Bring It On Again 2004

Whittier Smith, Anne Judson-Yager, arrives at the fictional California State College with a clear dream: to join the national champion varsity cheerleading team. She reconnects with her cheer camp friend Monica Jones, Faune Chambers Watkins, and the two deliver standout performances at the tryouts. Head cheerleader Tina Hammersmith, Bree Turner, is ready to recruit them, but fellow cheerleader Greg, Bryce Johnson, goes a step further, telling Tina that Whittier will be the next head cheerleader. This sparks tension, especially with Tina’s ally Marni Potts, Bethany Joy Lenz, who holds her own ambitions close. Yet, at the urging of Dean Sebastian, Kevin Cooney, Tina agrees to take Whittier under her wing and show her the ropes.

Whittier soon crosses paths with Derek, Richard Lee Jackson, a campus DJ who takes an immediate interest in her. Tina’s strict, almost controlling approach grows more pronounced, warning Whittier that Derek isn’t the right kind of boy to date. Monica notices Tina’s meddling and the toxic grip it has on the team’s dynamics, while Whittier’s own ambition occasionally clashes with loyalty. A key strike of fate, fueled by Tina’s heavy-handed discipline, injures Monica, and Whittier is forced to choose between friendship and the squad. The moment forces both women to reevaluate what they want from cheer—and from each other.

Fed up with Tina’s tyranny, Whittier and Monica decide to walk away from the varsity squad. Yet their school spirit remains unbroken. With Monica’s encouragement, Whittier reaches out to the school’s outcasts—students from the drama club, the dance club, and other groups that had seen funding diverted away from them—and they band together to form a ragtag, stubbornly hopeful squad. This new coalition sets its sights on challenging the established program for a slot at the national championship.

The season’s climactic showdown pits Whittier’s eclectic crew against the reigning varsity squad, and the underdogs prevail, clinching a coveted place at nationals. In the aftermath, Whittier extends an olive branch to Tina, offering her a chance to join the new team. Tina, initially reluctant, gradually reveals a desire to be part of this renewed spirit. The film closes on a note of shifting loyalties and fresh possibilities, with Tina’s eagerness to align with Whittier and Monica signaling a new chapter—and Marni’s reaction providing a final, comedic flare as she processes the changing dynamics.