Hands up anyone who shelled-out cash at the cinema to see this pathetic sporting comedy...What were you thinking of?
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
Perfectly watchable, undemanding fun, but you can't help thinking that a slightly darker tone would have gone a very long way.
A character whose manner and voice has the effect of fingernails on a blackboard!
For anyone expecting the comedy to rise beyond the moronic, The Waterboy is all wet!
The direction is as blunt and vacant as the plotting, the jokes are obvious and the performances (with a couple of exceptions) charmless.
Adam Sandler has made predictable movies with worn out plots an artform.
The Waterboy is a disappointment, even by standards associated with Adam Sandler's work.
Sandler and his frat-house friends have done the infant-in-an-adult-body shtick to death!
Sandler has proven himself a worthy alchemist with The Waterboy, transforming swamp water to Evian. Quite a refreshing if moronic romp. Sandler rocks!
God knows, it tries, but most of the jokes fall flat, and the movie never gets off the ground.
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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