Varsity Blues Review
by akiva AT excite DOT com (Akiva GottliebJuly 23rd, 1999
Varsity Blues **
rated R
104 minutes
Paramount/MTV Films
starring James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight, Paul Walker, Ron Lester, Scott Caan, Ali Larter, Amy
Smart
written by W. Peter Iliff
directed by Brian Robbins
There's not much to say about "Varsity Blues", the latest insignificant entry into the teen movie field, other than the fact that it's another clunker from MTV Films. "Dawson's Creek" heartthrob James Van Der Beek plays John Moxon, or "Mox", a second-string quarterback on his high school football team; a team playing in the football-obsessed West Canaan, Texas. When the star quarterback gets injured, Mox finds himself in the spotlight as West Canaan's new hero. But Mox would rather stay home reading Kurt Vonnegut than play for his legendary hard-ass coach, Bud Kilmer(Jon Voight). Mox decides that if his team is going to win the championship, it'll be for them, not for the coach. Sounds like high aspirations for a film that is actually a frat-boy movie filled with gratuitous nudity, beer-drinking and football. That Van Der Beek and Voight manage to give decent performances is a wonder considering that W. Peter Iliff's screenplay is nothing but a bunch of stereotypes. "Varsity Blues" is watchable when it doesn't take itself too seriously, but more often than not, it does.
a video capsule review by Akiva Gottlieb, The Teenage Movie Critic akiva@excite.com
http://teenagemoviecritic.8m.com
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