"Varsity Blues" is an all-around great movie. It has a great plot and even better acting, especially by Jon Voight as Coach Kilmer, James Van Der Beek as Moxon, and Ron Lester as Billy Bob. It's a great movie with a lot of drama, and it has one of the best endings of any movie I've seen lately. Billy Bob is the one that really makes this movie and after you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about. I recommend anybody to get "Varsity Blues."

Then I caught the film on cable recently, and watched it. Then I rented it, and watched it again. Perhaps I had been too judgmental my first viewing: VARSITY BLUES was slowly but surely revealing itself to me as a very entertaining movie. I came to appreciate Jonathan "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek), a second string quarterback with aspirations to go to an Ivy League college suddenly thrust into the spotlight of his west Texas town as the new starting signal caller. I came to loathe Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight), the epitome of the abusive, cruel, vindictive, win-at-all-costs head football coach. I came to enjoy the small town "feel" of this film, where high school football players are placed on a pedestal and allowed to run wild. And what can you say about Billy Bob (Ron Lester) and Tweeder (Scott Caan), other than these two raunchy characters flavor this movie whenever they appear like onions in Texas chili?

Setting aside a hopelessly unrealistic player revolt (Where were the other coaches to take over when Kilmer left?), director Brian Robbins furnishes fast-moving, high-octane football scenes guaranteed to make those of us who have played the game (and still love it) want to strap on the pads again. VARSITY BLUES is less than perfect, like a six-pack of warm beer, but still satisfying to the last drop.