Varsity Blues

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Marc F The film gets the football action right…the camera work is excellent and captures the urgency of these moments. But really football is a vehicle to address the underlying theme which is narrative regarding coming of age and finding your place in the world. IMO this effective because the vehicle is understandable and conflict is relatable for high schoolers, college students, and adults; we all have struggles with who we’re meant to be. The film explores those fleeting moments we seldom get to experience again. This example is football, but other examples apply. Overall the acting is good, the football hits and the underlying themes are relatable. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/19/25 Full Review Lance C. I love this movie and it’s a classic to me. It’s rewatchable not because a second or third watch is going to reveal something you missed, but it’s just a fun movie about high school football in Texas. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/17/25 Full Review Michael N Anyone who grew up in a small, football centered town can relate. Not just to the sports aspect but also to the shenanigans of small town life as well. Though it does have the cliche' win-on-the-last-play ending of every sports movie it really doesn't matter. The movie still wins! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/20/25 Full Review Ola G In the small town of West Canaan, Texas, Jonathan "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek) is an academically gifted backup quarterback for the 1A high school Varsity football team, the West Canaan Coyotes. Despite his relative popularity at school, easy friendships with other players, and relationship with girlfriend Jules Harbor (Amy Smart), Mox is dissatisfied with his life. Wanting to leave Texas and attend Brown University, he constantly clashes with his football-obsessed father Sam, and dreads playing under legendary coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight), a verbally abusive, controlling authority who believes in winning at all costs. Kilmer's philosophy finally takes its toll when he pushes the Coyotes' star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker), Mox's best friend and Jules' older brother, into taking painkilling shots into an injured knee. This leads to Lance injuring the knee further during a game, partly because Kilmer had forced offensive lineman Billy Bob to continue playing despite a concussion. At the hospital, the doctors, appalled at the massive amount of scar tissue found under his knee, explain that recovery will take at least a year and a half, costing Lance his football scholarship to Florida State. Mox, who has accompanied Lance, is shocked when Kilmer denies his role in Lance's injury, when in fact he ordered the trainer to provide the painkillers. Needing a new quarterback, Kilmer reluctantly names Mox to replace Lance as team captain and starting quarterback, which brings unexpected dividends for Mox... Rotten Tomatoes consensus states, "This is a predictable football movie that lacks intensity." Roger Ebert noted in his Chicago Sun-Times review that, "Scenes work, but they don't pile up and build momentum." ReelViews online film critic James Berardinelli's summary was that although it "takes a worthwhile detour or two, it ultimately finds its way back to the well-worn track of its genre." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also gave a positive review, remarking that while the film "has its shallow gags and cliché characters…it also creates a vivid portrait of a small-town community in the grip of an obsession". (via Wikipedia) I saw "Varsity Blues" many years ago, I guess when it came out, and I thought I should give it a shot again after all these years. It's a truly cliché ridden, quite dumb, shallow and formulaic film to be honest. All the clichés are ticked in this film and it's not a surprise since it´s a MTV production of the 90s. Despite the fact that the script does try to shine a light on the pressures of adolescence and how a football-obsessed community pushes their players over the limit and endangering their health, this is done in such an average way with truly wobbly acting performances based on a wobbly script. The fact is also that James Van Der Beek in the lead simply can't handle the role as Jonathan "Mox" Moxon as he is simply not believable. He is still Dawson no matter what I am afraid to say and his Texas dialect doesn't fool anyone. Yes, some football sequences are solid and some of the soundtrack songs are very good for sure, but that is hardly enough to give this film more than a 2 out of 5. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/06/25 Full Review Dave G Nothing groundbreaking here, a bit of fun from the late 90's. It's an above average teen football flick with enough to keep you engaged. Well shot and some memorable scenes. This movie caught me at the right time all those years ago and remains one of my sentimental faves, even if it isn't more than average for most. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/25 Full Review J W This movie was already shitty but it totally lost me when Scott Caan said "All women are panty droppers" and "You just gotta give them a couple Vicodin, a Percocet and a couple beers and they'll drop their panties". I've never heard anything more disgusting and weird from a major movie. I wouldn't be surprised if this instigated drugging, getting girls drunk and raping them on college campuses. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 08/23/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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