Many people continually try to get me to watch Adam Sandler in a movie, I continue to threaten their lives... however, the damn trailer for this has me wanting to see the movie. Evil trailer cutting people! Sigh... Well here's a review of the film... will it be good? will it be bad? Only you can decide, but this fella has his opinion...
Hey, Huge One.
Well, got to go see the Adam Sandler vehicle through a screening here at my university, and, as always, he knows how to keep his fans entertained, if not exactly breaking new ground in doing so. Ya see, there are two classes of people in the world (other than privileged and non-privileged): those who think Sandler absolutely rocks and those that can't stand the sound of his voice. Of course, some of this has changed with the mainstream hit he found in The Wedding Singer. However, in Waterboy, directed by by the man who brought Sandler to the mainstream with Wedding Singer, Adam Coraci, and written by Sandler with old scribe partner Tim Herlihy, he regresses to the days and style of Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, et. al., in playing an uber-loser that manages to win the hearts of every single person he knows. Depending on what class of Sandler fan you fit into, this is welcome or unwelcome news.
Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, a man whose one purpose on this earth is to ensure that everyone drinks clean, healthy water. Of course, the college football team Bobby provides this nourishing water to is totally thankless. One day, Bobby finds himself "fired" by the team's coach, and must render his services elsewhere. He runs into the coach (Henry "Fonz" Winkler) at a small school with an abysmal team in his home state of Louisiana who decides to bring him on as waterboy, and ends up converting him to a player. Channelling all the rage he has built up over the years, Bobby becomes a defensive madman for the team and spurs them to a magical season, all the time concealing it from his overbearing but loving Mama (Kathy Bates). Needless to say, Bobby ends up facing the team that "fired" him, and the coach played by Winkler must face the coach that has made him an emotional wreck, all the while trying to win a national championship for the sleepy school. Both will have to face their fears to win the game, and anybody whose seen any other sports movie ever made knows the outcome. However, the road there is quite entertaining.
The acting in the film lacks any real dimension, but I doubt anyone is expecting it to. Sandler plays a character we've seen done by him a million times before. Imagine a cross between the Canteen Boy character Sandler played from his days on SNL and Forrest Gump. He deftly switches from happy to confused to mad. Winkler seems to be phoning his performance in, though manages to get a few laughs by subverting that Fonzie persona we're all familiar with (though I think he did a better job as the principal in the original Scream). Kathy Bates, as always, stands out by bringing depth to a character that was merely written as unidimensional. Fairuza Balk plays the most delectable, but silliest, piece of Southern Gothic trailer park trash since Neve Campbell in Wild Things (which next The Craft alum will be next?). Overall, some good actors delivering funny lines, but adding nothing substantive past what's on the page.
However, this should mean little to Sandler's fans. Many seemed to be in attendance at my screening and frequent outbursts of uproarious laughter could be heard. Everybody seemed to enjoy the type of football hits Sandler delivered, which, I must admit as a college football fan, were well-choreographed and humorous. Also, there are little sight gags, one-liners, and running jokes that should bring a smile even to those who cannot stand Sandler. My favorites were the money shot when Winkler's coach says, "what mama don't know won't hurt her," the assistant coach character, and what happens when other teams try sending in their own waterboys because of Bobby's success. Many figures from the world of football also make appearances lampooning their sport, including a cameo by one player who utters a line that manages to get huge laughs by being extremely timely, if unintentional. In sum, I personally thought the movie was a good, escapist waste (in the best sense of the word) of two hours, where I found myself smiling a lot and letting loose with the occassional belly laugh. Sandler die-hards, given the reaction of the audience I saw it with, shouldn't be disappointed. As for fans that were hooked in by the Wedding Singer, but didn't neccessarily care for Sandler's earlier stuff, this probably isn't your type of movie, and you'll have to wait 'til he decides to do some more work palatable to the mainstream. As for those who hate the guy, why the hell did you read this review? Overall: 7 out of 10
Call me Bongo.
