Waterboy

I really liked the Waterboy. It was crude, raw, and utterly funny. Adam Sandler gives his funniest yet since his 1995 cult hit Billy Madison. In this feel good movie, Sandler plays a dumb waterboy who gets on a football team and becomes a damn good tackler. Everything in this film is funny, from beginning to end. Henry Winkler has his best in years as a down on his luck coach and Kathy Bates is Dead Pan funny as mama. Great all around. A+

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.

I do agree the story takes a long time to develop, the script at times is not great(too many dumb moments) and the pacing is uneven, but The Waterboy is actually somewhat endearing. And it has Adam Sandler in it, an actor I don't care for, but he was surprisingly amusing here. I do think though that Kathy Bates(ever the pro)as the Cajun mum and Henry Winkler as the bewildered coach gave much better performances. The film does look striking, with nice cinematography and scenery, and the soundtrack is nice. The sports sequences are lovingly done, and the direction is efficient enough. Overall, it isn't groundbreaking, but it is an endearing and amusing film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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.

Now I am a huge fan of Adam Sandlers dumb-ass films but I think that is why people have let him a have a career so long. They just love his dumb-ass movies. The movie centres around the local water boy who when the coach of the football team notices he can tackle hard when mad he puts him as the new quarterback of tackeler guy sorry I am Australian. The movie is good on many pointers as it shows that Adam Sandler can play 2 different types of dumb guys, nice dumb and guys and mean dumb guys. If you have not already seen this you should take some time to seat down and enjoy the movie. Overall this movie is a fun excuse to seat down and dumb out but I can see why people would not like this film. I rate this film 83%.