At the 2003 World Winter Sport Games, rival men's singles skaters Chazz Michael Michaels, a skillful skater but raunchy sex addict and Jimmy McElroy, a talented, effeminate skater tie for gold and an argument ensues on the awards podium. It quickly develops into a fight. Having disgraced their sport, they both are stripped of their gold medals, and receive a lifetime ban from men's singles competition. Jimmy's incredibly competitive adoptive father, billionaire Darren MacElroy, immediately disowns him and leaves him on the side of the road.
Three and a half years later, Jimmy is working at a winter sporting goods store and gets demoted to sorting out the stock when he refuses to listen to a customer telling him her skating boot is too tight. Chazz skates in the kiddie skating show "Grublets on Ice" as the "Evil Wizard", has gained a lot of weight, and gets fired from his job for being in a drunken stupor on stage. Jimmy's stalker Hector tells him of a loophole in the ban: he is banned only from singles skating and can still compete in pair skating or ice dancing. Jimmy contacts his old coach, but is unable to find a female partner. Jimmy's search for a partner leads him to Chazz, and his coach convinces the two of them to join up as a same-sex pairs team, because of a loophole in the regulations (also found by Hector) that fails to state the genders of the pairs and dance team.
The reigning U.S. national pairs champions, the brother-sister team of Stranz (Will Arnett) and Fairchild (Amy Poehler) van Waldenberg, see the new pair as a threat to their dominance and begin to conspire against Chazz and Jimmy. The pair convince their sister Katie (Jenna Fischer) to spy on the new team. They always take advantage of her by reminding her of the death of her parents, who were in a car accident while driving young Katie to her ice skating practice. In the process, she becomes acquainted with Jimmy and they develop a relationship. Although Chazz and Jimmy are initially disgusted by each other, they eventually develop a friendship. They compete at the United States Figure Skating Championships by doing a "Fire and Ice" routine, and earn a chance to compete at the Winter Sport Games once again, this time as a pairs team.