VARSITY BLUES
Luckily there are some good performances by some of the supporting players,
which keep this film from being a complete waste of time — but a few
good scenes are little help against stereotypical characterizations and
a laughable storyline.
West Canaan, Texas is a small town with a big high school football record.
The team's head coach, Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight) has a record of two state
championships and 22 regional titles. With an undefeated season so far,
it looks like the Coyotes are headed toward another triumphant finish, led
by star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker). But a torn ligament ends
Lance's career prematurely and puts second-string quarterback Jonathan Moxon
(James Van Der Beek, Dawson's Creek) on the field, even though the
coach hates him and he has hardly ever played. He is ready to step up to
the challenge, but what he's not ready for is the sudden fame he achieves
simply by being the Coyotes' starting QB.
Of the notable supporting performances mentioned, perhaps the best is
by Ron Lester as Billy Bob, the huge offensive lineman who, after a slip-up
that really wasn't his fault, blames himself for the team's downfall. Lester's
Billy Bob starts out as nothing more than a syrup-swilling good ole boy,
but develops into one of the best-defined characters in the film —
with some actual emotion, which is rare elsewhere.
Van Der Beek is mostly like a deer caught in the headlights, never really
showing us how "Mox" feels about anything. Voight's coach is the
worst kind of cardboard cut-out (adding to his recent string of such characters),
with apparently no life off the field. His open hatred for Mox makes us
wonder why he put him on the team in the first place. And the two girls
in the picture are also stock characters: Darcy (Ali Larter) is the cheerleader
who wants to be with the quarterback, any quarterback, no matter who he
is, because she thinks he'll be her "ticket out" of small town
life. And Julie (Amy Smart) is Mox's girlfriend who loved him when he was
a bench warmer but is turned off by his newfound stardom (even though Van
Der Beek's characterization doesn't change one bit to provoke this).
There are glimmers of realism in these actors' performances, but not
enough to sustain more than passing interest on the part of the audience.
Awkwardly thrown in is a minor sub-plot involving Mox's spiritual little
brother trying on various religions for size, which (I guess) is supposed
to generate some kind of comic relief. But given the more serious tone of
the rest of the film, it is completely out of place and damages the flow.
If you like thoughtful movies, don't bother. If you like football, you might enjoy the scenes on the field. But if you want to see a high school girl wearing nothing but a whipped-cream bikini, this is your film. **½