The Waterboy

Name: The Waterboy
Genre: Sport, Comedy
Released: November 6, 1998
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 41
Cast: Adam Sandler, Henry Winkler, Kathy Bates

1998

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 367 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 367 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: November 6, 1998 | PG-13

Starring: Adam Sandler, Henry Winkler, Kathy Bates

Summary: Just an oddball mama's boy from the back bayous of Louisiana, Bobby Boucher (Sandler) never wanted anything more than to quench the thirst of the dehydrated athletes who treat him like dirt! But when Coach Klein (Winkler) makes the call that allows Bobby to finally stand up for himself, it unleashes a torrent of bottled-up frustration ...Just an oddball mama's boy from the back bayous of Louisiana, Bobby Boucher (Sandler) never wanted anything more than to quench the thirst of the dehydrated athletes who treat him like dirt! But when Coach Klein (Winkler) makes the call that allows Bobby to finally stand up for himself, it unleashes a torrent of bottled-up frustration ... and exposes a talent for tackling that transforms him from a meek "water distribution engineer" into the hardest hitter ever to roam the gridiron! (Buena Vista Entertainment)… Expand

Director: Frank Coraci

Genre(s): Sport, Comedy

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 90 min

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Critic Reviews

James Berardinelli

Arguably Sandler's most enjoyable motion picture to date, but it's still far from a masterpiece. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Ken Fox

No one does deranged quite like Kathy Bates (the film's running gag involving Bates and the delicacies of Cajun cuisine is hilarious). Read full review

Rita Kempley

The Perrier of dumb-and-dumber movies, an effervescent idiot's delight that burbles from the wellspring of silliness inside star Adam Sandler's head. Read full review

Susan Wloszczyna

As funny as it can be, this underdawg comedy isn't much more than Sandler's golf-oriented "Happy Gilmore" with a Cajun accent. [6 November 1998, p. 10E]

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. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

Of course it's dumb, but every 10 minutes or so, it's also pretty funny. Read full review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Becomes yet another lame sports farce. Read full review

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User Reviews

StormTroopB

Mar 6, 2015

Nostalgic Value is off the charts! Great movie everyone should see it at least once. If you like sports this one will really hit the spot its a great mix of comedy and action.

20 of 22 users found this helpful202

RomaM

Jul 28, 2007

Brilliant movie! Must be one of the best Adam Sandlers film for sure! Don't listen to critics,this movie is really really funny!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Xenophobe114

Jun 25, 2021

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1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Dr-WILY

Aug 16, 2018

Yeah some parts are funny but its not my number one sure some movies seem like pure gold unless you watched when your four tears old

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

TheWalrus2000

Mar 9, 2013

Hilarious.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

Spielberg00

Sep 23, 2011

THE WATERBOY is a dumb football farce and just another predictable Adam Sandler comedy. It was possible to laugh in some scenes, but this, overall, was not very funny. It stars Adam Sandler as the title role, a 31-year-old named Bobby Boucher with the obnoxious voice of a 10-year-old, whoTHE WATERBOY is a dumb football farce and just another predictable Adam Sandler comedy. It was possible to laugh in some scenes, but this, overall, was not very funny. It stars Adam Sandler as the title role, a 31-year-old named Bobby Boucher with the obnoxious voice of a 10-year-old, who has been bringing water to football teams for a lot of his life. He becomes angry when he is insulted early on, and he tackles the man who insulted him quite hard, leading the football team's coach to believe he is fit for the team. The problem is he is true to his "mama", who says he cannot play football and that it is "the devil" (like almost everything else, in her opinion). I would not recommend this is you can stand 90 minutes of asinine, juvenile humor. Otherwise, go ahead--you'll laugh a lot.… Expand

0 of 6 users found this helpful06

Trailesque

May 11, 2020

This dumb comedy is a strong candidate for worst flick of the 1990s. Sandler does an unbelievably annoying Andy Kaufman shtick all the way thru.

0 of 20 users found this helpful020

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22	#22 Most Discussed Movie of 1998
59	#59 Most Shared Movie of 1998