THE WATERBOY
** (out of 4) - a fair movie
Release Date: November 6, 1998 Starring: Adam Sandler, Henry Winkler, Fairuza Balk, Kathy Bates, Jerry Reed, Blake Clark, Larry Gilliard Jr. Directed by: Frank Coraci Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures MPAA Rating: PG-13 (language, some crude sexual humor) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/waterboy.htm
You might argue that MAJOR LEAGUE started it this one, back in 1989, spawning the misfit sports genre. The formula isn't unheard of: a bunch of unlikelies suddenly find themselves in the middle of the league championship and the media spotlight for the first time in an insanely long amount of time. Or perhaps you'd argue that the real fuel for this movie came from 1994's FORREST GUMP, a classic pearl of a movie about those with less-than-average IQs finding the real hero inside of themselves. But maybe you'd most like to argue that Adam Sandler - of all people - could never do justice to either.
You'd be right on all three accounts, because the latest from the people that brought you THE WEDDING SINGER is a step down for Sandler and company. Although the comic himself undoubtedly finds his newer role more comfortable, he sacrifices a lot of charm and uniqueness simply to play the buffoon. The producers won't mind - Sandler is in a league of comics that can draw a sufficient box office minimum and often do more - but Sandler himself is lacking the maturity that is necessary for him to have an extended career in Hollywood.
The cast is one big stereotype dictionary, and a lot of the supporting roles add to the idiot humor. Sandler himself is the Forrest Gump town idiot and experienced waterboy named Bobby Boucher. At 32 years old, however, he's finding it hard to keep a job, and eventually winds up at the degenerate South Central Lousiana State University. There, a football coach named Klein (Henry Winkler) recognizes his newfound waterboy as a tackling savant and immediately recruits him to play linebacker. Although against his overprotective mother (Kathy Bates)'s wishes, he's cheered on by his girlfriend Vicki (Fairuza Balk) and the rest of the university as he leads the team to the conference championship.
Anything on the character side of this movie is taken straight from FORREST GUMP - be it Bobby's mother, his girlfriend, or the friend in Coach Klein. And everything else, on the football side, is MAJOR LEAGUE redone for gridiron glory - the screwloose announcer, the drunken cheerleading squad, and the two fans sitting in the bleachers. Neither works particularly well in a Sandler movie - the humor isn't intelligent enough for that - but between the two, enough of the movie manages to come out above water. In all, there's a certain bottom line to Sandler movies: if you've been out of college for a good while, you're never going to get it. But for the adolescents, it's their night away from the folks, and THE WATERBOY is worth the bucket of popcorn.
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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