James-Caan Movie Reviews

James Caan is an actor I associate with rolls in which his character dishes out a notable amount of willful and nasty violence. For example, "The Godfather", "The Killer Elite", "Flesh and Bone" and "Eraser." Even some of his less violent rolls, like "Garden of Stone" still depend on his tough persona. "Hide in Plain Sight" has Caan playing a remarkably subdued and complex character. In fact, the violence in this movie, if you can call it that, is mostly emotional tension.

In the movie, Caan plays a divorced father, whose rather dumb former wife and her slimly new husband disappear into a government witness relocation program along with Caan's two young children. Caan, whose movie job is an anonymous laborer in a tire factory, is revealed to be a former Vietnam era marine. But in this movie, the emphasis is on Caan the plain working man, deeply caring father, and, up to a point, a person willing to wait for the government to do the right thing, which is to return his own kids to his safekeeping.

In his roll, Caan is fully believable as someone who could have made a stupid decision about who to marry eight or nine years ago. He is a strong man who keeps everything under control not because he is anyway repressed, but because he is what he appears to be, a basically nice guy. (By the way, the movie was also directed by Caan.)

The movie is neatly divided into three parts. The first introduces Caan, some of his friends from the factory. his former wife and her low-level mobster boyfriend, and the boyfriend's high level, and obviously very dangerous, mobster friends. It highlights Caan's close relationship with his kids, and his new love interest, played by Jill Eikenberry. It also sets up a reason for the mob and the boyfriend's interests to move in different directions. Dividing interests which lead the boyfriend to testify against his former associates and then move immediately on into the witness relocation program, sweeping Caan's former wife and kids along with him.

The second third of the movie shows Caan's repeatedly frustrated attempts to find his kids. At the most basic level the interest of the government is to deny evolvement, deny Caan any parental rights (the mother had custody of the kids), and if that doesn't work, avoid talking to him. There are some nice scenes here establishing the character and commitment of Caan's new girl friend. There are also good scenes showing the mixed feelings of some of the law enforcement types torn between their battle with the mob, and their sympathy for Caan's predicament, and the well played roll of a sympathetic lawyer who tries to help Caan by working the legal angles. (There's also one hilarious "violent" scene here in which nobody gets hurt, but left me rolling on the floor.)

The third and shortest part of the movie is a race; a race between Caan, the mob and the government. Caan is racing to recover his kids after he has located them, the mob is trying to kill the missing witness as an act of revenge that could well end up hurting the kids, and government are trying to arrive in time to set things more or less right.

I loved it. How come no one else has noticed how good this movie is?

If you haven't seen this fantastic movie, let me tell you that you are missing what it's perhaps the best movie of all time. It's just perfect. You just can't miss when you put together the direction of Francis Ford Coppola at the top of his game, superb performances from great actors like Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall and John Cazale, beautiful music from the composer Nino Rota, and a memorable cinematography courtesy of Gordon Willis.

There are a lot of timeless scenes in this mob film ("I believe in America"), plenty of quoting lines ("I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"), fabulous supporting characters (Luca Brasi), and the list can go on and on and on. In my opinion, this is the movie that beats all the rest of the films. I think that all movie fan collection must include "The Godfather". If you haven't seen it yet and you are looking for a fantastic film, go see a classic film, go see "The Godfather".

Absolutely recommendable.

I stumbled across this classic on cable TV a few evenings ago and that was it: I abandoned all other plans for the evening and watched the movie. Then I retrieved Mario Puzo's novel from my book collection and plowed through it, savoring and relishing this extraordinary piece of literature that had such an impact on our cultural landscape thirty-plus years ago.

Francis Ford Coppola's THE GODFATHER is a triumphant, magnificent screen portrayal of Puzo's epic book. The story of an Italian-American mob "family" entrenched in inherent and often desperate violence, Coppola weaves this film with compelling, moving, and haunting visuals that are as beautiful as they are disturbing. The scenes are at once simplistic and complex, yet such a dichotomy is not lost on the viewer, but embraced--appreciated for its overwhelming genius.

I've seen more than my fair share of Marlon Brando films, and in my opinion the character of Don Vito Corleone is this actor's signature role. Brando effectively portrays the Godfather's compassion, love and devotion to his family, and calm acumen to make "business" decisions that literally mean life or death to countless men. Don Vito is both a family man and a killer: two seemingly inconsistent characteristics that make Brando's portrayal even more remarkable. The rest of the cast, including James Caan and Robert Duvall, is exceptional, but it is Al Pacino as young Michael Corleone--Don Vito's "baby boy" who was not meant to enter the family business--who provides the most telling role in this film. Before our very eyes, we see Michael change from a man eager to remain at arms-length to the Corleone family ventures to a ruthless, cold-blooded Godfather himself--a transformation both astounding and eery.

THE GODFATHER is a feast of unforgettable cinematic moments: from an ambush at a toll booth to a bloody horse head wrapped in satin sheets. Puzo's story is told--told through filmmaking as good as it gets.
--D. Mikels

One of the best films I have ever seen with a lot of memorable scenes and classic lines. On top of that probably the best directing ever and a perfect cast.

Don Corleone, I honor you!

Memorable dialogue to the last word (Michael is it true? No!).

If you haven't seen this fantastic movie, let me tell you that you are missing what it's perhaps the best movie of all time. It's just perfect. You just can't miss when you put together the direction of Francis Ford Coppola at the top of his game, superb performances from great actors like Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall and John Cazale, beautiful music from the composer Nino Rota, and a memorable cinematography courtesy of Gordon Willis.

There are a lot of timeless scenes in this mob film ("I believe in America"), plenty of quoting lines ("I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"), fabulous supporting characters (Luca Brasi), and the list can go on and on and on. In my opinion, this is the movie that beats all the rest of the films. I think that all movie fan collection must include "The Godfather". If you haven't seen it yet and you are looking for a fantastic film, go see a classic film, go see "The Godfather".

Absolutely recommendable.

I stumbled across this classic on cable TV a few evenings ago and that was it: I abandoned all other plans for the evening and watched the movie. Then I retrieved Mario Puzo's novel from my book collection and plowed through it, savoring and relishing this extraordinary piece of literature that had such an impact on our cultural landscape thirty-plus years ago.

Francis Ford Coppola's THE GODFATHER is a triumphant, magnificent screen portrayal of Puzo's epic book. The story of an Italian-American mob "family" entrenched in inherent and often desperate violence, Coppola weaves this film with compelling, moving, and haunting visuals that are as beautiful as they are disturbing. The scenes are at once simplistic and complex, yet such a dichotomy is not lost on the viewer, but embraced--appreciated for its overwhelming genius.

I've seen more than my fair share of Marlon Brando films, and in my opinion the character of Don Vito Corleone is this actor's signature role. Brando effectively portrays the Godfather's compassion, love and devotion to his family, and calm acumen to make "business" decisions that literally mean life or death to countless men. Don Vito is both a family man and a killer: two seemingly inconsistent characteristics that make Brando's portrayal even more remarkable. The rest of the cast, including James Caan and Robert Duvall, is exceptional, but it is Al Pacino as young Michael Corleone--Don Vito's "baby boy" who was not meant to enter the family business--who provides the most telling role in this film. Before our very eyes, we see Michael change from a man eager to remain at arms-length to the Corleone family ventures to a ruthless, cold-blooded Godfather himself--a transformation both astounding and eery.

THE GODFATHER is a feast of unforgettable cinematic moments: from an ambush at a toll booth to a bloody horse head wrapped in satin sheets. Puzo's story is told--told through filmmaking as good as it gets.
--D. Mikels

One of the best films I have ever seen with a lot of memorable scenes and classic lines. On top of that probably the best directing ever and a perfect cast.

Don Corleone, I honor you!

Memorable dialogue to the last word (Michael is it true? No!).

If you haven't seen this fantastic movie, let me tell you that you are missing what it's perhaps the best movie of all time. It's just perfect. You just can't miss when you put together the direction of Francis Ford Coppola at the top of his game, superb performances from great actors like Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall and John Cazale, beautiful music from the composer Nino Rota, and a memorable cinematography courtesy of Gordon Willis.

There are a lot of timeless scenes in this mob film ("I believe in America"), plenty of quoting lines ("I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"), fabulous supporting characters (Luca Brasi), and the list can go on and on and on. In my opinion, this is the movie that beats all the rest of the films. I think that all movie fan collection must include "The Godfather". If you haven't seen it yet and you are looking for a fantastic film, go see a classic film, go see "The Godfather".

Absolutely recommendable.

I stumbled across this classic on cable TV a few evenings ago and that was it: I abandoned all other plans for the evening and watched the movie. Then I retrieved Mario Puzo's novel from my book collection and plowed through it, savoring and relishing this extraordinary piece of literature that had such an impact on our cultural landscape thirty-plus years ago.

Francis Ford Coppola's THE GODFATHER is a triumphant, magnificent screen portrayal of Puzo's epic book. The story of an Italian-American mob "family" entrenched in inherent and often desperate violence, Coppola weaves this film with compelling, moving, and haunting visuals that are as beautiful as they are disturbing. The scenes are at once simplistic and complex, yet such a dichotomy is not lost on the viewer, but embraced--appreciated for its overwhelming genius.

I've seen more than my fair share of Marlon Brando films, and in my opinion the character of Don Vito Corleone is this actor's signature role. Brando effectively portrays the Godfather's compassion, love and devotion to his family, and calm acumen to make "business" decisions that literally mean life or death to countless men. Don Vito is both a family man and a killer: two seemingly inconsistent characteristics that make Brando's portrayal even more remarkable. The rest of the cast, including James Caan and Robert Duvall, is exceptional, but it is Al Pacino as young Michael Corleone--Don Vito's "baby boy" who was not meant to enter the family business--who provides the most telling role in this film. Before our very eyes, we see Michael change from a man eager to remain at arms-length to the Corleone family ventures to a ruthless, cold-blooded Godfather himself--a transformation both astounding and eery.

THE GODFATHER is a feast of unforgettable cinematic moments: from an ambush at a toll booth to a bloody horse head wrapped in satin sheets. Puzo's story is told--told through filmmaking as good as it gets.
--D. Mikels

One of the best films I have ever seen with a lot of memorable scenes and classic lines. On top of that probably the best directing ever and a perfect cast.

Don Corleone, I honor you!

Memorable dialogue to the last word (Michael is it true? No!).

Brian's Song is one of the saddest movies ever made, based on the too-true story of the black/white friendship between Gale Sayer and Brian Piccolo. James Caan does a credible, if self-absorbed job as Brian -- his sickly scenes definitely do not hold up as well as you might remember, and though this movie definitely looks and sounds dated, it still packs a powerful emotional punch, in the same way that Terms of Endearment does. Beware: you are headed for very rough waters. And that Michel Legrand theme song, a classic for the ages, turns the nozzle to full-tilt. That final still image remains firmly etched in my mind, and the special relationship engendered here carries a special weight as one of the first of its kind ever seen in a film.

I was fifteen years old when "Brian's Song" premiered as a "Movie of the Week" on ABC-TV. I had no interest in sports then (I still don't), and had no intentions of watching this movie, but my dad persuaded me. "Just watch the first few minutes," he said. He knew that this was NOT a sports movie. He had read Gale Sayers' book "I Am Third" (upon which this movie is partially based), and knew that this was a movie about PEOPLE, not about football. The fact that the two lead characters are football players is almost incidental. This is a movie about friendship, love and courage. Needless to say, I watched it from start to finish, and have watched it many times since. Although its roots as a TV movie are obvious (the production values are nothing more than ordinary), "Brian's Song" is one of the most extraordinary films ever made, a particularly remarkable achievement when you consider its length of only 74 minutes. James Caan and Billy Dee Williams, both virtual unknowns at the time, play Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers with a sense of realism, and with respect for their real-life counterparts. Jack Warden is excellent (as always) as coach George Halas, and Shelley Fabares and Judy Pace turn in fine performances as Joy Piccolo and Linda Sayers. David Huddleston and Bernie Casey make the most of their small parts, and even real-life Chicago Bears provide some fine moments, particularly the "hazing" sequence. The sincere performances, along with William Blinn's beautifully-written teleplay, keep the action from becoming mawkish or sappy, Buzz Kulik's direction brought out the best in his actors, and Michel Legrand's score comments on the emotions in the film with exactly the right tone. (Legrand's penchant for marking musical cues to sudden movement onscreen is notable, and the gorgeous theme is one of the most emotionally charged pieces of music ever written.) The film ends on a freeze-frame of James Caan's face over narration by Jack Warden of William Blinn's words, and when that musical theme pulls out all the stops after Warden's narration ends, well...even the Chicago Bears themselves would be dissolved in tears. It's one of my all-time favorite movies, and I would recommend it without reservation to anyone, sports fan or not. Thanks, Dad.

The DVD version includes an exclusive short featurette, "Gale Sayers: First and Goal" in which present-day Gale Sayers discusses the movie and his career. It's interesting, but nothing special. Also included in audio commentary by Williams and Caan. Caan is a cutup and does most of the talking, and little of any real substance is said, but it IS quite entertaining, and definitely worth another viewing.

But then, "Brian's Song" is ALWAYS worth another viewing...

A true classic and tear jerker. It includes one of the best title songs of all time.

Intelligently written screenplay and good acting cast led by James Caan and Robert Duvall are the highlights of this 1968 film (made only about a year before the United States actually landed a man on the moon) of the first American NASA mission to the moon. Complete with the then up to date technology and training that astronauts needed to go through in getting ready for the mission. Good film for people interested in the early days of NASA and the early Eagle and Apollo missions. Directed by Robert Altman. Produced by William Conrad. Music by Leonard Rosenman.

I agree with everything that's been said, and I'd also look to mention the completely lack of conflict within the movie. It's amazing, there's almost nothing to work against, and very little tension. Maybe it's because we know now that space flight was possible, but it's still amazing to see a movie about the moon landing where the plotline is: We wanted to go the moon, we trained to go the moon, and then we landed on the moon. There's about five minutes there where it looks like James Caan isn't going to find the docking station on the moon and die from a lack of oxygen...but then he turns around, and oh yeah! There it is! Just behind me.

Totally different style, but the only other movie I can think of like this is "Payback," where Mel Gibson just kind of walks in and starts kicking .... He never gets capture, never gets put in trouble, just kinda shoots his way through to the final boss.

I wonder if the simplistic linearity of this film was created by the studio's re-edit of the film, or if that's largely true to Altman's idea? During the last five minutes of the film, as the character announces that he has five minutes of oxygen left and doesn't see the docking station, I thought it was going to be an Altmanesque last-minutes-to-live-final-soliloquy ending. But no. The space station was there all along. All you had to do with click your heels together, three times...

Seeing this movie as we are, far from era it was made in, makes for quite hokey fun for a few reasons. It's a great encapsulation of that era illustrating the fashions, modern architecture, modes of thinking, scientific fervor, (great cocktail parties!), and the roles of men and women at that time. In other words, everyone was young, smart, modern, knew their place in the world, and we were going to the moon! The script is kind of hard to follow at times, and the rivalry between the two main charactors gets kind of goofy in places, but the overlapping dialog in many of the conflicts makes the script at least seem earnest. The special effects are OK, but they forgot to film one part on the moon in slow-mo to make the gravity seem accurate--looks dopey. All in all, for those who like movies that are fictional time capsules of the Space Age, I believe you'll find this movie fun to watch.

I am simply reviewing the DVD on this one. For such a wonderful film this DVD has NOTHING. And when I say nothing, I mean NOTHING. Oh, a booklet that's a whopping fold-open which doesn't give any information what so ever. I love this film, and it's by far the best Stephen King sceen adaptation ever, but it's a real shame there aren't ANY extras to speak of on this DVD. Special Edition is needed BIG TIME!

Romance author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) longs for parting with Misery. Sheldon's plucky heroine of seven novels has delivered Sheldon fame and fortune and recognition beyond the average writer's dreams, but she is also interminably linked to him. Determined to escape an eternal role as dimestore novelist, he kills her off in the eighth novel and heads to his New England cabin to work on his own Great American Novel. Upon completion, Sheldon excitedly sets out for his New York City publisher in the midst of a raging blizzard and within minutes veers into a desolate snowbank. From the brink of death, he is rescued from the snow by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who just so happens to be Misery's self-professed biggest fan. At first, she nurses him back to health in her remote cabin, telling him the roads and phones are knocked out by the storm, fawning over his literary accomplishments. However, things change when she purchases his eighth Misery book and reaches the point of Misery's death. Annie's psychotic underbelly swiftly surfaces as the unfortunate author is held clandestinely captive in her home. Meanwhile, a wily small-town sheriff (Richard Farnsworth) circles in....

Director Rob Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's novel is an eerie tale of obsessiveness and isolation. The film features an excellent turn by Caan and an Oscar-winning performance by Bates.

Watch MISERY for a load of suspense and thrills that will have you begging for more. This is a great thriller and shouldn't be missed by any Stephen King fan. He's a great writer and Rob Reiner is an awesome director. The acting is also extremly great.

I wouldn't call this a horror movie, but any horror fan would just love this one. The scenes ares so brutal, that when Kathy Bates breaks James Caan's legs you can feel the pain he's going through.

Rent this film. It's excellent. You won't regret it.

I hope my review was helpful to you!

This is my favorite movie! Paul Sheldon (brilliantly played by James Caan) is in a horrible auto accident. Annie Wilkes (even MORE brilliantly played by kathy Bates) "saves" him from dying. Meanwhile, the rest of the world thinks he is dead. Ironically, Annie is Pauls "Number one Fan"

Annie seems like the perfect nurse; cheerful, pleasant, great cook; until she finishes reading her newest Paul Sheldon book which kills of her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie throws a rage, saying Paul is "not good". She then leaves.
Annie is back the next day, cheerful as ever.

Kathy Bates deservedly won an oscar for her role as Annie Wilkes. She goes from giggly happy woman to a monster in 0.0034 seconds. She is one of the scariest figures thought up by Stephen King, the one who wrote the book the movie is based on. This is scarier than other movies because it can really happen.

I recommend this movie to anyone. I love it. It is full of suspense, horror, and twisted plot characteristics. A great movie to watch!

I am simply reviewing the DVD on this one. For such a wonderful film this DVD has NOTHING. And when I say nothing, I mean NOTHING. Oh, a booklet that's a whopping fold-open which doesn't give any information what so ever. I love this film, and it's by far the best Stephen King sceen adaptation ever, but it's a real shame there aren't ANY extras to speak of on this DVD. Special Edition is needed BIG TIME!

Romance author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) longs for parting with Misery. Sheldon's plucky heroine of seven novels has delivered Sheldon fame and fortune and recognition beyond the average writer's dreams, but she is also interminably linked to him. Determined to escape an eternal role as dimestore novelist, he kills her off in the eighth novel and heads to his New England cabin to work on his own Great American Novel. Upon completion, Sheldon excitedly sets out for his New York City publisher in the midst of a raging blizzard and within minutes veers into a desolate snowbank. From the brink of death, he is rescued from the snow by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who just so happens to be Misery's self-professed biggest fan. At first, she nurses him back to health in her remote cabin, telling him the roads and phones are knocked out by the storm, fawning over his literary accomplishments. However, things change when she purchases his eighth Misery book and reaches the point of Misery's death. Annie's psychotic underbelly swiftly surfaces as the unfortunate author is held clandestinely captive in her home. Meanwhile, a wily small-town sheriff (Richard Farnsworth) circles in....

Director Rob Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's novel is an eerie tale of obsessiveness and isolation. The film features an excellent turn by Caan and an Oscar-winning performance by Bates.

Watch MISERY for a load of suspense and thrills that will have you begging for more. This is a great thriller and shouldn't be missed by any Stephen King fan. He's a great writer and Rob Reiner is an awesome director. The acting is also extremly great.

I wouldn't call this a horror movie, but any horror fan would just love this one. The scenes ares so brutal, that when Kathy Bates breaks James Caan's legs you can feel the pain he's going through.

Rent this film. It's excellent. You won't regret it.

I hope my review was helpful to you!

This is my favorite movie! Paul Sheldon (brilliantly played by James Caan) is in a horrible auto accident. Annie Wilkes (even MORE brilliantly played by kathy Bates) "saves" him from dying. Meanwhile, the rest of the world thinks he is dead. Ironically, Annie is Pauls "Number one Fan"

Annie seems like the perfect nurse; cheerful, pleasant, great cook; until she finishes reading her newest Paul Sheldon book which kills of her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie throws a rage, saying Paul is "not good". She then leaves.
Annie is back the next day, cheerful as ever.

Kathy Bates deservedly won an oscar for her role as Annie Wilkes. She goes from giggly happy woman to a monster in 0.0034 seconds. She is one of the scariest figures thought up by Stephen King, the one who wrote the book the movie is based on. This is scarier than other movies because it can really happen.

I recommend this movie to anyone. I love it. It is full of suspense, horror, and twisted plot characteristics. A great movie to watch!

When I first saw Varsity Blues, I wasn't expecting it to be a great movie. But overall, I enjoyed it very much. This movie, created by MTV, only cost $16 million bucks to make and brought in over $52 million at the box office, because this movie is mainly aimed at high school juniors and seniors or in the age range of 16-21.

The story takes place in a fictional town called West Canaan, Texas, a small, steamy town in southwestern Texas where high school football is a way of life. The town is the home of the West Canaan Coyotes, a football team which has won 22 consecutive district championships and 2 state championships. The head coach of the team, Coach Kilmer (Jon Voight), has a "win-at-all-costs" attitude, meaning he has a reputation of playing his players injured or sick. He has also coached many of the current players' fathers, who seem to be re-living their glory years through their sons. When the all-Texas star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) goes down with a season-ending knee injury, backup quarterback Jonathan "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek from Dawson's Creek) reluctantly assumes the duties of filling Lance's shoes. Once he miraculously leads his team to victory, his life begins to drastically change. He becomes very popular in school, gets free under-the-counter alcohol, and even easy sex from the former quarterback's girlfriend. So as the movie goes on, Mox continues to lead his team to victory, while dealing with the pressure of his coach and the love triangle that he has gotten himself into. In the final game at the end of the movie, he shows what it is like to be a high school hero after the coach abandons the team. As the movie ends, we hear a voiceover of what became of the characters.

So in conclusion, it's a pretty good movie from MTV which shows what high school life mixed with football is really all about. That is why I mentioned that this film should mainly be viewed by high school/college students. There are some really funny scenes in this movie; the most notable would probably be when one of the players hijacks a police car and parades around town with a bunch of naked girls in the backseat, and when they discover that their science teacher has a job at a local strip club. Adults might want to stay away from this one. 3 1/2 stars.

Okay. It ma y appear that I am overreacting with giving this movie five stars. The critics didn't care for it. Most parents probably won't like it either. What we have here is basically a 90s verion of the 1980s classic "Johnny Be Good". This one was also reemed hard by the critics. They don't seem to realize the significance of a film like this. They aren't teenagers and the movie is not aimed to please them. It is aimed at people around my age "18" who enjoy watching movies that they can relate too. Since I enjoy just about every movie from Sling Blade to The Toxic Avenger, I found Varsity Blues to be very entertaining and heart felt. I did not play football in high school (acting is my trade) ,but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It is deeper than just football and sex. It shows teenage life and the everyday pressures that fall on our shoulders. It also makes for a great date flick. You don't have to keep glued to it to really undestand what is going on. If you ask me, it's worth owning. It has the endless replay value of Back to the Future and you will never get bored. The Texan accents are pretty good too. I would have to say the funniest scene is where Scott Caan Steals the cop car and goes parading around town naked with a bunch of girls.

Does anyone know if the story behind Varsity Blues is related or drawn from the book, 'Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream' by H. G. Bissinger?
It's about the Permian High School Panthers of Odessa, TX; where the the team, for better and for worse, is the town.

Anyone know?

Thanks in advance...

When I first saw Varsity Blues, I wasn't expecting it to be a great movie. But overall, I enjoyed it very much. This movie, created by MTV, only cost $16 million bucks to make and brought in over $52 million at the box office, because this movie is mainly aimed at high school juniors and seniors or in the age range of 16-21.

The story takes place in a fictional town called West Canaan, Texas, a small, steamy town in southwestern Texas where high school football is a way of life. The town is the home of the West Canaan Coyotes, a football team which has won 22 consecutive district championships and 2 state championships. The head coach of the team, Coach Kilmer (Jon Voight), has a "win-at-all-costs" attitude, meaning he has a reputation of playing his players injured or sick. He has also coached many of the current players' fathers, who seem to be re-living their glory years through their sons. When the all-Texas star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) goes down with a season-ending knee injury, backup quarterback Jonathan "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek from Dawson's Creek) reluctantly assumes the duties of filling Lance's shoes. Once he miraculously leads his team to victory, his life begins to drastically change. He becomes very popular in school, gets free under-the-counter alcohol, and even easy sex from the former quarterback's girlfriend. So as the movie goes on, Mox continues to lead his team to victory, while dealing with the pressure of his coach and the love triangle that he has gotten himself into. In the final game at the end of the movie, he shows what it is like to be a high school hero after the coach abandons the team. As the movie ends, we hear a voiceover of what became of the characters.

So in conclusion, it's a pretty good movie from MTV which shows what high school life mixed with football is really all about. That is why I mentioned that this film should mainly be viewed by high school/college students. There are some really funny scenes in this movie; the most notable would probably be when one of the players hijacks a police car and parades around town with a bunch of naked girls in the backseat, and when they discover that their science teacher has a job at a local strip club. Adults might want to stay away from this one. 3 1/2 stars.

Okay. It ma y appear that I am overreacting with giving this movie five stars. The critics didn't care for it. Most parents probably won't like it either. What we have here is basically a 90s verion of the 1980s classic "Johnny Be Good". This one was also reemed hard by the critics. They don't seem to realize the significance of a film like this. They aren't teenagers and the movie is not aimed to please them. It is aimed at people around my age "18" who enjoy watching movies that they can relate too. Since I enjoy just about every movie from Sling Blade to The Toxic Avenger, I found Varsity Blues to be very entertaining and heart felt. I did not play football in high school (acting is my trade) ,but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It is deeper than just football and sex. It shows teenage life and the everyday pressures that fall on our shoulders. It also makes for a great date flick. You don't have to keep glued to it to really undestand what is going on. If you ask me, it's worth owning. It has the endless replay value of Back to the Future and you will never get bored. The Texan accents are pretty good too. I would have to say the funniest scene is where Scott Caan Steals the cop car and goes parading around town naked with a bunch of girls.

Does anyone know if the story behind Varsity Blues is related or drawn from the book, 'Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream' by H. G. Bissinger?
It's about the Permian High School Panthers of Odessa, TX; where the the team, for better and for worse, is the town.

Anyone know?

Thanks in advance...