" appears, reveals that Louis is safe, and that the Stevens family had tricked Miles; they planned a charade to get back at Miles for what he had done to them. The Stevens chase Miles away in an effort to attack him for all of his torment.

Louis tells Ren that as his sister, he loves messing with her, but he would never do anything to hurt her. He then suggests she start a relationship back on the mainland with Jason. Jason comes and apologizes to Ren for stringing her along, but Ren forgives him and says she understood he was just doing his job as an actor. Jason confesses that when he told her he loved her, he wasn't acting and his feelings were real. After the family returns home and Beans pops up at the Stevens' dinner to disrupt it again, Ren and Louis argue about who let Beans in the house. The movie ends with The Twitty Stevens Connection singing "Dream Vacation."

Cast

Reception

The Even Stevens Movie was the most-watched cable program on June 13, 2003, including dominating among kids 6–11 and tweens 9–14, and drawing 5.1 million total viewers.

VHS and DVD release

The Even Stevens Movie was released on DVD and VHS on June 28, 2005 in Region 1 countries.