Winning London

Just over 21 years ago on March 27th, 2001, Mary-Kate and Ashley released their 3rd teenage fantasy travel film, Winning London, and winter wear would never be the same again.Much to their nerdy fans' delight, this movie was about two twin sisters, Riley and Chloe's school trip to compete in the Model UN Championship in London, England. Not only would we finally see Mary-Kate as a type-A overachiever, but we also got to see Ashley as a free-spirited slacker. Mix this twin swap with a European backdrop and the cutest boys of any of their movies (fight me), and you have an instant Olsen twins classic.Becca and Lani reflect on what this movie meant to us as tweens (spoiler alert: we were obsessed), how it holds up 21 years later, and dissect Riley and Chloe's character archs. We  speculate over how much of this movie was an advertisement for their clothing line and  TV show coming out later that year (I mean, they used the exact same names in So Little Time, c'mon), and ponder yet again whether or not Dualstar helped shield them from the exploitation that other teen stars like Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff experienced.But most of all, we express gratitude for having this fun, wholesome, nerdy, (and sometimes horny) movie as tweens. It taught us to be ambitious, stay humble, and not be ashamed to order cokes at a teen club. Also, don't clean up after lost boys.So go rewatch this comforting, feel-good, rainy day, crystal dove of teen films, and join us on this delightful trip up Abbey Road and down memory lane.Watch Winning London here (Courtesy of our Olsen angel @SimplyOlsen)Find us on Social Media!Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyouTikTok: @theythoughtiwasyouBecca: @beccarothLani: @laniharmsThoughts/questions? Email us at: [email protected] the show