Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

In America we have laws to make this country run, in the town of West Canaan we have a law all of our own. This is how the movie Varsity Blues begins. It instantly lets you know that the town of West Canaan is somewhat different and it runs by a different set of rules. These rules are the rules of footballs and the players in the Coyotes are gods.Varisty Blues shows us a town where football fever has become a religion and the football oval is the temple to their god, but their gods change frequently: for when the star player becomes severely injured, he vanishes to be replaced by another hero, and this time a reluctant one. What we see in Varsity Blues is a religion that exists - but the movie forces it out. Every football season here in Adelaide everybody goes Crow fanatic (the Crows are one of Adelaide's two football teams).The thing with football here is that there is a lot of hypocrisy - when the team is on a loosing streak everybody hates them and have even booed them off of the field, while when they are on a winning streak, everybody dresses up in red, yellow, and blue, and goes hysterical over them. When confronted with this they claim that they followed the Crows through thick and thin - though we know that this is not true. What I don't like about football is that people will literally throw their responsibilities away when a game is on.Back to Varsity Blues - this movie emphasises the hypocrisy that surrounds football. The religious aspect is brought out with Mox's younger brother who is really deeply religious. He creates his own cult and his father's reply is "I don't want to see any more of this - you are going to play football like your brother." Parents fight over who's son is the better football player, and all of them had the same coach - who literally runs the town.Mox is an interesting fellow because he loves football, but detests the way the town idolises it. He states that what he is watching is a corruption of a good thing. He is more interested in a college degree in something that he likes, but his brilliant throw is forcing him to play football and to go down a career path that he does not want to go down. Moreso the coach is forcing the players to play until they are useless. He does not care about his team-member's health: he is more interested in winning. Unfortunately for the players, they are becoming crippled and being placed in very complicated and expensive surgery - and once they are gone then they have fallen from grace: this is clearly seen when Lance destroys his knee and his girlfriend leaves him for Mox.Varsity Blues is a bit of a slutty movie, but it addresses a very important issue in our society - the way we idolise a sport and place mere mortals upon a pedestal, only to throw them away when they are no longer needed. I agree with Mox - sport is fun and enjoyable, but it becomes corrupted when people start treating it like a religion.

I really enjoyed the MTV Films era, and it's sad that it didn't last longer than it did, and 'Varsity Blues' feels almost like one of their more special endeavors because it is a far more serious effort than anything they had laid on us before. This definitely isn't 'Beavis And Butt-head Do America' or 'Jackass: The Movie'. The serious approach never really feels like it is taking itself too seriously, there is still obvious satire and blatantly crude gags littered about. 1999 was a long time ago now, and just taking a fast glance around this film we see a whole bunch of recognizable faces nowadays. Jon Voight who we all know from his seemingly endless slew of good performances, Paul Walker of 'The Fast And The Furious' fame, Ali Larter, Amy Smart, Scott Caan. But what about James Van Der Beek? This guy is a decent enough actor, he really gives off the right vibe as the kid who would rather read Vonnegut on the sidelines rather than play football, and I think it's quite shameful that he isn't in more films like this, he was almost generation-defining with his fame garnered from 'Dawson's Creek'. I guess the fact that he pretty much disappeared from the face of the Earth after he made 'The Rules Of Attraction' just helps to ensure the cult-status of films like 'Varsity Blues' in the first place. We have two people working on this project who also worked on 'Good Burger' a few years prior, our director Brian Robbins and Ron Lester who plays one of our more memorable characters here, and it's nice to see them all stepping up the maturity level a little bit. They went from graduating middle school (Nickelodeon) to graduating high school (MTV) in just two years.I remember when this film first appeared in 1999, and I remember it being quite a popular "teen movie" at the time, and I'm only slightly disappointed in myself for having not watched it for a good 13 years after it was made. The film doesn't make you dig deep, it can be slightly predictable, but you are sure to walk away from this one feeling good about what you've just seen.Also, every time I see Jon Voight, I can't help but think of Jerry Reed from 'The Waterboy' one year earlier.VARSITY BLUES -----8/10.

In the football-worshiping town of West Canaan, Texas, bench-warming James Van Der Beek (as Jonathan "Mox" Moxon) gets his chance to score when handsome blond quarterback Paul Walker (as Lance Harbor) is sidelined by injury. Hefty Ron Lester (as Billy Bob) and his pet pig "Bacon" give the film weighty fun. Horny Scott Caan (as Charlie Tweeder) adds latent homosexual laughs. Kept back in high school, the lads are pushed to the limit by loud-mouthed coach Jon Voight (as Bud Kilmer). There are plenty of shirt-shedding cheerleader types, hot for football muscle - especially luscious Ali Larter (as Darcy Sears) in a whipped cream bikini.*** Varsity Blues (1/15/99) Brian Robbins ~ James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight, Paul Walker, Ron Lester

I just watched this movie for the first time a couple of weeks ago. This is due to my very recent interest in anything Paul Walker. Shallow, I know.I am not a football fan, nor am I an athlete, but I found the game scenes fascinating. I usually skip the other parts just to watch the game scenes. And soundtrack is awesome.I don't like cerebral or artsy movies. I need to rest my brain after work. So its rare that I watch any of those Oscar-type movies. This movie is perfect for what I need.The storyline has been used before. But I like those kinds of story anyway. I like seeing the good guys win, even if its just in the movies.