Evidently this is how Fairuza Balk spent the other part of 1998 when she was not playing the ravenous lust-life of Edward Norton's character in the provocative American History X. Hundreds of miles away from the skinhead battles on the streets of L.A., Adam Sandler was busying himself as first-time executive producer in the state of LA. The film which transpired, The Waterboy, is a good effort but leaves much to be desired when put up against the compendium of Sandler films.
Given hindsight, the film's impressive financial success was more of an indication of Sandler's rising notoriety as first-rate deliverer of comedy, and less due to merits of this particular film. Sandler's characters usually rely on some aspect of discomfort, and Bobby Boucher (Boo-SHAY) seems to specialize in this trait. We never know what the true nature of his affliction is. Yet his disconcerting speech and mannerisms begin to normalize upon meeting the other members of Bobby's community which include; a near-psychotic 3rd Division football coach (played by Henry Winkler, The FONZ, that's right here he has completely "jumped the shark"), a tattooed tough-skinned feline fem-friend Vicki Vallencourt (Fairuza Balk), an assorted crew of deranged football teammates, legions of local bumpkins who hobble onto the screen as if they came out of a George Romero flick including an aged Clint Howard (Eaglebauer from RnRHS), and Rob Schnider's character from whence originated the catchphrase, "You can do it!" (I always wondered where that came from), and lastly, but not to be forgotten, the hyper-protective overbearing near socio-phobe "Momma" (played by a Kathy Bates, yes the "misery" continues ).
The laughs are too few and too far between as the viewer plods through the Louisiana bayou in search of the plot. This film may have faired better amongst the jock set, but even they are evidently included in the film's low IMDb rating. What may have been Adam Sandler's answer to the call of Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, instead amounted to a mediocre addition to the Sandler curriculum vitae.
Given hindsight, the film's impressive financial success was more of an indication of Sandler's rising notoriety as first-rate deliverer of comedy, and less due to merits of this particular film. Sandler's characters usually rely on some aspect of discomfort, and Bobby Boucher (Boo-SHAY) seems to specialize in this trait. We never know what the true nature of his affliction is. Yet his disconcerting speech and mannerisms begin to normalize upon meeting the other members of Bobby's community which include; a near-psychotic 3rd Division football coach (played by Henry Winkler, The FONZ, that's right here he has completely "jumped the shark"), a tattooed tough-skinned feline fem-friend Vicki Vallencourt (Fairuza Balk), an assorted crew of deranged football teammates, legions of local bumpkins who hobble onto the screen as if they came out of a George Romero flick including an aged Clint Howard (Eaglebauer from RnRHS), and Rob Schnider's character from whence originated the catchphrase, "You can do it!" (I always wondered where that came from), and lastly, but not to be forgotten, the hyper-protective overbearing near socio-phobe "Momma" (played by a Kathy Bates, yes the "misery" continues ).
The laughs are too few and too far between as the viewer plods through the Louisiana bayou in search of the plot. This film may have faired better amongst the jock set, but even they are evidently included in the film's low IMDb rating. What may have been Adam Sandler's answer to the call of Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, instead amounted to a mediocre addition to the Sandler curriculum vitae.