When a team wins, who deserves more glory: the players or the coach? In the small Texas town of West Canan, football is a religion and the coach is their spiritual leader. With a host of district championships and two state titles to his credit, coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight) rides his players hard to "fetch him" another championship. When the star quarterback Lance (Paul Walker) is injured, second stringer Jonathan "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek) is called in and brings with him some new ideas about the game, the coach, and his teammates.
With money from MTV backing this production, you might expect a rocking soundtrack, and music fans will not be disappointed. From AC/DC and Van Halen to Green Day and Foo Fighters, there is plenty of ear candy behind the great football sequences and some pretty tricky camera shots. Varsity Blues makes football easy to watch, even for those who don't know the game, by breaking it down into short scenes of intense action and montages worthy of a sports bloopers tape. Between games, the film invests enough in character development that the audience actually cares what happens in the all-important final game.
Coach Kilmer epitomises the town's collective obsession with football. Voight manages to make Kilmer self-centred and abusive, yet still human — a valid foil for the almost saintly Mox. Speaking of saints, watch for Mox's very weird kid brother, a character surely influenced by David Lynch. Typical of small-town dynamics, Mox is dating Lance's sister and Lance (head quarterback) is dating Darcy, the head cheerleader. Furthermore, nearly every adult male in town once played for the Coyotes and many of them suffered under Coach Kilmer's tyranny. As a result, they see Kilmer's tutelage as a rite of passage for their sons and not only say nothing to stop him, but actually push just as hard from home.
Varsity Blues is an enjoyable teen coming-of-age film. All the typical stereotypes are represented among the teens and even more so among the adults. Atypically, it boasts decent dialogue and a few well-developed characters. While the targeted teen audience should enjoy this film for its stars, the music, and the subject matter, there's a chance that their parents actually won't hate it either.
