Varsity Blues

...what Varsity Blues lacks in originality it makes up for with good natured boysy gusto.

Van Der Beek is convincing and likable, Voight's performance has a kind of doomed grandeur, and the characters are seen with quirky humor.

With Varsity Blues, Voight pours himself into yet another such portrayal, and, during those scenes when he's on screen, his energy level elevates the movie.

...will strike you either as an awkward mix of drama, sports and teenage gross-out comedy or as a throwback to a more complex, '70s style of filmmaking in which a jumble of generic conventions could coexist side-by-side in the same film.