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Why is is that so many people love watching Adam Sandler talk like a two-year old? I really wish somebody could explain this to me, because until I figure that out I will never understand the appeal of most of his so-called comedies. I’ll admit that I haven’t seen all his films, and for the most part, I wish I hadn’t seen the ones I did watch. I’m probably not the right person to write this review, but I promise that I went into The Waterboy with an open mind. I never root for a film to fail, and I really wanted to just have a good time. And I found that impossible.
As far as I could tell, there is no reason for this film to exist. There are no laughs, no characters worth rooting for, and not much of a story at all. Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, the title character of the film. He’s “slow,” for lack of a better word, and his entire life has hung on providing “high quality H2O” to football teams. He finds this to be an all-important task until he discovers that he has a gift for tackling. All he has to do is visualise those that have wronged him (basically everybody), and his anger fuels his football skills. What follows is your standard underdog sports story featuring one of the most gratingly obnoxious characters I’ve seen in a long time. Oh, and of course there’s a love story. Spoiler alert: he gets the girl.
Co-starring in this travesty are Kathy Bates as his overprotective mother (why Kathy?!) and Henry Winkler as the awful football coach (why Henry?!). I couldn’t believe that I was watching the great Kathy Bates overact in such a shameful way. I can’t fathom why she would have taken a role like this. Maybe she had friends working on the film or maybe she just really needed a paycheck. Either way, it was embarrassing to watch.
I know this movie was semi-popular. People always tell me that they like to shut off their brains at the movies, and I guess that must be part of the appeal. But there is such a thing as not having to think, and then there is just being insulted. It’s hard to find the humor of a film where the entire joke hinges on his character stuttering while speaking in a childish gibberish. I just don’t get it. When the filmmakers did try to throw in some actual jokes, they all fell flat.
If you’re a fan of Sandler’s baby-talk, then maybe you’ll enjoy this attempt at comedy. However, don’t expect too much from the newly released Blu-Ray. There are literally no extras. It’s the first Blu-Ray I’ve seen where nothing is included but the movie. I guess the picture looks good, but it doesn’t really matter. This isn’t a movie dependant on the quality of the image. You’ll know whether this is a movie for you before ever even starting it. If you’re already a fan of this type of humor, then have fun. But if not, The Waterboy will do nothing to change your mind.
