Waterboy

Amusing but typical Adam Sandler vehicle about a water boy for a football team who has the amazing ability to get extremely mad and violent (picture Sandler as the Incredible Hulk). When a football coach (Henry Winkler, a.k.a. The Fonz) sees Sandler's amazing talent, he gets him on his football team...much to the dissaproval of his overcontrolling mother (Kathy Bates).

A lightweight comedy handled with playfulness. "The Waterboy" scores big points for laughs. If you want an hour and a half of fun, see this movie!

3.5/5 stars -

John Ulmer

Adam Sandler's brand of humor may not be award winning,but it doesn't have to be.He creates another memorable character here,and surrounds himself with a good cast,including Henry Winkler,and Oscar winner Kathy Bates.You would be hard pressed to find a film about the sport of football that could be considered a great one,but the majority that I have seen are entertaining enough,and this one is no exception to that. If you are smart,you won't view this movie with an expectation of greatness,but if you want genuinely funny silliness,this is a film for you.It's a worthy edition to the comedy section of anyone's home library.

Although I love a good foreign or independent film, sometimes I am in the mood for a good old stupid film like THE WATERBOY. This is not meant as an insult, as the makers of this film intended for it to be very dumb and in the process the film is also quite entertaining. There are many times I could just use some mindless fun and I am thankful that films like the Bill and Ted films, UHF, TALLADEGA NIGHTS and THE WATERBOY are there when I am in the mood for goofiness.

Adam Sandler stars as Bobby Boucher--a guy so socially inept people assume he is an idiot. His sole desire in life when he film begins is to be a water boy for a football team--even though he's in his 30s! When he shows up at South Central Louisiana State University looking for this job, the coach (Henry Winkler) lets him do it---provided he doesn't have to pay Boucher! Oddly, Boucher looks at his job as if it were a science and he takes amazing pride in such a menial and worthless job. In the process, he looks like a total geek and the players make fun of him constantly. Eventually, all the needling reminds him of all the many, many, many times others have made fun of him over the years and he reacts by knocking one of the players off his feet. Not realizing it, Boucher was able to channel his 31 years of rage into tackling. Winkler realizes Boucher's potential and gets him to agree to play football--even though Boucher's mama (Kathy Bates) thinks "foosball is of the Devil!". This is accomplished by pretending that he's just the team's water boy. I loved when he came home bruised up after a game and explained that it was because he was beaten up by an escaped gorilla....and she believed it!! However, when Mama finally learns the truth, she slips into an unknown illness and Waterboy is unable to bring himself to play in the super-important Bourbon Bowl!

The film abounds with stupid moments--the sort that make kids laugh and adult often pretend aren't funny. I believe that most sophisticated adults WILL like the film but should probably only watch it when the kids are asleep--otherwise the children will realize that their parents are capable of laughing at Adam Sandler.

Clever writing, lots of silly gags (such as his run-in with 'Colonel Sanders') and a part that works well for Sandler, this is one of his better films. I also recommend you try watching THE WEDDING SINGER. And, because I care about you, I advise you to avoid LITTLE NICKY like the plague, as its juvenile humor is something only the most seriously brain damaged can appreciate. It's just not funny.

By the way, the plot of THE WATERBOY is in many ways a variation on Stephen King's CARRIE. Carrie's mother IS Bobby Boucher's mother in many different ways. And, instead of cool telekinesis, Bobby's "magic power" is his ability to tackle. Think about it.

I have to admit: this Adam Sandler no-brainer is hilarious, just had me laughing right from the start. I'd rank it in my top ten funny movies of my collection and it features one of my favorite characters in film: Bobby Boucher Jr., a heckuva lot nicer guy than Sandler's "Happy Gilmore."

"Bobby" is about as innocent and a gentle-natured a guy as you'll find this side of Forrest Gump. You can't help but root for him, and that's the idea. What the film basically involves is another "Revenge Of The Nerds" theme except it's "nerd "- singular - as the picked-on waterboy turning the tables on the football jocks. Interesting to once again see Jerry Reed, whom I haven't seen much of since his days in "Smokey And The Bandit." He has much fatter face but everything else looked the same. Then there is Henry Winkler, "The Fonz" who now is the opposite: a guy with a terrible inferiority complex. All the characters in here are wildly exaggerated.

This cartoon-like comedy may not be high-brow, but so what? It's not totally low- brow either, but I do wonder why modern filmmakers cannot seem to make a comedy without all the sex references and the profanity. Nonetheless, Sandler's Cajun accent, his strange-looking-but pretty girlfriend (Fairuza Balk) and crazy mother (Kathy Bates, in the funniest role she's ever played) are all great fun to watch.

It's silly, particularly the ridiculous climactic football game, but then this movie is hardly to be taken seriously. It's all absurd humor, and 90 minutes was just right amount of time for it.

A lot of people are shocked at how dumb, unbelievable, and campy this movie is. Obviously they've lived in a cave and never seen an Adam Sandler movie before.

You don't watch Adam Sandler for a cerebral workout. You'll never see him starring opposite Anthony Hopkins or Merryl Streep. Okay, I realize his IS cast opposite Oscar-Winner Kathy Bates, but don't confuse me with details. This movie is just a bunch of jokes wrapped around a weak plot.

Still, the jokes are really funny. I don't usually laugh out loud at the movies, but I guffawed at many parts of this movie. If nothing else, it stimulates the Three Stooges area of the frontal lobe of your brain.

On the down side, Rob Schneider must be a good friend, because his role was obviously a last-minute toss in. Schneider is not funny in this movie and his "lines" are by far the campiest element of this movie.

Still, it was amazing how the crowd with which I saw it reacted to the football scenes in the movie. I looked around and everyone was anxious or cheering like they're best friend was playing in the Super Bowl. Also, this is the hardest I've seen an audience laugh since "There's Something About Mary".

In short, if you can accept the fact that the plot is completely unbelievable and just watch it for laughs, you will enjoy this movie. If you're looking for Oscar-winning drama, go elsewhere.