There's an innocence to The Waterboy that makes the picture part slapstick and part fairy tale...The only problem with letting kids see this Adam Sandler movie? They might want to see another one. [Blu-ray]
The Waterboy (1998)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:71
Fresh:22
Rotten:49
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: This is an insult to its genre with low humor and cheap gags.
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Adam Sandler is charming and disarming as he dusts off and mashes together his beloved SNL charcters Cajun Man and Canteen Boy to create Bobby Boucher, the sweet-tempered, simple-minded, bayou... Adam Sandler is charming and disarming as he dusts off and mashes together his beloved SNL charcters Cajun Man and Canteen Boy to create Bobby Boucher, the sweet-tempered, simple-minded, bayou man-child who relishes his job of eighteen years as the much-abused waterboy for the local "good" (well-funded but nasty of spirit) university's football team. True to the appropriate cine-formula, there is also a nearby "bad" (under-funded but generous of spirit) university where Bobby seeks tenure after finally being driven away from his long-time place of employment by the relentless cruelty of those whom he seeks only to refresh and hydrate. It is under the kindly tutelage of the "lesser" university's down-and-out football coach (Henry Winkler phones it in, but warmly) that Bobby realizes his unusual athletic prowess and develops some basic people skills. Kathy Bates has an enormous amount of fun, and is a laugh riot, as Bobby's earthy, over-protective, swamp-shack-dwelling mom; and Fairuza Balk is accessibly luscious in a Daisy Mae turn as Bobby's resourceful, tomboyish, creole-cutie sweetheart. Deadpan delivery, satisfying sight gags, and "elbow-your-neighbor-and-point-at-the-screen" cameos make this an attractive option for fans of the genre. [More]
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, Fairuza Balk
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed, Larry Gilliard, Blake Clark, Rob Schneider, Clint Howard
Director: Frank Coraci
Director: Frank Coraci
Screenwriter: Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler
Producer: Jack Giarraputo, Robert Simonds
Composer: Alan Pasqua
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Release:
Mar 16, 1999
Reviews for The Waterboy
A predictable, formulaic, dumb comedy that has about as much depth as Bobby . . . unless you think of it in Forrest Gump terms, and then it begins to get a little less offensive and a little funnier.
The formulaic mix of mirth and mayhem is aimed way down the MTV food chain...
Perfectly watchable, undemanding fun, but you can't help thinking that a slightly darker tone would have gone a very long way.
Hands up anyone who shelled-out cash at the cinema to see this pathetic sporting comedy...What were you thinking of?
The Waterboy is scrappy and funny and achieves its modest aim, which is to make us laugh like grade-schoolers. The doofus boy triumphs again.
The direction is as blunt and vacant as the plotting, the jokes are obvious and the performances (with a couple of exceptions) charmless.
It's a piece of comic fluff that has lots of laughs and appeals to the kid in us all.
The Waterboy is a disappointment, even by standards associated with Adam Sandler's work.
Adam Sandler movies are like kumquats -- you either like them or you don't.
God knows, it tries, but most of the jokes fall flat, and the movie never gets off the ground.
The Waterboy should have been sacked long before it reached the theater.
Sandler proved last year that he can be believable as a real person, but if he insists on playing overblown caricatures, he may not get many more chances.
Not only can one see the film's "twists" coming a mile away, the jokes along the way are extraordinarily flat as well.
It ain't really thought provoking, but you can't deny it's terrific entertainment.
Latest News for The Waterboy
September 03, 2008:
Jerry Reed: 1937-2008 ![]()
Jerry Reed, the musician and actor who appeared in such films as "Smokey and the Bandit" and "The Waterboy," has passed away due to complications from emphysema. He was 71. More...
June 25, 2006:
Box Office Wrapup: Sandler Fast Forwards to #1
Moviegoers grabbed their remote controls and flocked to the multiplexes this weekend to see Adam Sandler's latest comedy Click which became the comedian's eighth number one hit... More...
June 22, 2006:
Box Office Preview: Sandler "Clicks" With New Comedy
Although Father's Day has passed, Hollywood brings out two very different stories about dads and their wacky adventures this weekend with Adam Sandler's comedy Click and Tyrese... More...
December 23, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: Click
Thanks to all sorts of annoying glitches and browser-bumbling, I cannot personally guarantee that you'll find the all-new trailer for Adam Sandler's "Click" over at... More...
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