Varsity Blues (1999) review

Jonathan Moxon (James Van Der Beek), a backup quarterback at West Canaan High School, enjoys hanging out with his girlfriend Julie (Amy Smart) and dreams of matriculating at Brown University, but when starting signal-caller Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) requires surgery on his leg, he's put in to lead the offense, experiences success and becomes a "local celebrity" ... and then clashes with team's long-time head coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight).  Between Kilmer's overbearing (and unethical) approach to the sport, the townspeople's adoration and the fact that lineman Billy Bob (Ron Lester) chugs maple "syrup" out of the bottle, I was under the impression this was trying to satirize small-town sports culture ... except the tone is inconsistent, and all it manages to be is a mopey teen drama that isn't particularly good at anything.  A few memorable scenes stand out, however: cheerleader Darcy (Ali Larter) wearing only a "whipped cream bikini" is justifiably famous, and the lads seeing their teacher Ms. Davis (Tonie Perensky) doing a strip tease at a nightclub is hilarious (and a reminder that educators weren't paid well in the late 90's either).  What is unfortunate is what happened to many of the members of the cast since its release: Van Der Beek succumbed to colon cancer yesterday (on February 11, 2026), Walker was killed in a car crash (in 2013), Lester died at 45 and Joe Pichler, who plays Jonathan's cult-obsessed younger brother, disappeared twenty years ago.