The Waterboy (1998)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Frank Coraci

Writers (WGA):

Tim Herlihy (written by) &
Adam Sandler (written by)

Release Date:

6 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

The Water-Boy is The Devil!

Plot:

A football team water boy discovers he has a unique tackling ability and becomes a member of the team.

Plot Keywords:

Abandoned By Father | Bullying | Cult Favorite | Deserted By Husband | Low Self Esteem

Awards:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Adam Sandler	...	Robert 'Bobby' Boucher Jr.
Kathy Bates	...	Helen 'Mama' Boucher
Fairuza Balk	...	Vicki Vallencourt
Henry Winkler	...	Coach Klein
Jerry Reed	...	Coach Red Beaulieu
Larry Gilliard Jr.	...	Derek Wallace
Blake Clark	...	Farmer Fran
Peter Dante	...	Gee Grenouille
Jonathan Loughran	...	Lyle Robideaux
Al Whiting	...	Casey Bugge
Clint Howard	...	Paco
Allen Covert	...	Walter
Rob Schneider	...	Townie
Todd Holland	...	Greg Meaney
Robert Kokol	...	Professor

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and some crude sexual humor.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Finland:K-8/5 | France:U | Germany:6 | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

DeLand, Florida, USA

Company:

Robert Simonds Productions

Trivia:

Most of the extra fans present at the Bourbon Bowl are UCF students.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Reflected in player's helmets throughout the movie.

Quotes:

Coach Klein: Gatorade not only quenches your thirst better, it tastes better too.
Bobby Boucher: No, you people are drinkin the wrong water.
Coach Klein: Gatorade.
Bobby Boucher: H2O.
Coach Klein: Gatorade.
Bobby Boucher: H2O.
Coach Klein: [singing] Water sucks. It really, really sucks. Water sucks.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Longest Yard (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Revenge Of The Cajun Nerd

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.