She Drives Me Crazy

Scottie Zajac is a senior shooting guard at Grandma Earl High School in Grandma Earl, Georgia, a small town named for its famous year-round Christmas emporium. During a preseason game against rival Candlehawk Prep from the wealthier township next door, Scottie plays terribly while guarding her ex-girlfriend, Tally Gibson, who transferred to Candlehawk for its better basketball program and broke up with Scottie in the process. Scottie's best friend, Danielle Zander, the team's point guard and de facto coach, urges her to focus, but Scottie loses her temper after a Candlehawk player dismisses her as a nobody. After the game, Tally returns Scottie's basketball picture button, a keepsake from their relationship, and Scottie vows to beat Candlehawk at the Christmas Classic.

Leaving the parking lot distracted by Tally's departing car, Scottie rear-ends a car belonging to Irene Abraham, the varsity cheerleading captain and the most popular girl in her grade. The previous spring, Irene had Scottie's car towed at a party, leaving Scottie humiliated. When their mothers arrive, Scottie covers for Irene by not mentioning the tow truck, and Irene claims she cheers for Scottie's team. Scottie's mother volunteers Scottie to drive Irene to school until her car is repaired, since they live on neighboring streets.

At home, Scottie's older sister Thora tells her she has become "a walking insecurity" since dating Tally and advises her to project confidence until it becomes real. The carpool week is tense but revealing: Irene surprises Scottie with her intellectual depth during a critique of the school's Eurocentric AP history curriculum. Scottie angers Irene by dismissing cheerleading as mere performance and telling her that no one, including her own mother, takes her seriously. They part in furious silence. Despite the animosity, the arrangement brings unexpected benefits. Tally texts jealously after seeing photos of them together, and Irene's squad begins watching basketball practice, giving the team its first cheering section.

During Homecoming weekend, Scottie overhears Irene confiding in her best friend, Honey-Belle Hewett, the great-granddaughter of the Emporium's founder. Scottie learns that Irene likes girls, cannot pay her $1,000 car insurance deductible without quitting cheerleading, and needs to win Student Athlete of the Year (SAOY) to gain scholarship leverage with Benson University, whose cheer squad is recruiting her. Irene's mother pressures her to prioritize academics over cheerleading. At the after-party, Scottie proposes a deal: She will pay Irene $1,000 from her summer savings if Irene agrees to fake-date her. Scottie gains social capital and can make Tally jealous; Irene keeps cheerleading and pursues SAOY. Irene agrees, stipulating that any coming out will happen on her terms.

They debut as a couple on Monday, creating a sensation. Irene changes the cheerleading schedule so her squad cheers for girls' basketball, and the first home game draws a packed crowd. The team rolls into an undefeated season. Tension rises when Scottie pushes to attend a Thanksgiving party thrown by Charlotte Pascal, Irene's bitter enemy. Irene refuses, insisting she is a person with feelings, not an escort for hire. They give each other space until Scottie shields Irene from humiliation: In class, when a teacher reads aloud a confiscated note in which Charlotte calls Irene a "predatory bitch," Scottie snatches the note and destroys it, earning detention. Irene softens and agrees to attend the party.

At the party, Scottie sees Tally kissing another girl and is devastated. Irene comforts her, pointing out that Scottie's scheme to manipulate Tally is no better than what Tally does to Scottie. Charlotte retaliates by playing a year-old video in which a drunk Irene denies being gay, undermining Irene's coming out. Scottie pulls Irene outside. The four girls retreat to Honey-Belle's house, where Irene reveals her painful history with Charlotte: They hooked up repeatedly, Irene fell in love, and Charlotte exploited those feelings. Sharing a bed that night, Scottie feels an unwanted pull of attraction toward Irene.

The fake relationship deepens over the following weeks. On a double date with Honey-Belle and Scottie's friend Gunther Thomas, they watch Say Anything . . . Irene dismisses the iconic boom box scene as "empty and self-indulgent," insisting grand gestures are no substitute for honest communication. At the Christmas Classic, the team dominates Candlehawk by 11 points. At the after-party, Irene kisses Scottie in front of the crowd. The kiss feels genuine, and Scottie realizes she has real feelings for Irene but remains paralyzed by grief over Tally.

On Christmas Eve, Irene gives Scottie a wristwatch, teasing her about always being late, and asks her on a real date. Scottie admits she is not over Tally. Irene tells her to take all the time she needs. Instead of moving on, Scottie visits Tally on New Year's Eve. At a party, a drunk Tally kisses Scottie. Scottie stops the kiss and takes Tally home. Charlotte secretly photographs the kiss.

Weeks later, Charlotte shows Irene the photo publicly. Irene breaks down and declares the arrangement finished. She reveals the truth about the tow truck: She had intended to tow the car of Prescott, Charlotte's Candlehawk boyfriend, whose green Jetta was identical to Scottie's, but she read the wrong license plate. Irene draws a parallel between her own self-destructive past and Scottie's current behavior, then drives away.

Scottie confesses everything to her family. Her father contrasts the anxious "butterflies" of infatuation with the steady warmth of healthy love, which he calls "bumblebees." Scottie commits to genuine healing: She gardens with her mother, burns Tally's old letters, and practices free throws alone. At school, teammates refuse to pass her the ball. She tells Gunther and her friend Kevin the truth, and they respond with loyalty. She pushes Danielle to rewrite her college essay about coaching the team, and Danielle eventually submits it.

When SAOY nominations are announced, Irene, Danielle, and Charlotte are all named. Charlotte posts the kissing photo on Instagram, captioning it to suggest Irene faked her sexuality for votes. Scottie confronts Charlotte with empathy, telling her she recognizes Charlotte is in pain.

For the district championship against Candlehawk, Scottie orchestrates a grand gesture rooted in authenticity. She enlists the cheerleading squad to teach her a halftime routine set to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing, Irene's favorite movie. Gunther, who plays the school mascot, will assist with the iconic lift. Scottie also visits Irene's mother, Dr. Abraham, at her optometry practice and persuades her to attend the game to watch Irene cheer.

At halftime, Scottie runs onto the court in a borrowed cheerleading uniform, performs with the squad, and uses a lapel microphone to declare her real feelings for Irene. Irene dashes from the bleachers and kisses her. In the stands, Dr. Abraham beams with pride. In the second half, Scottie proposes a defensive switch to protect Danielle from fouling out. In the fourth quarter, Tally falls after a foul, and Scottie helps her up, telling her calmly, "It's just a game." Scottie fouls out with seconds remaining, but the strategy keeps Danielle in the game. Trailing by two, Danielle hits a three-pointer at the buzzer to win the district championship.

Irene drops out of the SAOY competition after her mother, moved by what she witnessed, offers to help fund Irene's attendance at Benson. Irene endorses Danielle, who wins SAOY. The six friends, Scottie, Irene, Danielle, Kevin, Gunther, and Honey-Belle, settle into happiness as senior year winds down. In the final scene, Irene recreates the Say Anything . . . boom box gesture in the school parking lot but plays "She Drives Me Crazy" by the Fine Young Cannibals, because the original is "so fucking cheesy." Scottie laughs and kisses her, reflecting that before you can worry about who is in your passenger seat, you have to learn to drive yourself.