Varsity Blues

R

Released Jan 15, 1999

1h 44m

Comedy

Drama

TRAILER

for Varsity Blues: Trailer 1

List

45%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

76%

Audience Score

100,000+ Ratings

In West Canaan, Texas, high school football reigns supreme. When starting quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) turns up injured, the Coyotes' ruthless coach, Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight), must promote benchwarmer Jonathon "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek) to lead the team in its quest for a divisional title. Suddenly thrown into the spotlight, Mox must deal with the pressure of carrying the aspirations of an entire town on his shoulders, as he struggles to pursue his own very different dreams.

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Critics Consensus

This is a predictable football movie that lacks intensity.

Read Critics Reviews

Susan Stark

Detroit News

Rated: 1/4

Oct 19, 2002

Full Review

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Rated: 3/5

May 11, 2001

Full Review

Mike Musgrove

Washington Post

It delivers the goods in a fresh manner.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Allison Rose

FlickDirect

Varsity Blues is a fun, teen movie but that is about it.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 9, 2024

Full Review

Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

Now, 25 years later, even when realizing that maybe the heroes of this story shouldn’t have their faults laughed off so much (Tweeder really should be in jail), there’s still a lot of good left.

Jan 8, 2024

Full Review

Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

High school football drama has swearing, nudity, sexism.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 7, 2020

Full Review

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Matt D

Great movie, better on rewatch. It was ok back in the day because we were flooded with HS Movies, but I watched it again recently and it’s gotten better with age. Actors like Scott Caan and JVB make it even better

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/15/24

Full Review

Austin M

Overall it's a great football movie that captures the essence of highschool football is like a holiday for a small town and what life is like in highschool. Certain characters can be overbearing to watch at some points and the comedy doesn't hit at some points. But the biggest positive out of this movie is that it has a lot of heart.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/14/24

Full Review

Nathan W

Not the most well acted film but not bad either. It had a good a good story, was well directed and had a lot of heart, all of which made for an enjoyable viewing experience.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

Jeff C

Such a trash movie...20 minutes into it I already hated Vanderbeek and Voight...characters were so formulaic and they didn't even try to be more. Crazy awful movie!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

Full Review

Chris M

Two words, TONE WHIPLASH. It can't make up it's mind if it's a coming of age comedy like "Porky's" or a sports melodrama like "Any Given Sunday". I don't mind a drama to have a sense of humor, in fact I prefer it. But not when the drama comes out of nowhere then stops without warning. Plus the sheriff, the law is afraid of the High School football coach. Which is so insanely stupid it's not even funny. He's the coach, not the mobster. Plus, the father trying to force the child to follow in his footsteps cliché. Plus there is a ton of underage drinking. I know football stars get away with a ton in these spit towns but I think in this movie they would get away with murder. But it is slightly better than "Any Given Sunday". But not by much.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/19/23

Full Review

Adam P

I like this one a lot. The 90s vibes are strong and I'm here for that. The biggest flaw here is that it's too damn melodramatic. There are big issues at play, but most of the time it doesn't feel like it earned the right to address them through the character development. It's still more than decent, just not one that I love. 7.75/10

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/09/23

Full Review

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Brian Robbins

Director

James Van Der Beek

Jonathon "Mox" Moxon

Jon Voight

Coach Bud Kilmer

Paul Walker

Lance Harbour

Ron Lester

Billy Bob

Scott Caan

Charlie Tweeder

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Varsity Blues: Official Clip - Billy Bob's Touchdown

2:12

Varsity Blues: Official Clip - The Whipped Cream Bikini

2:11

Varsity Blues: Official Clip - No Huddle Offense

1:42

Varsity Blues: Official Clip - Playing Hungover

2:12

Varsity Blues: Official Clip - Harbor Goes Down

2:03

Varsity Blues: Official Clip - One for Wendell

2:04

Varsity Blues: Official Clip - Coach Kilmer's Final Game

2:13

Varsity Blues: Official Clip - Beer Can Challenge

2:10

Varsity Blues: Official Clip - Second String

1:55

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Varsity Blues: Trailer 1

2:11

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Synopsis

In West Canaan, Texas, high school football reigns supreme. When starting quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) turns up injured, the Coyotes' ruthless coach, Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight), must promote benchwarmer Jonathon "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek) to lead the team in its quest for a divisional title. Suddenly thrown into the spotlight, Mox must deal with the pressure of carrying the aspirations of an entire town on his shoulders, as he struggles to pursue his own very different dreams.

Director: Brian Robbins
Producer: Tova Laiter, Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin
Screenwriter: W. Peter Iliff
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Marquee Tollin/Robins, MTV Films
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 15, 1999, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $52.9M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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