Written by: Tim Herlihy & Adam Sandler
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed, Henry Winkler
Rating: [3.5/5]
Having a passion for something, no matter how peculiar in the eyes of others, carries plenty of importance in the eye of the beholder. Something that should be nurtured and not mocked if it does no harm to others. Having a deep care for water and hydration propels the protagonist in The Waterboy as it leads him towards a talent he never knew he had on the football field. Simply an outrageously silly film, we get something like no other from an Adam Sandler production that sits as the cream of the crop of this actor’s comedic career.
Still living with his mother in his 30s and serving as the waterboy for a local college football team in Louisiana we have Bobby Boucher (Adam Sandler). When let go by the mean old coach, he seeks to apply his trade at the downtrodden football team of South Central Louisiana State University, who have set a new record in their putridness. While there the head coach, Klein (Henry Winkler), sees that when activating Bobby’s anger the young man can become a tackling machine out on the football field.
Adam Sandler and his films sit in such a fascinating place in my view where when operating at his height he can deliver something as stupidly funny as The Waterboy but when lazy the man knows how to deliver some horrid dreck. We all know what films we are talking about here, but this feature remains near the top because in this film we get such a good character in Bobby Boucher and the world built out around him. Deep in the heart of Louisiana we have all sorts of characters populating around him and they all contribute to this story of finding independence and purpose for himself in the silliest.
In Bobby we have a character who certainly has mental impairments, which comes down to not only his genetics but also because of the coddling by his protective mother Helen (Kathy Bates). From her hilarious description of anything she doesn’t approve of being likened to the devil and her inability to let her 30-year-old son fully grow up we have a character who does not know how to fully interact with others. It makes the bullying he receives by the football players all the more meaningful, and makes it questionable why someone like Vicki Vallencourt (Fairuza Balk) would find him attractive. The coddling he receives puts his mother on a pedestal as the beacon of truth that makes for many comedic moments where he declares statements to carry truth simply because his mother said it. This comes to full fruition in a particular scene where the medulla oblongata of an alligator serves as the central focus that does not particularly end well arguing against the efficacy of Bobby’s mother’s assertions.
Often made fun of for his love of water, the ultimate irony of Bobby having this natural talent as a football player when pushed towards his anger does highlight the inherent violence of the sport. The types of tackles Bobby engages in within this feature goes beyond spearing but also involves dropkicks, clotheslines, and various other ways to inflict pain on his opponents. This, of course, happens through manufactured anger that Coach Klein tries to get out of Bobby to inflict the most damage to the other team’s offense. Through his success on the football field, he essentially becomes the Barry Sanders of his team, as he needs to carry them pretty much single-handedly towards victory.
Containing so many quotable lines that I like to use daily in life this film remains something to enjoy.
Through all of the nonsense this feature has to offer in the best of ways, The Waterboy finds its success through most of its jokes landing exquisitely well, which cannot be said for all Adam Sandler films, but also the beauty of Bobby finding community. As someone kept mostly at home out of fear and mostly treated horribly because of his love of water, what he finds with the other characters in this feature that makes him feel loved by friends really made for an emotionally touching moment this film unexpectedly whacks you over the head with. It presents the secret sauce in a story that leans on its absurdist comedy but has much more up its sleeve.
Films with Josh 
