About this episode

The episode discusses the film Varsity Blues and its cultural impact, featuring guest Jacki Krestel.

We sadly lost 1990s icon James Van Der Beek in February, so we decided it was time to look at his most prominent non-Dawson's Creek role - the teen comedy-drama sports movie Varsity Blues. Released very early in the year on January 15th, Varsity Blues was the 45th highest grossing movie of the year. Opening as a surprise number, it made back most of its 16 million dollar budget in its debut weekend and would go on to gross an impressive 54 million dollars worldwide, but it really became a summertime hit in its home video release in June. Also starring Jon Voight, Paul Walker, Ron Lester, Scott Caan, Amy Smart, Ali Larter, and a little baby Jesse Plemons, and featuring an incredibly 1999 soundtrack including Foo Fighters, Green Day, Collective Soul, Third Eye Blind and Fastball, Varsity Blues has something of a cult status, in part due to one very memorable line delivery. But how does it hold up as a teen movie or a sports film? This week, our friend Jacki Krestel joins us to talk sports, teens, 90s tropes, and James Van Der Beek. Jack writes about baseball on her blog, Jack Likes Baseball.

People in this episode

Hosts: John Brooks, Julia Sirmons

Guest: Jacki Krestel

Topics covered

• 1990s cinema
• teen movies
• sports films
• James Van Der Beek
• cult classics
• soundtracks

Keywords

• Varsity Blues
• James Van Der Beek
• teen comedy
• sports movie
• 1990s
• soundtrack
• box office

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Foo Fighters, Green Day, Collective Soul, Third Eye Blind, Fastball

Books & works: VARSITY BLUES, Dawson's Creek

More episodes of 1999: The Podcast

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• (Rerelease from 6/25) - AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME - with Siri Dahl · July 7, 2026 · 1h 36m
• See Also: HARDBALL (2001) - with Jacki Krestel · June 23, 2026 · 1h 22m
• See Also: PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002) · May 28, 2026 · 1h 7m
• MAGNOLIA (Revisited) - with Holly Brown · May 12, 2026 · 1h 28m
• See Also: WAG THE DOG (1998) · April 21, 2026 · 1h 9m

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