Varsity Blues
Published February 26, 2022
Film info
- Title Varsity Blues
- Director Brian Robbins
- Year 1999
- Run time 1hr 46m
- Genres Romance, Drama, Comedy
- Tagline It takes a hero to know what's worth winning
At first, backup quarterback Jonathan 'Mox' Moxom is nowhere close to being a football star. He's perfectly content to stay on the bench and out of the win-at-all-cost strategies of coach Bud Kilmer. But when the starting quarterback is injured, Mox is in the game... and in direct conflict with his hotheaded coach and girlfriend. Soon everyone in Mox's football-crazed community will realise there's not just a new star quarterback in town, there's a new kind of hero.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 0:50 | Ooh, an MTV movie! |
| 3:36 | I do think a cross at the breakfast table is a recipe for disaster. |
| 5:15 | Why does he have a massive sign of himself in front of his house? |
| 9:47 | They say ‘coyotes’ weird. |
| 15:47 | “It cost a lot of money to look that cheap.” |
| 27:59 | It’s weird to think of Billy Bob also being William Robert. |
| 36:43 | Wow, lots of nasty people in this movie! |
| 39:23 | Drink driving the Sheriff’s car is a one-way ticket, surely. |
| 43:05 | Dude put salt in his beer. |
| 48:32 | “You are the damn dumbest smart kid I know.” |
| 59:22 | Interesting way to get rid of someone, using your tannoy to good advantage. |
| 1:07:00 | By the end, they’re just a bundle of bodies. That can’t be right. |
| 1:14:01 | “Kyle, did you start a cult?” “Yep.” |
| 1:18:36 | “Do you want some cheese with that whine?” I’ll be using that, thank you. |
| 1:20:40 | Who decided it would be 48 minutes? |
| 1:31:16 | Playing like heroes appears to make it all a lot more painful! |
| 1:34:54 | Coach Lance. Adorbz. |
Thoughts
I really quite enjoyed this movie for what it is - Dawson’s Creek but with added football. I read a review that says this is an odd little time capsule from an odd time in American (and general) history. A time before it was really known how much damage these high contact sports can do, and it was generally okay for a guy to steal a cop car and drive around with some girls naked.
There are some weird little moments in here where something big is supposed to be happening but it’s either treated in an off-hand way, or it comes out of nowhere so it makes no sense (the rant about racism on the team, and the post-bikini moment about leaving the town). It could be so much more but at the same time it’s trying to be so much, it kinda misses.
But it’s fun. The songs are good, the cast draw you in and you’re rooting for the team in the final moments. And Paul Walker being adorable, so yea.
Rating: 4 / 5