|
Review by Susan Granger
1 star out of 4
Adam Sandler summarized this and his whole string of
lightweight movies ("The Wedding Singer," "Billy Madison," "Happy
Gilmore") when he said, "We're just having fun, and I hope everyone
has fun right along with us." And there's something funny and
endearing about Adam Sandler, even if his moronic movies are simply
variations on each other and he always plays the nerdy, hapless
hero. This time, he's a seemingly dim-witted, socially inept 31
year-old from the swamps of Louisiana who works as a lowly water boy,
although he loves dispensing H2O to dehydrated athletes and truly
believes that it's life's greatest calling. His over-protective
mother, Kathy Bates, has home-schooled him in the bayou, so his only
contact with his peers is his job, where the jocks rib him
relentlessly and his coach won't let him fight back. Then, one day, he
gets a new coach, Henry Winkler, who consults "The Idiot's Guide to
Coaching." After years of holding in his fury, Sandler's finally
allowed to release his pent-up Cajun rage, and he's suddenly
transformed into the most devastating tackle on the team. Problem is:
he has to go to college at the same time - behind his mother's
back. And Kathy Bates is hilarious, cookin' snakes 'n' biscuits 'n'
'gators, shootin' off her mouth, and muggin' in front of the TV
cameras at a game. Fairuza Balk is amusing, too, as his wacko,
knife-wielding, jailbird girl-friend. Directed by Frank Coraci,
written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler, the comedy is primarily
visual, and the zaniest bits are often at the edge of the main action
- like the depressed, unkempt, bourbon-drinking cheerleaders on the
loser football team. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The
Waterboy" is a silly, fumbling 3, delivering a bucketful of laughs.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
|
out of 4
