And the brother is a foil, either for comic relief or for caricature. But Varsity Blues and October Sky are vastly different movies. In Varsity, the little town is in Texas, and football is king. The big deal in town is the football game, and there are some sad middle-aged guys here still living out their teenage dreams through their sons. This is like Semi-Tough meets Animal House, as the players drink and carouse their way through their season.
Girls are little more than sex objects.
The nudity is strictly gratuitous. Parents are boring and stupid. Usually, the only way to get out of this trap is through a football scholarship. The conflict and setbacks are merely part of the formula. In October Sky, the setting is a West Virginia mining town in the '50s.