Nothing is ever truly free. There has to be a fee somewhere in the fine print, right? It’s understandable to get an uneasy feeling when reading the word “free.” So when I say that this list consists of three free movies, it might cause some hesitation.
Rest assured, streaming these movies will not cost a dime. Two of these movies are available on popular FAST—free ad-supported television—channels, and the third is on YouTube. Each one of these movies will run ads during the feature presentation. Think of it like watching a movie on TV with commercials. Some of these services require an email to take advantage of the features, but again, these movies are free to watch. Our selections this week include a football drama, a riveting biopic, and a horror masterpiece.
3
Varsity Blues
Now streaming for free on YouTube
Varsity Blues now hits differently after the loss of James Van Der Beek, who died at 48 on February 11 after a long battle with colorectal cancer. Van Der Beek is best known for portraying Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek, an iconic teen drama that ran for six seasons from 1998 to 2003. Despite sharing the spotlight with Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams, Van Der Beek became the biggest breakout star in the ’90s. One year after Dawson Creek’s premiere, Van Der Beek traded in Dawson’s camcorder for a football to star in Varsity Blues.
In Texas, there are three guarantees: death, taxes, and football. In West Canaan, football is a religion, and head coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight) is the pope. The authoritative coach only cares about winning another district title, even if it jeopardizes the health of his players. Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) is the star quarterback, but after a devastating injury knocks him out for the season, backup Jonathan “Mox” Moxon (Van Der Beek) becomes QB1. Football is not at the center of Mox’s life, and this mindset clashes with Kilmer’s win-at-all-cost mentality.
Varsity Blues is a Western football movie—Mox is the outsider looking to save his teammates from Kilmer’s corruption. The football scenes surprisingly held up well, and Varsity Blues may have even predicted the five-wide offense. Every sports movie needs a motivational speech, and Mox’s monologue at halftime of the big game will make the hair on your arms stand up. If not, then at least you can laugh at Billy Bob’s antics.
2
I, Tonya
Now streaming for free on Tubi
After a multi-year hiatus from acting, Margot Robbie returned to the big screen earlier this month in Wuthering Heights, Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of the seminal novel by Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights went right to No. 1 at the box office during its opening weekend. Robbie is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but 10 years ago, she was just beginning her ascent to the A-list following roles in The Wolf of Wall Street and Suicide Squad. In 2017, Robbie proved she could be an actress who garnered critical acclaim with her performance in I, Tonya.
Directed by Supergirl’s Craig Gillespie, I, Tonya depicts the life of Tonya Harding (Robbie), a troubled figure skater who survived a tough upbringing and eventually competed in the Winter Olympics. After finishing fourth at the 1992 Olympics, Tonya eyes the 1994 Winter Olympics as her shot at gold. Unfortunately, Tonya cannot focus solely on figure skating thanks to her overbearing mother, LaVona (Allison Janney), and abusive husband, Jeff (Sebastian Stan). A film about Tonya Harding wouldn’t be complete without the attack on her top rival, Nancy Kerrigan (Caitlin Carver).
I, Tonya is more than just a movie about a harrowing moment in sports history. It’s surprisingly funny, especially when the characters break the fourth wall. Robbie commands the screen as Harding, resulting in her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress. I, Tonya doesn’t let Harding off the hook for her actions, but it offers some compassion for the abuse she endured.
1
Scream
Now streaming for free on Pluto TV
Admittedly, horror has never been my favorite genre. Perhaps it stems from a traumatic experience I had as a child watching Stephen King’s It. Thankfully, my childhood trauma did not prevent me from watching Scream, Wes Craven’s slasher that reinvigorated the horror genre. If you’ve never seen Scream, that opening scene will immediately pique your interest as it introduces Ghostface, the masked villain with an affinity for violence and murder.
High school student Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) lives with her father in the town of Woodsboro, California. On the one-year anniversary of her mother’s murder, Ghostface begins terrorizing Sidney and her friends, and unfortunately, some of them do not make it. Craven isn’t afraid of a little death, especially in Scream, which features creative kills involving garage doors and television sets.
Scream’s trademark meta horror is why it stands alone for me in the genre. Kevin Williamson’s script gives the audience the answers to the test. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) tells his fellow students about how to survive a horror movie—don’t have sex, don’t do drugs, and never say, “I’ll be right back.” Scream is not afraid to poke fun at the genre, and this balance between horror and comedy resulted in a long-lasting franchise that will release its seventh movie on February 27.
Scream
- Release Date
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December 20, 1996
- Runtime
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112 minutes
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David Arquette
Dewey Riley
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Neve Campbell
Sidney Prescott
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Courteney Cox
Gale Weathers
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Matthew Lillard
Stu Macher
For more movie recommendations, check out Tom Cruise’s most misunderstood action movie, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Plus, make sure to watch Pulp Fiction before it leaves Netflix at the end of February.