Varsity Blues

Not your typical high-school drama that coasts on the devastating good looks of its young stars. Varsity Blues plays both sides of the coin, delivering the teenage goods, the heartthrob cast, a hip soundtrack, and the requisite smattering of fleshy posing -- all while subtly encompassing some bigger issues. Dawson's Creek stud James Van Der Beek is John Moxon, back-up quarterback at a small-town Texas high school where football is a life force and the coach (Jon Voight with the piercing stare of a cobra) is a deity, above the law. For all his chisel-jawed charisma, John is a bookworm whose goal is an Ivy League college, but that changes when the starting quarterback (Paul Walker) goes down to injury and John is forced into the limelight, where he becomes an instant gridiron hero. Naturally adversity finds him, both on and off the field, mostly in the form of his patronizing coach and his long-time sweetheart, who abhors football. John's hardened stance toward his goals, his girlfriend, and his teammates at times teeters on the brink of overt hokum, but Van Der Beek's proficiently understated performance helps raise Varsity Blues above its cliché trappings.

-- Tom Meek