Malcolm thinks he has enough to cope with, being the middle child in his less-than-perfect family, until he is transferred to a class for intellectually gifted students, which means everyone else in school thinks he must be socially hopeless.

Malcolm and Reese decide to get even with Dewey by scaring him with a stuffed monkey called Banana Joe, but it may really bring misfortune—their mother is insisting that the two boys be on the same team for the school's Survivor Day competition.

When an exchange student from another school stays with his family for a week, Malcolm finds himself in competition with her at home and in school.

After Malcolm and his family are taken hostage by an aspiring actress and her manager, Malcolm tries to figure out a plan to escape while Reese tries to join them and Dewey wonders if any of the police know Batman.