Naman Shrestha
The Dylan Vox directorial, ‘Sabotaging the Squad,’ is a mystery thriller film that centers upon Missy, a recently widowed woman who is the mother of teenager Arielle. She gets the opportunity to become the next head coach of her daughter’s cheer squad, the 360s. However, this change is opposed by other cheer moms, including Darlene, the interim coach who has been in line to take over the job following the former coach’s suicide. Despite all the noise from the others, Missy focuses on the upcoming competition with the help of her friend and assistant coach, Gemma.
However, some unexpected hindrances begin occurring that sabotage her efforts, such as the team uniform being canceled and Missy getting locked up in a garage right before an important meeting. Things become all the more intense when one of the cheer moms is found dead under mysterious circumstances, making Missy seem like the culprit. Now, besides getting the cheerleaders ready for the competition, she must also clear her name before more cheer moms die. Featuring impressive performances from Meyon Jacobs, Lauren Mayo, Olivia Buckle, and Brittany Goodwin, the suspenseful movie consists of several realistic themes — murder, deceit, and jealousy — all of which are quite common in real life, leaving the audience wondering if it is an authentic story or not.
Sabotaging the Squad is Not Inspired by a True Story
No, ‘Sabotaging the Squad’ is not based on a true story. Instead, the enthralling story can be credited to the multi-talented personality, Jason-Shane Scott. Having a significant amount of experience under his belt working on thrillers like ‘My Diary of Lies,’ ‘Abduction Runs in the Family,‘ ‘Deadly Daughter Switch,’ ‘Dying for a Baby,’ and ‘Engaged to a Psycho,’ Scott managed to put his brilliant penmanship to use and conjure up the gripping yet realistic tale for the Lifetime movie.
In reality, there have been quite a few cases where cheer moms have gone to extreme lengths to get what they wanted. For instance, in 2021, a cheer mom named Raffaela Spone from Chalfont, Pennsylvania, was arrested for creating deepfake photos and videos of her daughter’s cheerleading rivals. She reportedly sent the edited pictures to the girls on the team as well as to the team’s coach. Thus, since ‘Sabotaging the Squad’ alludes to such true-to-life instances, many of you might find it realistic.
Moreover, themes of deceit and jealousy have also been explored in numerous other films and TV shows over the years. One such example is that of ‘Deadly Cheer Mom.’ Directed by Doug Campbell, the crime thriller movie is led by Tommi Rose who is accompanied by other actors in supporting roles, including Karla Mosley, Grace Patterson, Hannah Hueston, and Mena Suvari. It follows Beth who is made to leave the cheerleading squad after photos and videos of her smoking and drinking are spread across the school. While everyone judges her, Beth must do everything she can to prove her innocence, just like Missy in ‘Sabotaging the Squad.’ So, all in all, it can be concluded that the Lifetime film might have certain realistic elements, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is not rooted in reality.
Read More: Is Lifetime’s Identity Theft of a Cheerleader Based on a True Story?
