Plot: What’s it about?
Varsity Blues was one of those movies that came out after Christmas and was part of that “Teen thing” that I call it. Not a very technical term, but it along with “She’s all that” and “Never Been Kissed”, were just movies that I thought didn’t really appeal to me anymore…
Man was I wrong!
If you like movies about sports or about football in particular, there’s no way you can’t like this movie. James Van Der Beek plays John Moxon, the second string “star” quarterback who is living in the shadow of Lance Harbor (Paul Walker), until he gets a career-ending knee injury. Moxon, who reads Vonnegut when he’s supposed to be learning plays, steps up and emerges as the new hero in the small town of West Caanan, Texas.
Moxon, who is trying to get into Brown University, is all of the sudden the center of attention and the pressure is on him. Only trouble is, he plays because he likes to play, he doesn’t want to make football a career like everyone else in his life (Dad, coach, entire town…).
Admittedly, the plot is a bit predictable, but what makes this movie work is the rest of the cast. You have Billy Bob, who looks what people think a “Billy Bob” should look like. He drinks maple syrup like he’s drinking water and looks like a refrigerator. There’s Tweeter (Scott Caan), who is wild as they come and gets about any woman (sometimes more) than he wants…
Bottom line, this movie does work. It has women, sex, women, football, women, beer, and–uh, women too. I liked it!
Video: How does it look?
Paramount has gone back to 16:9 enhancing their movies. Good. This picture is near flawless, with only some minor artifacting evident (but I rented the disc and it had some scratches, so maybe that was it). Otherwise the picture is sharp and clean.
Audio: How does it sound?
The dialogue is clean and clear, but most of the great sound comes from the football games. It makes a block sound like a truck is hitting a wall. A great soundtrack adds to this movie, too.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A standard Paramount disc, comes with a trailer, but it’s better than nothing. Watch the trailer afterwords…trust me.
