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Varsity Blues (1999)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
W. Peter Iliff (written by)
Release Date:
15 January 1999 (USA)
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Tagline:
Make your own rules. more
Plot:
In small-town Texas, high school football is a religion. The head coach is deified, as long as the team...
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Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins
&
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(50 articles)
Writer Attached To American Gladiators Film
(From ShockYa. 22 November 2009, 5:20 AM, PST)
Writer Challenged by American Gladiator Movie
(From newsinfilm. 20 November 2009, 3:35 PM, PST)
(From ShockYa. 22 November 2009, 5:20 AM, PST)
Writer Challenged by American Gladiator Movie
(From newsinfilm. 20 November 2009, 3:35 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Varsity Blues tells the story of a high school in a small town in Texas, where football is king.
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | 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 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for strong language throughout, sexuality and nudity, and some substance abuse.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
106 min | Germany:100 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The Ford on the movie cover was sadly never used in the movie.
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Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: In the daytime helicopter shot, all of the film and light trucks are visible. They are parked all around the stadium and are very obvious.
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Quotes:
Bud Kilmer:
Never show weakness, the only pain that matters is the pain you inflict.
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Movie Connections:
Spoofed in Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
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Soundtrack:
My Girlfriend Is a Waitress
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FAQ
Why did Darcy get naked and spray whip cream on herself?more
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I'm sure we've all known of, or at least heard of places, where nothing is bigger than high school football. The starting quarterback runs the town, the coach is considered a God (as long as he's winning), and the parents all live vicariously through their children. And most of the time, the kids actually playing football love the game too. But in the small town of West Caanan, the kids are running rampant, and the coach (Jon Voight) doesn't care.
James Van Der Beek stars as Jonathon Moxon (Mox), the backup quarterback of the high school football team. And he's happy with his situation. He gets to sit on the sidelines and read, hang out with the cool kids, and basically just wait until he can get out of this one horse town and head off to Brown University. But one day he sees the coach injecting pain killers into the knee of the starting quarterback. Then one of his best friends, Billy Bob, seems to have a concussion, but the coach makes him play. When the starting QB goes down, Mox is handed the team and is forced to decide whether to be the King of West Caanan, or to live his life the way he wants it to be lived.
I guess it wasn't a bad movie. The football scenes were done extremely well, and I generally liked the people I was supposed to like, and didn't like the people I wasn't supposed to like. But the movie lacked a certain focus. There were too many other things going on that didn't seem to have anything to do with the movie. The whole stripper/teacher thing didn't do anything but make me think back to my high school years and realize I didn't want to see any of those teachers naked. Then there was the black running back who claimed that the coach was a racist. He said that whenever they got near the goal line, the coach would always give the ball to a white guy so he could soak up the glory. While that may have been true, there was nothing in the movie to show that the coach was a racist. The only thing in the movie that said he was a racist was the black player saying he was. The whole race issue seemed to be thrown in there just for the sake of having it, rather than serving any purpose.
Some of the characters were too stereotypical. Mox's girlfriend for instance. As soon as Mox became the starting QB, his life started to change. In the town of West Caanan, starting QB was a position of popularity. But instead of letting Mox enjoy himself, even for a second, she started telling him he had changed. I figured that was going to happen, but don't you think a girlfriend would allow her boyfriend to enjoy his moment in the spotlight for just a few minutes before telling him he's not the man she fell in love with? Jon Voight's character was another one. I never played high school football, so maybe that's the way a coach is, but actually willing to ruin a kids life by making him play with a serious injury? And actually choking another player? I thought that his character went a little too far. It made him look extremely bad when that point had already been made.
My last rant has to do with the character of Darcy. She was the cheerleader who was dating the starting QB. As soon as he got injured, she started hitting on Mox. When she finally got him to come over to her house, he resisted her. Then she broke down and cried, and Mox solved all her problems in a few seconds. Much too quick a resolution for her. But I must say, I'll never look at whipped cream the same way again.
Overall I did enjoy Varsity Blues. It was fun to watch, even though it had a lot of script problems. The actors seemed to be having fun with their roles, and that made the movie better. So even though it had a lot of problems, overall it was enjoyable. And now, I'm off to find some whipped cream.