THE WATERBOY Reviewed by Jamie Peck
So if these raucous antics will remind audiences of vintage Sandler, it's a pity that the star himself doesn't make it to the endzone. The crude comic is at his best when he's rough and abrasive, qualities that made his turn in "Gilmore" a vulgar delight; his "Waterboy" role, a bayou man-child named Bobby Boucher and pronounced Bobby Boo_shay_, is naive, soft-spoken and genuinely sweet. What's worse, the movie can't seem to make up its mind whether he should be laughed at or felt sorry for. Bobby's not the kind of character you'd care to kick while he's down.
Thank goodness for some genuinely funny supporting actors, or "The Waterboy" would have drowned fast. Kathy Bates, a farce MVP based on her stellar work here, is a delight as Bobby's no-nonsense mama, whether she's whipping up an extravagant snake dinner (complete with an apple in its mouth) or constantly referring to all influences in the world outside their swamp-shack home as "the debil" - even Dick Clark. Henry Winkler also racks up a hefty laugh quotient as the coach of the Mud Dogs, a low-rent college football team on a seemingly non-stop losing streak.
Coach recruits Bobby as the Dogs' "water distribution engineer" after he's fired from doing the same job for the University of Louisiana's oft-winning Cougars. It is then when Bobby reveals a bang-up talent for tackling; imagining his opponents are the assorted hecklers and jerks who have taunted him all his life is all he needs to flaunt his on-field prowess. The plot mechanics are painfully obvious from there, but Sandler and Tim Herlihy's screenplay sometimes coats them with a deliciously naughty sheen. What they insert into the climactic, slow-motion victory montage is a base keeper. It has to do with pierced nipples.
The one-joke "Waterboy" almost falters under the same sloppy sentiment that crippled "The Wedding Singer," but the amusing combination of throwaway lines and outlandish sight gags may prove that Sandler's more clever than his creative detractors might claim. That "Happy Gilmore" and this diversion are career highs in a career that also lays claim to the dreadful "Billy Madison" and "Airheads" might not be saying much, but maybe it's not without payoff to hope that Sandler ventures back to the recreational arena for his next funny flick. Badminton, anyone?
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