First, there were the previews, which appeared months before "The Waterboy" was scheduled for release. "That could be funny," we whispered to those next to us in the theater, but we had our doubts, didn’t we?
Then came the commercials strategically placed in the middle of pro football telecasts, and the MTV ad blitz, too. Our thirst for this film grew and grew until we practically couldn’t stand the wait, and now that it’s here, a ticket for the film is equivalent to gold, and everywhere you go, everyone is talking about "The Waterboy."
Clearly, the marketing campaign gets five stars, but what about the film itself? Is "The Waterboy" the next best thing since Gatorade?
On one level, yes it is. Whether it’s simply the good spirit a packed movie house brings to the viewing of this film or the film itself, watching the "The Waterboy" feels more like a party than a night at the theater.
On another level (a much lower level), no, "The Waterboy" is not a great film. It has a cheap quality to it, most of its humor is of the lowest kind, and the film mercilessly portrays people from Louisiana as the worst kind of simple trash imaginable.
But with a film like "The Waterboy," complaining that it is cheap and tasteless makes about as much sense as asking for the wine list at McDonalds. So, all I’ll say about those issues is that if your sensitive about your Loisiana heritage, think twice about seeing "The Waterboy."
"The Waterboy" is one of those films that falls into line with "Animal House" or "Revenge of the Nerds." Apparently, the country requires a movie about college boys acting dumb now and then; in fact, young American men demand these movies. Maybe they secretly feel like the waterboy. Maybe they need to believe that waterboys everywhere can be the hero and get the girl.
The fact is that "The Waterboy" is pretty funny. Director Frank Coraci, co-writer/ star Adam Sandler, and co-writer Tim Herlihy all worked together last year on the wildly popular "The Wedding Singer," but this time, they went all-out for the comedy.
"The Waterboy" has no pretenses. The story is a formula, no time is wasted on character development, and political correctness never gets a nod. What makes "The Waterboy" worth seeing, in the end, are the supporting performances. Sure Adam Sandler is fine as the mentally challenged water dispenser who channels all the resentment suppressed through years of being tormented by everyone into his tackling. But without the colorful performances of the supporting players, "The Waterboy" would be just another dumb sports comedy.
As the waterboy’s mother, Kathy Bates is a delight. Her desire to teach her son that everything not having to do with her is the devil naturally has had a stunting effect on her son emotional growth, and their relationship is the comic core of the film.
Henry Winkler, too, is refreshingly straight-ahead in his portrayal of a coach with a nervous condition and a losing record. His assistant coach, played with flair by Blake Clark, speaks with such a drawl that no one understands a thing he says, and the waterboy’s new girlfriend (Fairuza Balk) is anything but a shrinking violet or a ditzy airhead.
"The Waterboy" works because everyone in it seems to be having fun, and that fun is highly contagious. It may not be the film we’ll want to put in a time capsule as an example of our best work of art, but it is just the film we seem to need right now to help us laugh.
"The Waterboy" is rated PG13 for language, football violence, and some sexual innuendo.