the water boy movie review

The Waterboy

I believe in giving every movie the benefit of the doubt. I walked into “The Waterboy,” sat down, took a sip of my delicious medium roast coffee and felt at peace with the world. How nice it would be, I thought, to give Adam Sandler a good review for a change. Goodwill and caffeine suffused my being, and as the lights went down I all but beamed at the screen.

Then Adam Sandler spoke, and all was lost. His character’s voice is made of a lisp, a whine, a nasal grating and an accent that nobody in Louisiana actually has, although the movies pretend that they do. His character is a 31-year-old man who, soon after the film opens, is fired as the waterboy of a championship football team. Then he talks himself into a job with a team of losers, led by the insecure Coach Kline ( Henry Winkler ).

Bobby Boucher, the waterboy, is one of those people who is so insufferable, in a passive-aggressive way, that you have to believe they know what they’re doing. No one could be that annoying by accident. I am occasionally buttonholed by such specimens. They stand too close, they talk too loudly, they are not looking at me but at an invisible Teleprompter somewhere over my shoulder. If I were a man of action, I would head-butt them and take my chances with the courts.

“The Waterboy” tries to force this character into the ancient movie mold of the misunderstood simple little guy with a heart of gold. By the end of the movie we are supposed to like him, I think, especially as the whole school turns up in a candlelight vigil outside the hospital where he waits at the bedside of his (not) dying mother. There is only one way I can see myself liking this character. That would be if “The Waterboy,” like “ That Obscure Object of Desire ” and “ Lost Highway ,” had two different actors play the same character, so that by the end Bobby Boucher was being portrayed by Tom Hanks .

Kathy Bates has the best scenes in the movie, as Bobby’s mother, a possessive and manipulative creature who has kept her son tied to her apron strings in their bayou cabin, which looks like it was furnished by the same artist who draws How Many Mistakes Can You Find in This Picture? Mama Boucher and Bobby share space with large animals and junk shop treasures, and she serves giant swamp snakes, coiled in a tasty brew of herbs and spices. Bates makes her character work as a comic creation, and knows the line between parody and wretched excess.

Henry Winkler is luckless as Coach Klein, because he is given little to do other than be a creature of the plot. And the plot is that exhausted wheeze of a sports movie formula, in which the hero is scorned by everyone until he comes off the bench, shows remarkable talent, and (a) wins or (b) loses the big game. (I do not want to reveal the ending, so you will have to guess for yourself which it is. If you voted for [b], you are reading the wrong movie critic.) Do I have something visceral against Adam Sandler? I hope not. I try to keep an open mind and approach every movie with high hopes. It would give me enormous satisfaction (and relief) to like him in a movie. But I suggest he is making a tactical error when he creates a character whose manner and voice has the effect of fingernails on a blackboard, and then expects us to hang in there for a whole movie.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• Fairuza Balk as Vicki Vallencourt
• Henry Winkler as Coach Klein
• Jerry Reed as Red Beaulieu
• Kathy Bates as Mama Boucher
• Adam Sandler as Bobby Boucher
• Adam Sandler
• Tim Herlihy

Directed by

• Frank Coraci

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• DVD & Streaming

The Waterboy

• Comedy , Sports

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed

Home Release Date

• Frank Coraci

Distributor

• Touchstone Pictures

Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

Gunga Din he’s not . In The Waterboy , Adam Sandler plays a dim-witted, Cajun mama’s-boy dedicated to serving college football players “quality H2O.” He’s a human tackling dummy. Then, after years of public humiliation, Bobby Boucher becomes a hero by releasing that pent-up hostility on opposing ball carriers and turning his team into a winner.

Critics panned Waterboy , but teens flocked to see Sandler’s crude antics, making the movie a $160 million theatrical hit. Now on video, this comedy’s profane language, sexual innuendo, and mockery of virginity and Christian faith are overshadowed only by its twisted path to vindication. While it’s easy to root for the pathetic aqua toter to overcome his social handicaps and earn respect, what message is Sandler sending young fans by having his character achieve success by going ballistic and leveling people who’ve wronged him—including an old man? Brutal.

Adam Sandler has developed a huge following based on some very mean-spirited, vulgar, sexually explicit material. R-rated films. Salacious comedy albums. While The Waterboy doesn’t quite compare to his worst offenses, this watered-down version of Sandler’s shtick relies on entirely too much crass, kinky humor for discerning families.

Positive Elements

Spiritual elements, sexual & romantic content, violent content, crude or profane language, drug & alcohol content, other noteworthy elements.

Bob Smithouser

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The Waterboy

After decent gains made with "The Wedding Singer," an amiable crossover vehicle, Adam Sandler scrambles back to his SNL Cajun Boy persona for "The Waterboy." The formulaic mix of mirth and mayhem is aimed way down the MTV food chain, members of which will lap it up for solid opening returns and ancillary action. But don't expect the word-of-mouth build of "There's Something About Mary": This yahoos-on-the-bayou farce is neither inventive nor outrageous enough.

By Glenn Lovell

Glenn Lovell

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After decent gains made with “The Wedding Singer,” an amiable crossover vehicle, Adam Sandler scrambles back to his SNL Cajun Boy persona for “The Waterboy.” The formulaic mix of mirth and mayhem is aimed way down the MTV food chain, members of which will lap it up for solid opening returns and ancillary action. But don’t expect the word-of-mouth build of “There’s Something About Mary”: This yahoos-on-the-bayou farce is neither inventive nor outrageous enough.

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The big laughs come from a ragtag football team that’s so poor its players share a single protective cup, so demoralized the cheerleaders and mascot get tanked every game. As for Sandler, he remains an acquired (lack of) taste. His stammering simp and recycled Jerry Lewis shtick would test the patience of even the French. In spots, the comic steps out of character, his eyes darting sideways to see if anyone is laughing. Needless to say, lack of confidence in material this broad doesn’t add anything to his delivery.

Popular on Variety

Sandler, again teamed with “Wedding Singer” director Frank Coraci and writer Tim Herlihy, plays Bobby Boucher, your proverbial water/whipping boy for Louisiana U.’s football team. Though he approaches his job like a city-sewage expert, always measuring the pH factor, Bobby is used as tackling dummy by the coach (Jerry Reed) and players.

Fired for firing back, Bobby returns to Mama Boucher’s (Kathy Bates) arms and then signs on with the underdog Mud Dogs, led by a hallucinating coach ( Henry Winkler ). Bobby’s temper tantrums make him a natural as defensive tackle. He transfers his pent-up anger to the opposing team and, following the formula, overcomes 11th-hour adversity to lead his team to victory in the Big Game.

Besides Bates, who gets into the spirit of things and mugs throughout (but lapses in and out of Cajun patois), pic has cameos by Rob Schneider, NFL personalities (including former New YorkGiant Lawrence Taylor) and — lending cross-promotional value for Disney — a number of ABC Sports announcers. Fairuza Balk is sexy and funny as Bobby’s bad-girl girlfriend, and Winkler underplays nicely as the sometimes addled, sometimes cogent coach who sports a tattoo of Roy Orbison on his tush.

Larry Gilliard Jr. plays the Mud Dogs’ nice-guy place-kicker, vet Blake Clark has a running routine as an unintelligible Cajun coach, and Clint Howard is the fan in the stands inspired by Bobby’s gridiron glory.

Tech credits are what you’d expect of a low-grade genre entry. Those that are a notch above include f/x supervisor David Fogg’s morphing game faces (when Bobby projects his anger), and production designer Perry Andelin Blake’s swamp cabin, decorated in road-kill provincial. Vintage hits by Charlie Daniels, Creedence Clearwater Revival and others further pic’s tone and should ensure consolation soundtrack biz for Hollywood Records.

• Production: A Buena Vista release of a Touchstone Pictures presentation of a Robert Simonds/Jack Giarraputo production. Produced by Robert Simonds, Jack Giarraputo. Executive producer, Adam Sandler. Co-producer, Ira Shuman. Directed by Frank Coraci. Screenplay, Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler.
• Crew: Camera (Technicolor), Steven Bernstein; editor, Tom Lewis; music, Alan Pasqua; music supervisors, Michael Dilbeck, Brooks Arthur; production designer, Perry Andelin Blake; art director, Alan Au; set decorator, Barbara Paterson; costume designer, Tom Bronson; sound (Dolby Digital), Jay Meagher; sound designer, Elmo Weber; visual effects supervisor, David Fogg; associate producers, Phyllis Alia, Michelle Holdsworth, Rita Smith; assistant director, Marty Eli Schwartz; casting , Roger Mussenden. Reviewed at the Regency II, San Francisco, Nov. 2, 1998. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 88 MIN.
• With: Bobby Boucher ..... Adam Sandler Mama Boucher ..... Kathy Bates Coach Klein ..... Henry Winkler Vicki Vallencourt ..... Fairuza Balk Red Beaulieu ..... Jerry Reed Derek Wallace ..... Larry Gilliard Jr. Farmer Fran ..... Blake Clark Townie ..... Rob Schneider Professor ..... Robert Kokol Paco ..... Clint Howard Casey Bugge ..... Al Whiting

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Metacritic reviews

The waterboy.

• 63 ReelViews James Berardinelli ReelViews James Berardinelli Arguably Sandler's most enjoyable motion picture to date, but it's still far from a masterpiece.
• 63 Rolling Stone Peter Travers Rolling Stone Peter Travers Offers dumb fun without apology.
• 60 The New York Times Janet Maslin The New York Times Janet Maslin This escapist comedy is so cheerfully outlandish that it's hard to resist, and so good-hearted that it's genuinely endearing.
• 50 The Globe and Mail (Toronto) The Globe and Mail (Toronto) As a satire on the only true religion of the American South -- football -- The Waterboy is a delight.
• 50 San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack An unabashed wallow in the moronic humor of Adam Sandler.
• 50 Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov It's not "Billy Madison," quite, but The Waterboy is still pure Sandler. If you like that sort of thing.
• 40 Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan Another film about . . . a cretinous, grating loser.
• 40 Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector Geek-triumphs-after-all comedies can be charming, but in this one the triumphing begins so early it's hard to feel for the geek.
• 25 Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Sandler is making a tactical error when he creates a character whose manner and voice has the effect of fingernails on a blackboard, and then expects us to hang in there for a whole movie.
• 20 Film Threat Ron Wells Film Threat Ron Wells A stupid summer movie.
• See all 21 reviews on Metacritic.com
• See all external reviews for The Waterboy

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The Waterboy Reviews

• 41   Metascore
• 1 hr 28 mins
• Watchlist Where to Watch

In this engaging comedy, Adam Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, a lovable dolt from the Louisiana bayou who works as a waterboy for a college football team. But when Bobby gets angry, he becomes a football dynamo, and the coach decides to capitalize on that. There's just one problem: Bobby must hide his new role on the team from his neurotic mom (Kathy Bates). Henry Winkler, Fairuza Balk.

Good and dumb, in equal measure. Adam Sandler and co-writer Tim Herlihy recycle the best bits from their hit-and-miss successes (HAPPY GILMORE, BILLY MADISON), rehire the director of Sandler's best movie to date (THE WEDDING SINGER), and wind up with something that actually works in its own sweet, knuckleheaded way. Simple of mind but pure of heart, 31-year-old Bobby Boucher (Adam Sandler) has faithfully served as Water Distribution Engineer (read: waterboy) for the University of Louisiana's football team since he was a kid, enduring the abuse of his teammates while bravely waging a war against dehydration. When he's suddenly fired, Bobby finds himself pouring for the considerably less prestigious SCLSU Mud Dogs, a piss-poor losing team with a neurotic coach (Henry Winkler), a mush-mouthed Cajun assistant coach (Blake Clark) and a bevy of drunken cheerleaders. But in Bobby, the Mud Dogs have secret weapon: When riled -- a crack about the quality of his water or his crazed, overbearing Mama (Kathy Bates) will usually do the trick -- the mild-mannered waterboy is transformed into an unstoppable tackling machine, and the team suddenly has a chance of breaking a 40-game losing streak and going all the way to the Bourbon Bowl. Sandler and Herlihy have basically taken Sandler's SNL "Cajun Man" character -- his usual half-wit shtick with a thick bayou drawl -- and written him into a gentler version of HAPPY GILMORE. Much of the humor is of the hit-in-the-head-with-a-football variety, but it's dopey, harmless fun (unless, perhaps, you're Cajun), packed with silly sentiment and an entertaining supporting cast: No one does deranged quite like Kathy Bates (the film's running gag involving Bates and the delicacies of Cajun cuisine is hilarious), and Fairuza Balk, as Bobby's knife-wielding juvenile delinquent love interest, is a refreshing change from what usually passes for cool.

The Waterboy (1998)

Directed by frank coraci.

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Description by Wikipedia

The Waterboy is a 1998 American sports/comedy film directed by Frank Coraci (who played Robert 'Roberto' Boucher, Sr.), starring Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Henry Winkler, Jerry Reed (his last film role before his death in 2008), Larry Gilliard, Jr., Blake Clark, Peter Dante and Jonathan Loughran, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. Lynn Swann, Lawrence Taylor, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cowher, Paul "The Big Show" Wight and Rob Schneider have cameo appearances. The movie was extremely profitable, earning $161.5 million in North America alone. This was Sandler's second film to eclipse $120 million worldwide in 1998 along with The Wedding Singer. Adam Sandler's character, Bobby Boucher (pronounced /buːˈʃeɪ/ boo-SHAY), bears a strong resemblance to his "The Excited Southerner" comedic skits from his album What the Hell Happened to Me? The portrayal is one of a stereotypical Cajun from the bayous of South Louisiana, not the typical stereotype of a Southerner. He also shares similarities in speech and mannerism to Canteen Boy, a recurring character, also portrayed by Sandler, on Saturday Night Live. Like Bobby, Canteen Boy was a soft-spoken manchild who preferred "purified water, right out of the old canteen," which he always carried with him.

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The Waterboy Reviews

This juvenile, unnecessary, and utterly pathetic madness can barely be considered a comedy; the jokes are so immature and flat that it more closely resembles a tragedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/10 | Sep 25, 2020

A witless and utterly predictable comic fantasy about a misfit turned hero.

Full Review | Jun 18, 2012

Really dumb, but many teens love it anyway.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 29, 2010

An agreeable yet forgettable comedy...

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 10, 2010

There's an innocence to The Waterboy that makes the picture part slapstick and part fairy tale...The only problem with letting kids see this Adam Sandler movie? They might want to see another one. [Blu-ray]

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 12, 2009

A predictable, formulaic, dumb comedy that has about as much depth as Bobby . . . unless you think of it in Forrest Gump terms, and then it begins to get a little less offensive and a little funnier.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jul 24, 2009

Though unabashedly goofy, this comedy also boasts some subtly ingenious moments of mirth.

Full Review | Oct 18, 2008

The formulaic mix of mirth and mayhem is aimed way down the MTV food chain...

Full Review | Jun 2, 2008

Perfectly watchable, undemanding fun, but you can't help thinking that a slightly darker tone would have gone a very long way.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 2, 2008

Hands up anyone who shelled-out cash at the cinema to see this pathetic sporting comedy...What were you thinking of?

Scrappy and funny and achieves its modest aim, which is to make us laugh like grade-schoolers. The doofus boy triumphs again.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 23, 2007

The direction is as blunt and vacant as the plotting, the jokes are obvious and the performances (with a couple of exceptions) charmless.

Full Review | Jan 26, 2006

No stretching involved, but he delivers. It's a safe date film.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 6, 2005

The film is amiably goofy.

Full Review | Jul 21, 2005

It's a piece of comic fluff that has lots of laughs and appeals to the kid in us all.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Apr 9, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 2, 2005

The Waterboy is a disappointment, even by standards associated with Adam Sandler's work.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Feb 28, 2005

Adam Sandler movies are like kumquats -- you either like them or you don't.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Jan 29, 2005

God knows, it tries, but most of the jokes fall flat, and the movie never gets off the ground.

Full Review | Original Score: D | May 22, 2003

The Waterboy should have been sacked long before it reached the theater.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 20, 2003

The Waterboy (1998)

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The Waterboy Review

06 Nov 1998

The Waterboy

How you feel about The WaterBoy is going to depend largely on your opinion of Adam Sandler. Indeed, those whose experience of the man begins and ends with the crowd-pleasing commerciality of The Wedding Singer may well be a little perturbed by his latest, as it marks a return to the brand of acquired taste Sandler humour which delights and annoys in equal measures (but has nonetheless catapulted him into the $20 million-a-picture brigade). Folks familiar with the likes of Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison will know exactly what to expect.

Sandler (talking in a voice that makes him sound like a deranged cousin of Donald Duck) is Bobby Boucher, a mollycoddled, virginal 31-year-old whose experience of life outside of his remote Louisiana bayou home has been restricted by his overbearing mom (Bates). His only escape is his long time job dispensing "fine quality H20" to a local football team, something he prides himself on despite being constantly tormented by both coach and players. When he is fired, he takes up the same job at a collegiate team on a major losing streak.

There, his previously untapped tackling skills (which involve mowing down players four times his size) are discovered by Coach Klein (Winkler) and he is promoted to the squad. And he might just enjoy all the attention - particularly from jailbird Vicki Vallencourt (Balk) - provided his mum doesn't find out he's actually playing.

The WaterBoy netted over $160 million in the US, and it's hard to fathom whether it's the appeal of Sandler (who still displays a certain degree of charm despite the irritating vocal tics), the appeal of American football, or the current cinematic fascination with dumb comedy. For its almost total absence of anything resembling a substantial plot, The WaterBoy performs generously in all the above departments, and coughs up far more decent jokes than you'd expect, by far the best involving another team's attempt to field a rival WaterBoy. And at just 90 minutes long, it doesn't run long enough to outstay its welcome.

It's a slight film, though, and despite Bates' frantically OTT mugging and Winkler's thoroughly likeable turn, the promisingly edgy comedy of the first act soon gives way to reams of pop video choreographed football footage, and a final reel which falls total victim to pat-happy Hollywood conformity. All of which makes for perfectly watchable, undemanding fun, but you can't help thinking that a slightly darker tone would have gone a very long way.

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The waterboy.

Directed by Frank Coraci

You can mess with him. But don't mess with his water.

Bobby Boucher is a water boy for a struggling college football team. The coach discovers Boucher's hidden rage makes him a tackling machine whose bone-crushing power might vault his team into the playoffs.

Adam Sandler Kathy Bates Henry Winkler Fairuza Balk Jerry Reed Lawrence Gilliard Jr. Blake Clark Peter Dante Jonathan Loughran Al Whiting Clint Howard Allen Covert Rob Schneider Todd Holland Robert Kokol Frank Coraci Jennifer Taylor James Bates Jr. Kelly Hare Dawn Birch Steve Raulerson Christopher Mugglebee Brett Rice John Farley Kevin Farley Lee Corso Bill Cowher Dan Fouts Chris Fowler Show All… Jimmy Johnson Brent Musburger Dan Patrick Lynn Swann Lawrence Taylor Paul Wight Jamie Williams Marc Kittay Matt Baylis Jack Carroll Tom Nowicki Ric Swezey Matthew Lussier Haven Gaston Mike Hold Kevin Reid Mattie Wolf Phyllis Alia Dave Wagner Tina Barr Michael Giarraputo Marty Eli Schwartz Aaron J. Brooks Patrick Martin Jr.

Director Director

Frank Coraci

Producers Producers

Jack Giarraputo Robert Simonds Ira Shuman Phyllis Alia Michelle Holdsworth Rita Smith

Writers Writers

Adam Sandler Tim Herlihy

Casting Casting

Roger Mussenden

Editor Editor

Cinematography cinematography.

Steven Bernstein

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Marty Eli Schwartz Adam Druxman

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Executive producer exec. producer.

Adam Sandler

Lighting Lighting

David A. Cook

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Stephen Campbell William Papp

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Frank Miller

Production Design Production Design

Perry Andelin Blake

Art Direction Art Direction

Set decoration set decoration.

Barbara Peterson-Malesci Derrick W. Smith

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Stunts stunts.

Allan Graf Christine Anne Baur

Composer Composer

Alan Pasqua

Sound Sound

Jay Meagher Scott Millan Bob Beemer Jim Fitzpatrick Andrea Lakin Brian D. Lucas Elmo Weber Gregory M. Gerlich Paige Pollack Adam DeCoster Sharon Michaels Warren Kleiman Matthew C. Beville

Costume Design Costume Design

Tom Bronson

Makeup Makeup

Erin Koplow Lee Grimes Ann Pala

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Tish Simpson

Touchstone Pictures

Releases by Date

06 nov 1998, 21 jan 1999, 15 apr 1999, 30 apr 1999, 20 may 1999, 09 jun 1999, 30 jun 1999, 02 jul 1999, 09 jul 1999, 30 oct 1999, 23 feb 2021, 17 nov 1999, 05 mar 2001, 28 oct 2009, 20 sep 2003, releases by country.

• Theatrical M
• Theatrical U
• Digital Disney+
• Theatrical 6
• Theatrical 12

Netherlands

• Physical 6 DVD
• Theatrical M/6

South Korea

• Theatrical TP
• Theatrical 7
• Physical 7 VHS / DVD
• Physical 7 Blu-ray
• Theatrical PG-13

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Popular reviews

Review by Mario 🟠🟢🔵 ★★★½ 9

Dear Waterboy Eat shit and kill yourself. Signed, everybody. Adam Sandler Ranked

Review by 𝚣𝚎𝚞𝚜 🪐 ★★★ 4

Mama said Letterboxd is the devil!

Review by Justin Peterson ★★★½

There are Adam Sandler movies where he acts normal, and ones where he acts like a big goofball ... and for me this is the best of the big goofball variety.

"Gatorade not only quenches your thirst better, it tastes better too ... No, you people are drinkin the wrong water ... Gatorade ... H2O ... Water sucks ... It really, really sucks ... Water sucks."

Sure The Waterboy is silly as hell, but it still cracks me up with its memorable lines and wild foos-ball action. What we got here is the story of the dedicated Waterboy, Bobby Boucher who uses his years of repressed anger over being a sheltered country waterboy into a pure can of whoop-ass on…

Review by Josh H ★★★★★ 1

The Citizen Kane of movies

Review by cammots ★★★★ 4

My opinion on Adam Sandler is that he is a genius, and he is hot.

Review by Giovanni ★★★½ 1

This is great, you're all just crazy.

Review by Robert Franco 1

things i always forget about this movie:

1. fairuza balk in this movie is one of the sexiest a person has ever been in a movie. like, marisa tomei in My Cousin Vinny level hotness. just imagine that woman offering to murder your enemies...

2. blake clark doing the cajun man is an all timer bit. nothing is funnier than a fake cajun guy.

Review by Austin Burke ★★★★ 3

A waterboy for a college football team discovers he has a unique tackling ability and becomes a member of the team.

As dumb as this movie gets, I can’t help but to love watching this one over and over. It is a film that I watched growing up, so I will be transparent with my bias up front, but rewatching it after seeing some of Sandler’s misfires as of late makes it even better. Everything he has attempted to replicate since the 90’s has either been terrible or just slightly underrated, with not much in-between. Still, nothing has been able to reach the level of his “prime Sandler” films. I am clearly only talking about his Comedies because his…

Review by Andy Summers 🤠 ★ 5

Adam Sandler sold his soul to Satan at one point for a successful career, sometimes Satan doesn't hold up his side of the bargain and leaves poor Adam to make his own mistakes, and this is one of them.

Review by willmoviefan97 ★★★

Truly one of the stupidest movies I've ever seen.... but I won't lie it makes me laugh from time to time.

Review by Kylo ★★★ 1

Far from my favourite Adam Sandler movie of this era. Plenty of a nostalgia factor going on for me. Also, a hilarious turn from Kathy Bates. All her scenes are the best ones. Iconic!

Review by Christian Di Leo ★★★½

"My Mama says that alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth but no toothbrush."

🏚🧑🏻‍🦱🚰🏈🐊🪓👩‍🦰🚜🛠👩🏻🏫🏟🏈🧑‍🦳📗🏫🤕🧑🏼‍🏫🫂🧑🏻‍🦱💨🏥👩‍🦰🏟👩🏻👩‍🦰🧑🏻‍🦱🏈🏆

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The Untold Truth Of The Waterboy

Today, Adam Sandler is known as one of the biggest comedy movie actors of all time. Before climbing Hollywood's ladder to the A-list, Sandler was a cast member on television's most famous sketch comedy show, "Saturday Night Live." In the mid-1990s, Sandler started making a name for himself in movies , notably "Billy Madison" in 1995 and "Happy Gilmore" in 1996, which made healthy profits at the box office .

It was 1998's "The Waterboy" that finally launched Sandler's career into the stratosphere. Filled with many notable actors in the supporting cast, including Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, and Fairuza Balk, "The Waterboy" told the story of Robert "Bobby" Boucher Jr., played by Sandler. Bobby is a well-meaning but slow-witted youth whose dreams of serving water, playing football, and finding romance are held back due to his love for his domineering mother (Bates).

"The Waterboy" became the first film in Sandler's career to make more than $100 million  domestically. It turned the actor into a comedy superstar alongside the likes of Jim Carrey and Steve Martin . In the decades since its release, the movie has come to be regarded as a classic. The history behind the making of "The Waterboy" is a fascinating one. Let us take a look at some of the surprising events that led up to the creation of the beloved comedy.

It was inspired by an SNL sketch

Adam Sandler started his Hollywood career as a standup comic and sketch comedy artist. Many of the ideas that Sandler would use later in his movie career were inspired by his time working on "Saturday Night Live."  The iconic sketch show was also responsible for the idea that eventually evolved into "The Waterboy."

On "SNL," Sandler made a name for himself singing parodies on his guitar and playing offbeat characters with interesting quirks. Like "Canteen Boy," an assistant scoutmaster who behaves in a childlike manner, pays great attention to detail, and is always seen wearing a water canteen around his neck. If that description sounds very similar to Bobby Boucher, it's no coincidence.

"You could compare [Bobby] to 'Canteen Boy,'" Sandler told CNN in an interview. "Whereas he does love water and they both get picked on a lot." While Canteen Boy inspired "The Waterboy," Bobby Boucher is a better-developed character whose most noticeable quality, Sandler said, is that "he is a genuine, good person." It was this goodness that made Bobby Boucher into something deeper than a character in a sketch, someone whose journey audiences would want to follow over the length of an entire film. 

Everyone loves Bobby Boucher

Right from the start of his career in films, Adam Sandler made a name for himself playing emotionally stunted man-children with anger issues. The anger issues toned down a bit by the later stages of his career, but at the time of "The Waterboy," Sandler was still best known for playing guys who did not always behave in the nicest manner. This was a formula that "The Waterboy" inverted. Instead of having Sandler play an over-the-top zany character in a regular world, screenwriter Tim Herlihy told SB Nation  that this movie changed things up by having Sandler's Bobby Boucher be the nice, relatively sane guy surrounded by whacky characters who accentuated how nice and well-meaning Bobby himself was.

Playing Bobby proved a nice change of pace for Sandler. When he was asked during an interview with The Harvard Crimson  which of Sandler's characters he would want to be stuck on a marooned island with, the actor picked Bobby as his companion of choice (next to Billy Madison), adding that he would "let Bobby [rest] his head on [his] lap and sleep." Also, who better to help you survive on a desert island than a guy who has spent his life learning to collect and ration drinking water?

Kathy Bates tossed the script in the trash

One of the biggest surprises in "The Waterboy" when it first came out was seeing veteran dramatic actress Kathy Bates hamming it up to glory in the role of Bobby's domineering mother desperate to keep her son at her side forever by telling him everything outside their home was a sinful trap set by the devil. 

No one thought Bates would ever want to do such an over-the-top role, not even the makers of "The Waterboy." And they were right. When Bates first got the script for the movie, she saw that it was about football. Having no interest in the sport and not having the faintest idea who the lead actor was, Bates threw the script in the trash. There, it was spotted by Bates' niece, who realized "The Waterboy" was an Adam Sandler movie. 

"[My niece] pulled it out, and she said, 'Adam Sandler! You don't know the Hanukkah song [from 'SNL']?" Bates told Snoop Dogg in an interview . "[My niece told me] 'You have to do this movie!' And she was right. We had so much fun. Unbelievable." Thanks to that bit of prodding, Bates accepted the unusual role of Bobby's mom, Helen, which ended up becoming one of the best-remembered roles of the actress' illustrious career.

The film is related to Hubie Halloween

"The Waterboy" had Adam Sandler playing one of the most vulnerable characters of his entire career. Bobby Boucher was the town outcast who was bullied by everyone around him but maintained a dogged determination to be kind and helpful to others because of his strong love for his mother that extended to the rest of humanity. Echoes of these character traits can be found in Hubie Dubois, Sandler's hero from 2020's "Hubie Halloween." Much like Bobby, Hubie is his town's walking punchline, has an awkward way of talking, and cares far more for his neighbors than they do for him. These similarities were not a coincidence. In fact, Sandler told Yahoo Entertainment that Hubie's full name is a reference to Bobby Boucher since the two characters are so similar.

With "Hubie Halloween"  chock-full of references to many of Sandler's past movies, the actor went a step further in the same interview and entertained that all his movies take place within a collective "Sandlerverse," which might one day lead to an epic crossover among the various characters Sandler has played over the years. So fingers crossed for the day we might get to see Hubie and Bobby save the day together.

The Phantom Menace helped The Waterboy

The biggest movie news around the time of the release of "The Waterboy" was that "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" was going to be released soon after. Fans were agog to see the next part in George Lucas' iconic sci-fi series. The original "Star Wars" trilogy had ended, and CGI had advanced far enough to expand the world of the franchise in a compelling manner. Thus "The Phantom Menace" was primed to generate a large amount of hype as the starting point for a new "Star Wars" trilogy. This actually ended up helping "The Waterboy."

According to a report by The New York Times from that era, the fact that "The Phantom Menace" trailer was attached to "The Waterboy" and a few other lesser-known movies meant that "Star Wars" fans would buy tickets for the smaller movies purely so they could watch the two-minute trailer at the start of the show and leave. This helped bump up the ticket sales for "The Waterboy" and gave it longer legs at the box office. 

You can do it! was always going to be big

In many ways, "The Waterboy" laid the groundwork for the way Adam Sandler would make his movies for the rest of his career. A feel-good story, a likable lead, and a bunch of comedians who all happen to be close friends with Sandler in real life. One such comedian was Rob Schneider, who knew Sandler from their days on "SNL" together, Schneider said in an interview with  Us Weekly .

One of the highlights of "The Waterboy" was Schneider's supporting role as the Townie, who delivers the famous line, "You can do it!" The line became an internet meme before internet memes were a thing. It became a running gag to have Schneider say the line in other Sandler movies, and Sandler returned the favor when he guest-starred in Schneider's movie "The Animal." The fact that the line would be such a hit was already known to Sandler before "The Waterboy" ever released.

"[Adam] called me two weeks before the movie came out," Schneider said. "[He said,] 'In two weeks, 'The Waterboy' is going to come out and you're not going to be able to go anywhere without hearing, 'You can do it!'"

Henry Winkler randomly landed his role

As perfect as Henry Winkler was in the role of the hapless Coach Klein in "The Waterboy," that bit of casting was highly unusual at the time. Back then, Winkler was still known as the epitome of cool.  Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli from the classic TV show "Happy Days" was the last guy you could imagine playing Coach Klein.

After "Happy Days" ended, Winkler found himself cursed with the same problem of typecasting that applied to most actors known for a highly specific breakout television character. Despite being a character actor at heart, Winkler found few opportunities to showcase his range until "The Waterboy" came along.

While Adam Sandler was on "SNL," he sang "The Chanukah Song," which name-dropped Winkler. The actor called Sandler to thank him for the shout-out, and the two ended up becoming friends. That in turn led to Sandler casting Winkler as Coach Klein in a role that was the polar opposite of how the actor was perceived at the time. Thanks to the success of "The Waterboy," Winkler received a fresh boost to his career that allowed him to finally put "The Fonz" behind him and establish a new reputation as a character actor.

A very different original plot

What makes "The Waterboy" work for both football fans and non-football fans is that the movie is not really about the sport itself. Rather, "The Waterboy" is a heartfelt satire of small-town life where the pride of the residents becomes intricately linked with their home team and small-town folks dream of doing something bigger with their life.

While the character of Bobby Boucher was already decided upon as a continuation of Canteen Boy from "SNL," the backdrop for the character's story almost had a completely different New England setting. That was an idea that was explored early on by the film's writer, Tim Herlihy. "At one point, we talked about doing it in black and white and set in the '50s," Herlihy told SB Nation . He added that if they had pursued that idea, "It would've been a very different movie," while also admitting he did not know enough about the New England college football scene to make the premise work. In the end, the team behind "The Waterboy" decided to place the story in Louisiana after a Mardi Gras trip they took inspired them to make a satire of what audiences think people in the South sound and act like.

The giant-sized cameo

Before finding his calling as a linebacker, Bobby Boucher leads an incredibly repressed life. He finds a passive outlet for his aggression by avidly following professional wrestling. Bobby's favorite wrestler is a giant man called "Captain Insano," whom Bobby dreams of working for as a water boy.

Wrestling fans will notice that the role of Captain Insano is played by Paul Wight, better known in wrestling circles as "The Big Show." The 7-foot giant has long been a star in the world of professional wrestling and made several forays into movies. Despite his brief screen time, Captain Insano proved a big hit with audiences, so much so that Wight claims he has bought the rights to the character from the studio that owns "The Waterboy." The wrestler intends to bring the fictional wrestler into the real world as a fresh new in-ring persona for AEW (All Elite Wrestling). The biggest difference according to Wight will be that the new version of Insano will not be rocking his luxurious locks from the movie.

Ariana Grande once played Bobby Boucher

2020 was a tough year for everyone everywhere. The pandemic was raging, and all you could do was hunker down within your home and try to keep your mind off the bad stuff by rewatching old shows and movies. Many classics received a boost in popularity during that time period, including "The Waterboy," thanks to Ariana Grande.

The famous pop star took to social media to post a clip of herself  embracing her inner Adam Sandler  acting as Bobby Boucher in a scene from the movie. Grande went the extra mile by dressing up like Bobby and wearing appropriate makeup to present the appearance of a black eye. The role of Bobby's mom was played by Grande's own mother. Finally, the pop sensation's former castmate Elizabeth Gillies played Bobby's love interest, Vicki Vallencourt.

The clip rapidly went viral on various social media outlets. Grande's attention to detail while portraying Bobby's awkward mannerisms received particular praise. The trending clip caught Sandler's attention, and the actor gave his blessings to Grande's efforts by tweeting, "Bobby Boucher approves of this message."

The real Bobby Boucher?

Even though Bobby Boucher was based on a previous character, "Canteen Boy," playing the role of a star linebacker was a novel experience for Adam Sandler. The actor knew that he had to take care not just of his acting, but also the physical aspects of playing Bobby and looking like he actually belonged on the football field with other players. To that end, Sandler prepared for his role by watching real-life linebackers go about their work during football games. One player whom the actor paid special attention to was former All-Pro NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington. In fact, Arrington even goes so far as to declare himself the real-life Bobby Boucher who directly inspired Sandler's take on the iconic character. "A lot of people don't realize that I'm the 'Waterboy,'" Arrington told Fox Sports Radio . 

"[Sandler is] a big Penn State fan," he continued, "and came to Penn State to watch the linebackers of 'Linebacker U,' and more specifically, LaVar Arrington." The former pro linebacker also pointed out that the "Number 9" shirt Bobby wears in the movie is Arrington's high school number and that Sandler's movements on the football field closely resemble Arrington's "reckless abandon" from his college playing days.

Henry Winkler still has part of his movie tattoo

At one point in "The Waterboy," Coach Klein arrives at Bobby's house to offer him a football scholarship for college. While Bobby is thrilled, his mother nixes the idea with great firmness. Cowed by his mother, Bobby regretfully says no to Klein. Before leaving, Klein reveals the "Roy Orbison" tattoo on his butt that he got without his mother's permission as a way to encourage Bobby to continue playing college football in secret. 

The tattoo is one of the most unexpected moments in the movie, and you are never quite sure whether that was really Henry Winkler with the giant tattoo on his posterior or a body double. As it turns out, not only did Winkler get the tattoo for the movie, but he still has part of it on his body as a way to honor his character in "The Waterboy."

Winkler told WGN-TV (via Outsider) that he "had [the tattoo] removed by laser" before going on to reveal that he kept the "Roy Orbison's glasses" part of the tattoo. A strange but rather sweet way to commemorate the strange but sweet movie that turned Winkler's career around.

The film had a highly mixed reaction

Adam Sandler might just be one of the most controversial stars in the history of Hollywood. Not because of his personal life, but because of how deeply his movies appear to divide critics and general audiences. Influential reviewers frequently lambast Sandler's comedy movies as simplistic, formulaic, and cheap, but that doesn't stop audiences from turning out to see them in droves.

This deepening schism started appearing right from the time of "The Waterboy." The film became Sandler's first bonafide blockbuster, grossing more than $100 million at the international box office. The movie was also torn apart by critics . Sandler was nominated for the Golden Raspberry  award for worst actor, but ironically he  also won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor — Comedy for the same movie.

"It's never been my drive, and it's never been Sandler's drive [to please critics]," "The Waterboy" director Frank Coraci told SB Nation with regards to the movie's mixed reception. "We just really wanna make movies that we believe in, that are funny, that make you feel some good things and have a positive message and that are entertaining." Beyond critics reviews and box office numbers, the biggest testament to the success of "The Waterboy" in the long run is the fact that the movie is still so fondly remembered decades after its initial release.

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The waterboy.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 18 Reviews
• Kids Say 53 Reviews

Parents Say

Based on 18 parent reviews

Parent Reviews

Sandler classic is inspirational and funny yet questionable at times.

This title has:

• Great messages
• Too much swearing
• Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

Report this review

They won’t get the adult jokes.

• Educational value
• Great role models
• Too much violence
• Too much sex
• Too much consumerism

Not as inappropriate as you think

Hilarious movie, one of the best adam sandler movies, funny and a bit inappropiate, crude, stupid sex jokes, same adam sandler - dull and boring and old, what to watch next.

Napoleon Dynamite

Mucha Lucha!

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The Waterboy Parent Guide

Why is The Waterboy rated PG-13? The MPAA rated The Waterboy PG-13

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by rod gustafson.

Saying this is the best Adam Sandler movie I’ve ever seen reminds me of the time my mother baked our weekly liver dinner instead of pan-frying it. It was the best liver I ever had, and I’m happy to say I haven’t eaten liver again in almost thirty years…

Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, a 31 year old simpleton from Louisiana who has an obsession for water after being told from childhood that his “daddy” perished in the Sahara. Working as a waterboy, Boucher strives to give the state football team the best water he can. Instead the team sees his childish personality and water purification equipment as a sideline target for their ridicule, which leads to Boucher being fired for distracting the players.

Co-written by Sandler, this script offers few realistic examples for teens who are mocked and trying to regain self esteem. Certainly if most of us tackled a football thug we’d have good reason to consider health insurance. More amazing yet, he gets 97% on his high school equivalency test, even though he’s never gone to school (his momma kept him home).

The movie does include a handful of positive elements, like when Boucher turns down advances from Vicki (Fairuza Balk), a girl who will try anything to get his attention—even removing her shirt (we only see Boucher’s reaction). Also, Boucher is eventually accepted by the community and his mother as he asserts his independence and furthers his education.

But no matter how you cook it, this movie is peppered with profanities and sexual innuendo, and is still a tough choice to recommend to your teens

About author

Rod Gustafson

The waterboy rating & content info.

Why is The Waterboy rated PG-13? The Waterboy is rated PG-13 by the MPAA

Page last updated February 13, 2012