Varsity Blues
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Movie Reviews of Varsity Blues
Movie Review: The hard work of so many, sacrificed by the disrespect of few
Summary: 4 Stars
In 'Mean Girls' there is a reference to 'Varsity Blues.' In a montage of ordinary students who are in awe of Regina George (Rachel McAdams), one of them comments that her favorite movie is 'Varsity Blues.' I thought that Tina Fey and the 'Mean Girls' writers must have been mocking this movie, so I decided that if it was worth mocking, it would be worth watching. If it's good enough for Regina George, it's good enough for me. Let the mocking begin:
Top Ten Reasons to Watch 'Varsity Blues'
1. Football. & football in Texas is like a religion. Did I say like? In Texas, football IS a religion. Though an actual high school football player might scoff at 'Varsity Blues' with regards to the football scenes, I believe that the football scenes are some of the best scenes in 'Varsity Blues.' The actors trained like athletes, and were surrounded by actual football players, and when they filmed the football scenes, they were playing for keeps.
2. Billy Bob. At first he seemed a cartoonish, cardboard, 2-dimensional character. He has a pet pig that he treated like a pet dog. Ron Lester was 28 but he pulled off a character only 18, albeit a big boy, but because he possessed such a baby face. Though he seemed a buffoon at first glance, his story arc was in actual fact serious drama. He sneaked in under the radar making you think he was just a clown, but then sucker punched you with a dramatic scene.
3. Charlie Tweeder. I wish I could quote you some of his bon mots, but they would all be bleeped by the censor.
Charlie Tweeder: Hey you wanna see the new Tweeder end zone dance?
[Tweeder dances]
Charlie Tweeder: You know what it's called?
Mox: What?
Charlie Tweeder: The new Tweeder end zone dance.
Charlie Tweeder is one particular piece of humanity. He is an unbridled id, representing the archetypal party animal, the jock on the loose, the one who gets away with everything because he plays on the football team.
4. Bud Kilmer. Jon Voight played Bud, a coach with a killer instinct, pushing them to win at any cost. He made a darn good villain.
Bud Kilmer: Never show weakness, the only pain that matters is the pain you inflict.
5. Jules Harbor. Amy Smart played Lance's sister, Jules.
6. Darcy Sears. Ali Larter played Lance's girlfriend, Darcy Sears.
Darcy: Baby I got so excited thinking about next year and Florida state and the future, I think I need to be your wide receiver
Lance: Here baby
Darcy: Well not "here" here, but somewhere here.
7. Kyle. His younger brother is a total nutcase, which is a little over the top, but somehow the manic zaniness blends with the more somber tones. Kyle is always deep into the latest flavor of religion; he is wearing pure white robes or has a cult of followers worshiping him. You'd think it would disrupt the whole time-space continuum, but 'Varsity Blues' was somehow able to get away with it time after time.
Mo Moxon: Kyle, did you start a cult?
Kyle: Yup.
Mo Moxon: That is so sweet!
8. Lance Harbor. Paul Walker played Lance, the quarterback who was the star of their town until an injury sidelined him. Not just a pretty face, he can act as well.
9. Jonathon 'Mox' Moxon. What a great name for this character. He mocks. Ergo, 'Mox.' James Van Der Beek is well known to young females of a certain demographic for his role as Dawson Leery of television's 'Dawson Creek.' He brings a lot to his part; he is the strong moral center that holds the story together, the throw rug that ties the whole room together, to quote The Dude.
He is a little bit smarter than most of the small town hicks, but he only mocks them in his own mind. His eyes roll ever so slightly, but we can tell what he is thinking. He is too polite and charming to say it out loud. But we hear you loud and clear.
Because Lance is the star quarterback, Moxon is content to sit on the bench reading 'Slaughter House Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. He hides it in his playbook, but he isn't as smart as he thinks he is, and Coach Bud Kilmer sees right through him:
Coach Bud Kilmer: You got to be the dumbest smart kid I know.
10. Miss Davis. Tonie Perensky as Miss Davis embodies yet another archetype that springs to life before our eyes in 'Varsity Blues.' She is the sexy librarian, or in this case the bespectacled teacher, who moonlights as a stripper. Though this is a universal fantasy of adolescent males, and I am acutely aware that I am being manipulated, I don't mind being manipulated in the least. Manipulate away.
Billy Bob: Miss Davis, would you go to the prom with me?
When the team visits her place of employment in the evening, and she dances for them, she bears a distinct resemblance to Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. Though this movie was released in 1999, it couldn't be timelier. Larry Flynt scrambles to get his Nailin' Palin in the store by Xmas, but fast forward 'Varsity Blues' and there she is. Say it ain't so, Sarah.
Charlie Tweeder: [after stealing a cop car] I'm gonna go to jail!
Top Ten Movies to Compare and Contrast with 'Varsity Blues;' or Songs that were in 'Varsity Blues.'
1. Mean Girls (Special Collector's Edition)
2. Dazed and Confused
3. The Basketball Diaries
4. Nimrod "Nice Guys Finish Last" by Green Day
5. Varsity Blues: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture
6. 1984 "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen
7. Starship Troopers
8. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
9. All the Right Moves
10. Midnight Cowboy
Bud Kilmer: The hard work of so many, sacrificed by the disrespect of few.
Movie Review: Consider this Friday Night Lights, with an fun touch to it
Summary: 4 Stars
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...
Movie Review: Play to win... at life.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have avoided Varsity Blues all the years since it came out. I had no desire to see a film directed at High Schooler's, made by MTV. Finally, this week I watched it and was very surprised at how much I liked it.
First of all, of course anyone who played high school or college sports will be able to relate to the love hate relationship with sports. And most will relate at some level with the evil coach played to a caricature "T" by Jon Voight. Now I never had a coach as evil as Kilmer, but there were a few that really disrespected me, and a few to whom winning was a bit too important, and also a few who's favoritism really hurt the program, so I can relate.
Varsity Blues was a stereotypical teen flick in some ways, it could have minimized the sex and drugs and alcohol, but overall, Varsity Blues gets to the message of the game should be played with joy and by doing so the memories of your glory days will be pleasant instead of the time you can't move beyond. Although it ended a bit on a confusing note, with a voice over by the protagonist "Mox" about how "that was the last game that I ever played", when in fact they won and should have gone on to some play-off since they were undefeated. But that's a quibble, maybe without a head coach they were disqualified?
So here's the deal,
Varsity Blues is not a bad movie at all if you can look over the sex& drugs. A pretty good look at the up-side and the down-side to high school sports from multiple viewpoints.
3 ½*
Movie Review: Another great football movie!!
Summary: 4 Stars
When I first began watching this movie, I thought it would be dumb, but I was dead wrong. The picture quality and the music is outstanding! This movie is loaded with lots of excitement and comedy. The main reason why I like the movie was because of relationships Moxon he had with his teammates. For example, Moxon was willing to give up his full scholarship to an Ivy League School to protect one of them and he was the only player on the team that never forgot about Lance (the original starting QB) unlike Coach Kilmer. I also liked the way Moxon stood up to Coach Kilmer by running his own plays and switching from a running style offence to a passing attack style offence. Being a former high school football player (MLB) like myself, I wish my HS would have passed more instead of running 95% of the time or else we would have won more football games. The reason why I gave the movie 4/5 stars was because there were no defensive star players in it since most of them are on offence. Most football films (unlike The Program & Any Given Sunday) always give more attention towards the offence and overshadow the defense.Movie Review: Many hidden messages
Summary: 4 Stars
I avoided this movie like the plague because I thought it was another football glory movie (and I can't stand "Dawson's Creek,") but I saw it finally and this film is about more than football. It's about dreams and living your own life. James Van Der Beek is John Moxon, a high-school senior who plays football in small-town Texas because it's family tradtion. But secretly he reads Vonnegut and hopes to get into Brown University. The situation is not helped by his verbally abusive football coach (Jon Voight). The coach hates him especially beacuse he stands up to him. The guys on the team get away with almost everything, like drinking, seeing strippers, etc (and yes, that's true to life). But the film has a good message of being your own man and not letting others live vicariously through you.