Varsity Blues

Good kids vs evil football coach. The only thing that can make such a movie watchable is memorable characters created by good actors, and here is where Varsity Blues succeeds. I love it when I go into a movie expecting to hate it and then end up enjoying it. Give this one a try.

Like a number of other reviewers, I though "Varsity Blues" wouldn't amount to much more than "Dawson Plays Football", MTV-style. Well, it's not -- it's actually quite good. It deals fairly realistically with the trials and tribulations of Dawson . . . sorry, Mox (James Van Der Beek), the backup quarterback more interested in "Catcher in the Rye" than in his own playbook, who is forced to become the starter for his team. The movie's filled with cliches: the town obsessed with the football team; the overweight, goofy lineman; the slutty cheerleader with the heart of gold; the arrogant coach; the teacher straight out of an early 80's Van Halen video; etc, etc. Surprisingly, there's enough twisted and wrinkles thrown into these cliches to make the story seem pretty fresh, if not entirely original. You know how the story's going to end, but you're not always sure how it's going to get there, and that's what keeps it interesting.

Van Der Beek is very good, much better that I ever thought I'd give him credit for. Also good: Paul Walker as the original starting quarterback, and Amy Smart as Van Der Beek's smart girlfriend. They played real characters as opposed to stereotypes, and I thought their performances really made the movie. Surprisingly, I thought the weakest link was Jon Voight as the head coach. He was a cardboard villain, no substance to him whatsoever. I kept waiting for the film to explain why he wanted to win so bad, why he'd push his kids with such inhuman cruelty . . . and besides "because he wants to win", an answer was never given. Too bad, although I think this was more the fault of the script than of Mr. Voight.

It's certainly not the best movie ever made -- for that matter, it's not even the best football movie ever made -- but it's still good. It has heart, and most of the performances make this film a cut above most of the "Teen Films" that are out there. A fun rental.

B-

Voight helps guide this ship and the young cast are surprisingly up to the challenge of being in his presence. The film is a little mixed early on as it flirts with teenage humour, but it course corrects later. The film is better when it deals with the competitive nature of sport in small towns. The final third of this movie is the best part and saves an odd film narrative from being completely overshadowed by teenage cheap humour.

From the previews, you would think that this movie is all fluff. But, there is actually a story involved here. Kids trying to be all that they can be despite a winning-obsessed coach (well played by Jon Voight) and pressures by parents and the town. Van Der Beek plays "Mox" very well, and there is a great soundtrack. It is better than most of the teen movies this year and deserves a watch.

Since this is a teen-oriented film, I must confess that I wasn't expecting this to be very entertaining. However, thanks to a generally intelligent script and a great job by Jon Voight, this turned out to be surprisingly good. As you would probably expect in a teen movie, there are some scenes that seem juvenile and pointless, but thankfully, this film manages to limit these needless diversions. The central story, although a familiar one, is well written and rather interesting. Definitely worth checking out.