Varsity Blues celebrates its 25th anniversary with a 4K release, and this is a movie that just screams late ‘90s teenage coming-of-age comedy. I don’t think I’d watched it since initially seeing it theatrically, but it has such a nostalgic feel to it because I graduated high school in 1999, so all these teen dramadies spoke to me on even some minor level back then. And while Varsity Blues wasn’t really that memorable long-term, after twenty-five years I do still find myself randomly saying, “—and I don’t want your life,” when the situation calls for it, terrible accent and all.
There have been a lot of great football movies over the years, and while Varsity Blues never reaches those heights, it does do a solid job of showcasing the smalltown vibe where football is everything and the players are viewed as untouchable in the town while they wear the uniform. The story itself holds up, as the story focuses on Jonathan “Mox” Moxon (James Van Der Beek), the backup quarterback for the West Canaan Coyotes, which sees him riding the bench due to the spotlight being on superstar QB Lance Harbor (Paul Walker). This doesn’t bother Mox, as he actually has no desire to play football after high school, and instead looks forward to leaving West Canaan and getting an education elsewhere.
The coach of the Coyotes is Coach Kilmer (Jon Voight), who puts his desire to win championships above the health and safety of the young men he coaches. This catches up to him when he forces his offensive lineman, Billy Bob (Ron Lester), to play in a game despite being concussed. When Billy Bob passes out, the defense breaks through and takes down Harbor, injuring his knee. This opens the door for Mox to become the star quarterback, and just like that how he’s treated around town change and the benefits of being the town hero are thrust upon him, leading Mox to begin questioning what it is he really wants.
The overall message of the film holds up well, and the football scenes are shot incredibly well, but there are some awkwardly unfunny bits that happen early on in the movie that are recognizable ‘90s raunchy teen movie gags. They don’t age well at all and feel like they drag on far too long, but once you’re past those and the movie has a true focus it does a good job of keeping the viewer captivated. Movies like Varsity Blues are often predictable, and while this one does follow that same course, the focus on the antics of these players in this small town they’re viewed as gods in adds enough variety to make it so the journey to get to point B from point A isn’t exactly direct.
The acting is also quite solid, with Van Der Beek being right at the start of his Dawson’s Creek fame and leading the charge here incredibly well. I don’t know Texas accents, so I can’t comment as to whether or not everyone does a terrible job, but if they do then they’ve all done a similarly terrible job, so it ends up working as a whole. The late Ron Lester did fantastic work as Billy Bob in the role he’s most remembered for. Amy Smart and Ali Larter play the love interests, and while the cast was mostly in their early to mid-twenties when filming, Van Der Beek, Smart and Larter all do look like they’re at that age where they’d be shipping off to college soon, which helped sell the story.
What Varsity Blues does best is tell a story from the perspective of high school students, which is mainly that of Mox. There’s uncertainty about what’s right and what’s wrong, a feeling of being invincible during this period of life, and the resentment towards his father because all his dad cares about is football and seeing his son get the opportunities from it that he never did. It’s an entertaining film to revisit, and while it slipped in just under the wire, it’s clearly a product of the late ‘90s in all the right and wrong ways. Hey, the Foo Fighters, “My Hero,” kicks in during the film’s climactic play, if that doesn’t make you both laugh and get you pumped for what’s about to happen then **clears throat** I don’t want your life.
Overall Movie Score: 3/5
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
Okay, so they could play a great game with the movie, but if they don’t score a touchdown with the 4K transfer then what’s the point, right? Well, I’d say they score a touchdown but don’t get the extra point if I’m keeping the analogy going. Varsity Blues has never looked better for home viewing, and the 4K remastering makes the original Blu-ray visuals look like a major fumble. Okay, enough with the football comparisons! The 2160p/Dolby Vision remastering gives the film a clean feel, while keeping its filmic look. The characters and colours look natural and the lighting during the many nighttime football games looks fantastic.
There’s a pretty solid balance between night and day shoots in the film, and while the daytime gives off a nice, bright look, the night shots come to life beautifully, with deep, dark skies that avoid any muddying or distracting visuals. The characters pop nicely against the scenery, and overall the visual upgrade just allows for a better viewing experience overall, as you can focus on what’s happening on screen instead of being taken out the moment due to off colours or a lack of detail.
The audio is transferred over from the Blu-ray, so it’s the same Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack, which gets the job done, but also doesn’t put the sound systems of today to the test. This doesn’t really hurt the movie as a whole, but it doesn’t elevate it to a new level like the picture has either. Still, it works well enough that I wouldn’t really dock it many points. As a whole this remastering is worth the upgrade for fans of the film, and for those who don’t own it yet but are interested, well, there’s really no competition, as the 4K remastering is the way to go.
Special Features:
There are no special features on the 4K disc, so you’ll have to make a swap over to the Blu-ray to watch what’s offered if interested. What can be found on the Blu-ray is as follows:
Audio Commentary with Director Brian Robbins and Producers Michael Tollin and Tova Laiter – This is a solid commentary track that gives a deeper insight to viewers about the making of the film, how they needed the R-rating in order to make the film the way they wanted, and just the script and story overall. Fans of the movie will want to check this out.
Football is a Way of Life – The Making of Varsity Blues – This feature is just under 18-minutes in length and is your by-the-book “making of” feature, which is always a good addition if done properly. This one is fairly straightforward and sees the cast and crew talk about the film, wanting to be true to the world of high school football in these small towns, and what it was like filming.
Two-A-Days – The Ellis Way – This one comes in at just under 8-minutes in length and focuses more on the game itself, as well as the actors learning and preparing for the football scenes.
QB Game Analysis – This 15-minute feature has Coach Mark Ellis and NFL Quarterback and former Texas high school signal caller Josh McCown talking about the movie and giving their thoughts and opinions on it, as well as how their experiences were.
Billy Bob with No Bacon – Then this featurette comes in at just under 5-minutes and sees Ron Lester talk about the film and his life since. He’s sadly passed since then, but it was clear he loved working on the movie.
Paramount Pictures Presents Varsity Blues. Directed by: Brian Robbins. Written by: W. Peter Iliff. Starring: James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight, Paul Walker, Ron Lester, Scott Caan, Richard Lineback, Amy Smart, Ali Larter, Eliel Swinton. Running time: 105 Minutes. Rating: 14A. Released on 4K Blu-ray: Jan. 9, 2024.
