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Movies / On DVD / The Waterboy
The Waterboy

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The Waterboy (1998)

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31 %
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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

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Mar 16, 1999

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The Waterboy
  • America's favorite wild and zany funnyman, Adam Sandler (50 FIRST DATES, MR. DEEDS, PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE), scores big laughs in a smash comedy hit where the laughs never run dry! Just an oddball mama's boy from the back bayous of Louisiana, Bobby Boucher (Sandler) never wanted anything more than to quench the thirst of the dehydrated athletes who treat him like dirt! But when Coach Klein (Henry Winkler -- HOLES, TV's HAPPY DAYS) makes the call that allows Bobby to finally stand up for himself, it unleashes a torrent of bottled-up frustration ... and exposes a talent for tackling that transforms him from a meek "water distribution engineer" into the hardest hitter ever to roam the gridiron! Also featuring award-winning Kathy Bates (ABOUT SCHMIDT, TITANIC, MISERY) and sexy Fairuza Balk (ALMOST FAMOUS, RETURN TO OZ) in a hilarious cast of stars -- here's your chance to join the millions everywhere who've proudly stood and cheered for The Waterboy!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for The Waterboy

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    1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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    The Waterboy is a disappointment, even by standards associated with Adam Sandler's work.

    Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    02/28/05
    Dragan Antulov
    Dragan Antulov
    Draxblog Movie Reviews

    The trailer for 'The Waterboy' contains anything and everything from the film that might captivate an audience—the rest is just chafe.

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Michael Atkinson
    Michael Atkinson
    Mr. Showbiz
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Una película con la que uno puede pasarse 90 minutos entretenido pero nada más

    Full Review Source: Moviola | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jorge Avila Andrade
    Jorge Avila Andrade
    Moviola

    Although uneven, the film certainly has its heart in the right place.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Thom Bennett
    Thom Bennett
    Film Journal International

    The Waterboy is arguably Sandler's most enjoyable motion picture to date, but it's still far from a masterpiece.

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This picture is almost entirely unintelligible three- or four-minute set pieces loosely held together by the football theme.

    Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Rob Blackwelder
    Rob Blackwelder
    SPLICEDWire

    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]

    Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
    08/12/09
    Peter Canavese
    Peter Canavese
    Groucho Reviews

    It is one of the dumbest pieces of garbage Hollywood has put out this year!

    Full Review Source: Norman Transcript | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jim Chastain
    Jim Chastain
    Norman Transcript

    It's a piece of comic fluff that has lots of laughs and appeals to the kid in us all.

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    04/09/05
    Robin Clifford
    Robin Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    As a satire on the only true religion of the American South -- football -- The Waterboy is delightful.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    07/12/02
    John Haslett Cuff
    John Haslett Cuff
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    For every chuckle-worthy gag, there's another that never gets off the ground.

    Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Michael Dequina
    Michael Dequina
    TheMovieReport.com

    A character whose manner and voice has the effect of fingernails on a blackboard!

    Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
    01/01/00
    Roger Ebert
    Roger Ebert
    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Stupid, stupid, stupid: Shame on Sandler & Co.

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    David Elliott
    David Elliott
    San Diego Union-Tribune

    It's definitely for the fans!

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Bob Fenster
    Bob Fenster
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Waterboy is a slide backward.

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    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.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    07/23/07
    Rob Gonsalves
    Rob Gonsalves
    eFilmCritic.com

    There's something funny and endearing about Adam Sandler, even if his moronic movies are simply variations on each other and he always plays the nerdy, hapless hero.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Susan Granger
    Susan Granger
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    You can lead Adam Sandler fans to "The Waterboy," but you can't make them think.

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Julie Hinds
    Julie Hinds
    San Jose Mercury News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The peculiar comic energy of Sandler's idiot character gets lost because he's off screen for a good deal of the movie.

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Robert Horton
    Robert Horton
    Film.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Uninspired, one-joke film gathers very little in momentum, is forgiven for its obviously standard plot, but not for its lack of constant humor or originality.

    Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    JoBlo
    JoBlo
    JoBlo's Movie Emporium
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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    Latest News for The Waterboy

    September 03, 2008: Jerry Reed: 1937-2008 Opens in new window
    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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