Plot

A champion high school cheerleading squad discovers its previous captain stole all their best routines from an inner-city school and must scramble to compete at this year's championships.

Torrance Shipman has been chosen to lead the Rancho Carne High cheer team in Big Red's place. Aaron thinks that Torrance can't lead the team to the championships, but she is determined to prove her so-called boyfriend wrong. During practice, Carver gets injured and she must find another teammate. Torrance picks Missy Pantone to take Carver's place, due to her athletic prowess. Missy soon notices the moves her team are performing during the game actually belongs to the Clovers, a rival high school she attended years ago. The Clovers team is lead by Isis, who is hell-bent on defeating Rancho Carne Toros. It is soon discovered that Big Red is responsible for stealing the Clovers' cheer routine by filming their moves secretly and claiming them as their original routine, causing Torrance to make a new cheerleading performance so they can qualify for the upcoming national championships. Torrance soon develops a romantic attraction for Cliff Pantone, an aspiring musician and Missy's brother.—dawsonpersi

The Toro cheerleading squad from Rancho Carne High School in San Diego has got spirit, spunk, sass and a killer routine that's sure to land them the national championship trophy for the sixth year in a row. But for newly-elected team captain Torrance, the Toros' road to total cheer glory takes a shady turn when she discovers that their perfectly-choreographed routines were in fact stolen from the Clovers, a hip-hop squad from East Compton, by the Toro's former captain. While the Toros scramble to come up with a new routine, the Clovers, led by squad captain Isis have their own problems - coming up with enough money to cover their travel expenses to the championships. With time running out and the pressure mounting, both captains drive their squads to the point of exhaustion: Torrance, hell bent on saving the Toros' reputation, and Isis more determined than ever to see that the Clovers finally get the recognition that they deserve. But only one team can bring home the title, so may the best moves win.—<[email protected]>

Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) anxiously dreams about her first day of senior year. She lives with her parents Bruce (Holmes Osborne), Christine (Sherry Hursey), and brother Justin (Cody McMains).

Her boyfriend, Aaron (Richard Hillman), has left for college (hoping that Torrance would join him the following year when she graduates high school), and her cheer-leading squad, the Toros, is aiming for a sixth consecutive national title. Team captain, "Big Red" (Lindsay Sloane), is graduating and Torrance is elected to take her place. The other members of the squad are Courtney (Clare Kramer) (an outspoken, catty girl), Whitney (Nicole Bilderback) (a mouthy girl), Darcy (Tsianina Joelson) (a rich girl whose dad usually pays for team functions), Kasey (Rini Bell) (a shy, soft-spoken girl), Jan (Nathan West) (a Handsy and overly sexual boy who constantly gets teased for being a male cheerleader), Les (Huntley Ritter) (a gay male cheerleader).

Teammate Darcy wanted to be captain as her dad pays for everything, while Courtney thought she is captain material as she is hot. Torrance's mother Christine is unhappy that Torrance is neglecting her studies to focus on cheer-leading. Torrance is clear that she is not a genius, and her priorities are fine for what she wants to do in life. Christine forces Torrance to take the Advance Chemistry class.

Shortly after her election, however, a team member Carver (Bianca Kajlich) is injured (while performing a "Wolf Wall" during practice) and can no longer compete as she is bedridden for 3 months. Regionals are in 4 weeks and the nationals are in February. Torrance conducts tryouts to find a replacement for Carver. She finds Missy Pantone (Eliza Dushku), a gymnast who recently transferred to the school with her brother, Cliff (Jesse Bradford). Torrance and Cliff quickly develop a flirtatious friendship. Missy is forced to join the cheer-leading squad as the school has no gymnastics team. She looks down upon cheerleaders as people with no brains. Torrance convinces Missy to join by saying that cheer-leading is a national sport, and she has the chance to be part of the best team out there.

After watching the Toros practice, Missy realizes the squad has been copying routines from a rival team of her previous high school. She drives Torrance to Los Angeles, where they watch the East Compton Clovers perform routines that are virtually identical to the Toros'. Isis (Gabrielle Union), the Clovers' team captain, angrily confronts the two with her teammates Jenelope (Natina Reed) and Lava (Shamari Fears). Torrance learns that "Big Red" regularly attended the Clovers' practices to videotape and steal their routines. Torrance worries that she is cursed with bad luck after she dropped the Spirit Stick, an object that is never supposed to touch the ground, during a dare at cheer camp over the summer. The Clovers vow to beat the Toros in the national competition, which they could not afford to attend in previous years due to economic hardship (lack of funding from the school) and prove that they are better cheerleaders. Torrance tells Isis that she had no idea about what Big Red had been doing for so many years and assures that she didn't come to make any tapes. Meanwhile, Torrance and Cliff begin to get to know each other, and a mutual attraction grows between them as Aaron becomes more distant.

When Torrance tells the Toros about the routines, the team still votes in favor of using the current routine to win; Torrance reluctantly agrees, feeling there is no time to learn a new routine, while Missy reluctantly goes along with it. At the Toros' next home game, Isis and her teammates show up and perform the Toro's routine in front of the whole school, humiliating them. The Toros realize they have no choice but to learn a different routine. After advice from Aaron, Torrance recruits the team to raise money through a car wash and hire choreographer Sparky Polastri (Ian Roberts). Polastri puts the whole team on a diet and regularly belittles them, but the team learns the routine in time for competition.

At Regionals, the team before the Toros performs the exact routine they had been practicing. The Toros' have no choice but to perform the same routine. After the debacle that ensues, Torrance speaks to a competition official and is told the routine was given to several other teams in California. As the defending champions, the Toros are nevertheless granted their place at Finals, but Torrance is warned that a new routine will be expected. Big Red chastises Torrance for her inability to be a leader and says that if she made any mistake as a squad leader, it was not stealing cheers but rather announcing Torrance as her successor. Crushed by Big Red's words and her failure to lead the squad successfully, Torrance considers quitting.

Cliff encourages and supports her, intensifying their growing attraction. Aaron, however, suggests that she isn't leadership material and recommends that she step down from her position. When Cliff sees Torrance and Aaron together, he severs his friendship with Torrance. Although distressed, Torrance's confidence is renewed by Cliff's encouragement and she convinces her unhappy team to create an innovative, new routine instead. She breaks up with Aaron, realizing his inability to be supportive and infidelity, but Cliff still refuses to forgive her.

Meanwhile, the Clovers are initially unable to compete at Nationals due to financial problems. This prompts Torrance to get her dad's company to sponsor the Clovers, but Isis rejects the money and gets her team to Nationals by appealing to a talk show host who grew up in their area. Instead, the Clovers write to a local talk show host from their neighborhood and get the funds needed to go to Florida. At nationals, both the Toros and the Clovers make it to the finals, with Cliff making a surprise appearance in the audience to cheer the team on. Torrance and Isis give each other last-minute advice. Ultimately, the Clovers come out victorious, with the Toros coming in second. Despite their loss, the Toros and Clovers leave with a newfound respect for each other, with Isis complimenting Torrance on leading the squad and Torrance admitting the Clovers were deserving of their victory. As the Toros celebrate another successful season, Cliff and Torrance share a kiss.