VARSITY BLUES A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 1999 David N. Butterworth
**1/2 (out of ****)
If you're a teenaged girl, then "Varsity Blues," which stars "Dawson's Creek" mega-heartthrob James Van Der Beek, might well be the greatest film ever made.
If you've never seen a high school football drama before, you're likely to enjoy it too, since the film packs in just about every ingredient of the genre, including all those tight ends and late-breaking touchdowns. Middle-aged men who've already caught "All the Right Moves" and its many imitators on late-night television aren't going to find a whole lot in "Varsity Blues" to recommend it. But the film is a pleasant enough diversion, highlighted by some well-choreographed gridiron sequences and a handful of intelligent performances, James! (as the teen rags refer to him) included.
Van Der Beek stars as Jonathan "Mox" Moxon, second-string quarterback for the Coyotes of West Canaan, a small Texan community that lives and breathes their commitment to varsity football. The Coyotes' coach is the-win-at-all-costs Bud Kilmer, played with permanent gum-chewing ferocity by Jon Voight.
The veteran star of such acclaimed films as "Midnight Cowboy" and "Coming Home," Voight has taken to playing one-dimensional unsavory characters in recent years, and his Bud Kilmer is no exception. Voight's performance might not be subtle, but his take-no-prisoners approach to the character gives the high-spirited "Varsity Blues" much of its drama.
With a spectacular record of 22 division championships under his belt, Coach Kilmer isn't going to let a little thing like an injured player jeopardize number 23. That's what painkillers are for, after all.
Mox, on the other hand, is one of the few people in town who has his sights set on something higher than winning the state pennant: an Ivy League education. As smart as he is cute, the brains-before-brawn quarterback challenges Coach Kilmer's unethical tactics, which leads to a lot of shouting in the locker room and some creative disrespect on the field.
In addition to the Mean Coach, the film has its fair share of Underage Drunks, Horny Jocks, Frisky Cheerleaders, Funny Fat Guys, Quirky Little Brothers, and Dimwitted Parents. Plus, in this particular case, there's that man James! to drool over if you're so inclined.
Truth be told the film makes no excuses in catering to the talents of the "Dawson's Creek" regular; he's virtually in every scene. With that kind of pressure, the 21-year-old handles himself surprisingly well, especially when going head-to-head with the far more experienced Voight. Van Der Beek gives Mox a vulnerable side too; the scenes between him and his girlfriend Jules (Amy Smart) are especially well played.
Some scenes come across as contrived, of course, most notably the sex ed class in which Van Der Beek offers a litany of colloquialisms for the male "condition" (I bet those adoring fans just died during that one!). And if you can't predict the outcome of the closing Big Game five minutes into the film, well... perhaps you wandered into "Hilary and Jackie" by mistake.
"Varsity Blues" isn't likely to win any awards, but as a star vehicle for the up-and-coming James Van Der Beek, it goes the whole ten yards.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb61@hotmail.com
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