Waterboy
This football comedy starring Adam Sandler in many ways is hard to score. Having actively played the game myself for a number of years, my criticisms of football movies is usually harsher than it is for most sports movies, yet this film has an undeniable goofy earnestness that manages to win the viewer over. Sandlerâs role of Bobby Boucher is essentially a big-screen incarnation of his SNL character Cajun Man, and even though some may find it to be an offensive stereotype, the writing and acting are just charming enough to pull it off. While the film does drag for the first few minutes, as soon as you get to the scene with Big Show Paul Wight, the major laughs start coming and they donât stop, even as the credibility of the story is stretched almost beyond measure (Donât the referees ever throw any flags in these games?? Wouldnât the Winkler character have been fired as a head coach a long time ago???). Fortunately, the supporting cast is more than game and bring a lot to the proceedings: Kathy Bates as Bobbyâs religious fanatic mother makes the most of her running gag of how everything that contradicts what she says is âTHE DEVIL!â and her ultimate attempt to keep Bobby under her wing is as hilarious as it is cruel; Jerry Reed (God bless you Snowman) is a lot of fun as the evil strutting redneck coach who kicks out Bobby as waterboy in the beginning only to become the big rival in the end; Fairuza Balk is sexy and perfectly cast as Bobbyâs white trash love interest, how Fairuza can have the most beautiful eyes in Hollywood history and still not be a major star today is a mystery right up there with the pyramids; Blake Clark (who I could have sworn throughout watching him was actually John Goodman) gets a lot of crazy schtick in as the assistant coach who looks like a farmer, complete with indecipherable dialogue; and Henry Winkler, long revered as the Fonz, gets a rare meaty part as the head coach with a severe inferiority complex. Even as I wondered why a coach who hasnât constructed a proper offensive game plan in nearly twenty years would still have a job, Winkler does a nice job of bringing pathos to the character, making him just likable enough despite his pathetic qualities to make the viewer root him on as he recruits Bobby to be his linebacker and then sits back as he destroys all their opposing teams. The heart of this film is the over-the-top almost cartoon-like gags. Whether it be the immense irony of Lawrence Taylor telling a group of little kids âDonât do crack!â to a simple shot of Bobbyâs yellowed bedsheet, the film never fails to make us laugh. And the last 20 minutes, with the big showdown game itself, is awesomely hilarious, especially with the interaction between Brent Musberger and Dan Fouts as they commentate. In the end when itâs all said and done, itâs very hard to hate the film, which, while not a masterpiece like Happy Gilmore, stands maybe a notch below Necessary Roughness as one of the best football comedies ever madeâŚ
9/10