| Varsity Blues | | Cast : | James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight | | Director : | Brian Robbins | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | January 15, 1999 | | DVD Released Date : | May 31, 1999 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 27, 2005 | | Summary | Good movie, but not enough Paul Walker | Content
 | Okay, I know this was a James Van Der Beek geared movie, but I wish it had shown more of Paul Walker's character. One of the most interesting things about the story was that Lance and Jonathan were best friends. We never really got to see how these guys actually worked through the strains that were put on their friendship by everything that happened - before and during the movie.
Jonathan had been in Lance's shadow for years. Everyone in town worshiped Lance, young and old. Then Jon became the star because Lance got hurt. Lance's girlfriend dropped him and went after Jon. Jon got into Brown Univeristy while Lance's dreams went down the drain. I mean, one trip to the the strip club and everythings okay?
Paul Walker is a good actor and could have done great with some meatier scenes and a bigger role. Too bad the director couldn't see that.
But that aside, Van Der Beek is good and Jon Voight was perfect as the coach. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 16, 2005 | | Summary | A fun movie about modern day high school football... | Content
| James Van Der Beek stars as Jonathan Moxon, the back-up quarterback on his high-school football team, the West Canaan Coyotes. In West Canaan, the only thing that matters is football, and the man who matters is the one with 22 divisional championships, coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight). Mox, as the young "A" student is called, is wrapping up his senior year on his way to Brown University in the shadow of his childhood friend, star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker).
With only five games until the end of the season, Kilmer pushes his players too hard, and Lance suffers a career-ending injury, forcing Mox to play and win the game. Now the starter, Mox must deal with his newfound celebrity; the attentions of Lance's girlfriend, head-cheerleader Darcy (Ali Larter); prevent his friends and fellow players Billy Bob (Ron Lester) and Tweeder (Scott Caan) from self-destructing; prevent Coach Kilmer from crushing everybody; and hold on to his own girlfriend, Lance's sister Jules (Amy Smart). Oh, and Mox must also win the championship and prove himself the hero |
| Rating | | | Date | April 27, 2005 | | Summary | School Sports Needs to Be Reexamined | Content
| I watched this movie in the theatre in 1999 and have to say that it was a good movie. It made me cry a bit because I at that time I was out of work and wondering how I was going to make ends meet. Let's not get personal here.
The movie begins with four boys playing football. They are having fun. Then it goes back to the present. The same boys are now teenagers and playing high school football. It's not all fun and games. It's about winning the championship and glorifying the coach. I can't believe that they even have a statue of him! He is no Abraham Lincoln. Give me a break.
As I was saying, the main character Jonathan "Mox" Moxon, played by James Van Der Beek (with dyed brown hair) plays high school football and reads literature on the side. He is more concerned about his academic abilities than he is about the game. When the QB Lance Harbour, played by Paul Walker (Fast and Furious series)is injured, Moxon has to take his place. The spotlight at first, is engrossing. But he realizes that it will jeopardize the person that he--trustworthy and understanding. The last thing he wants is to steal his best friend's girl.
The movie doesn't only focus on Moxon, but his friends--Lance, Billy Bob, Charlie Tweeder, and Wendell Brown are also affected by the pressures of football and their relationship with the coach.
"Varsity Blues" focuses on the pride of school sports in small-towns that sometimes gets out of control. Parents have high expectations of what their son or daughter should be--an athlete or a cheerleader. And Mox's father wanted his son to live up to his expectations because he was never able to live up to his dream.
This movie is a cathartic. Whenever you feel like life is throwing you a curveball, watch this movie. Jonathan Moxon never allowed anyone or anything to get in his way. He knew what he wanted and was determined to go after it and also help his fellow teammates. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 04, 2005 | | Summary | Consider this Friday Night Lights, with an fun touch to it | Content
| Varsity Blues was to the late 1990s moviegoer what Friday Night Lights is to today's movie-watcher: the ultimate underdog story of a team from Texas who can overcome the obstacles tossed at them both on and off the field to prove that they are the best around.
The film focuses on the kids who play for the West Camen Coyotes, who are making their way towards trying to win their 23rd State football championship in the last 30 years under their hard-nosed coach, Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight). But when the team's star quarterback (Paul Walker, before he went "Fast and the Furious") is taken down and injured on a play, the duty gets passed to backup QB Jonathan "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek), who is more concerned with proving himself academically than on the field.
When Moxon shows that he's no bench-warmer and leads the team while showing compassion for his fallen teammate and his active players, his down-home charm and unconventional tactics on the field (like setting a hook-and-ladder play using the team's 350-pound linebacker) clash with Kilmer's take no prisoners attitude.
Add on the fact that he has to deal with trying to maintain his relationship with his girlfriend and dealing with the new celebrity that comes with his success on the field, while avoiding the advances of a cheerleader who just happens to be the girlfriend of his friend (Ali Larter)and the fact that his is trying to escape from under the shadow of his father who also played under Kilmer and you get a guy that has the biggest task in bringing the championship home while showing that one individual can make the ultimate difference.
This film has moments and plot points that to many may seem extremely hokey (Admit it...don't we all wish we had or remember that one teacher that we WISHED was an exotic dancer on the side?), and some moments contain elements that might seem just unintentionally appropos (During the scene when Ali's character tries to seduce Mox with the now-famous whipped-cream "bikini" the song If Your Girl Only Knew by Aaliyah played in the background. Coincidence? I think not...), but this is what Friday Night Lights would become 6 years later...a feel-good movie with the right tough of angst and fun in one sweet package.
SO if you want a little bit of FNL with a laugh or two thrown in for good measure, the hit the field for a case of the Varsity Blues... |
| Rating | | | Date | September 16, 2004 | | Summary | Varsity Blues Understands Small Town Life, But Misses Big | Content
| Varsity Blues isn't a brilliant film. What it does well is depict the small town obsession with high school sports in a way that few films have done before. Having grown up part of my life in small town America, knowing how the coach of the local team can be often more powerful than the mayor or the police, this is a frightening portrait that touches a real nerve.
The story itself, the acting, etc. -- those things are unremarkable. It makes sense that another movie, Friday Night Lights, is reattempting the story of a small town football team, because Varsity Blues doesn't quite nail the whole package.
In any event, it is entertaining, it has some great dramatic moments, and if you went into it expecting very little (like I did), you will be quite pleasantly surprised. If you're expecting a great sports movie, then there are many others for you to discover. |
|
|
|
|
