Varsity Blues (1999)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Brian Robbins

Writer (WGA):

W. Peter Iliff (written by)

Release Date:

15 January 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Make your own rules.

Plot:

In small-town Texas, high school football is a religion. The head coach is deified, as long as the team...

Plot Keywords:

Quarterback | Coach | Texas | High School Football | High School

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

James Van Der Beek	...	Jonathon 'Mox' Moxon
Amy Smart	...	Jules Harbor
Jon Voight	...	Coach Bud Kilmer
Paul Walker	...	Lance Harbor
Ron Lester	...	Billy Bob
Scott Caan	...	Charlie Tweeder
Richard Lineback	...	Joe Harbor
Ali Larter	...	Darcy Sears
Tiffany C. Love	...	Collette Harbor
Eliel Swinton	...	Wendell Brown
Thomas F. Duffy	...	Sam Moxon
Jill Parker-Jones	...	Mo Moxon (as Jill Parker Jones)
Tonie Perensky	...	Miss Davis
Joe Pichler	...	Kyle Moxon
Mark Walters	...	Chet McNurty

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language throughout, sexuality and nudity, and some substance abuse.

Runtime:

106 min | Germany:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-10 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Tova Laiter Production

Trivia:

On the DVD trailer for this film there are several scenes that never appear in the movie. For example, there is a clip with Jules tells Mox: "You woke up in the twilight zone....West Canaan, sex and football. That's all there is." Another scene where a girl in the pep-rally asks Lance to sign her ass also never appears.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Cyotes are playing Wanesboro Broncos, visible in the background is a sign in the fence stating "Go Wildcats" which is the mascot of Elgin, Texas, where most of the movie was filmed.

Quotes:

Police Officer: These kids there just running around wild these days. Them kids last night they stole a cop car.
Bar Man: NO?
Police Officer: Yes! And then they exposed theyselves!
Bar Man: Exposed theyselves?
Police Officer: Yes! They put them wieners on the glass at the Alano Club, while the ladies were rehearsing the Christmas pageant.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Comebacks (2007)

Soundtrack:

Walkin' the Line

An enjoyable, entertaining diversion; what a movie is supposed to be.

This is an unpretentious and entertaining movie about high school football in a small Texas community. OK, so we know who will win the Big Game, and that the Hero won't sell out to the mean and selfish 23-District-Championships-Coach (Jon Voigt). The movie is well paced and a pleasant diversion; (many in the audience actually applauded at the climactic scenes in the final moments).

What I find most interesting about the fact that this film was produced in association with MTV, is that for a Network ostensibly dedicated to iconoclastic themes and attitudes (i.e., anti-establishment and counter-culture), this movie is remarkably "old-fashioned" in the adherence to values espoused by the hero. After he becomes the starting quarterback, he resists the come-ons of his predecessor's beautiful girlfriend, and he will sacrifice his own scholarship to Brown University (an Ivy League school in Rhode Island for those of you not familiar) rather than let another player be used and potentially physically damaged by the unscrupulous coach.

Some of the scenes are reminiscent of other football films: The Longest Yard, All the Right Moves, North Dallas Forty, and so on, but I guess there are no real surprises these days after decades of the same essential stories in Hollywood. This is not just a "football movie" or a "guy movie" however, and it's well worth a look.