The Waterboy

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The Waterboy is a 1998 American sports comedy film

The Waterboy
directed by Frank Coraci (who played Robert 'Roberto'
Boucher, Sr.), starring Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza
Balk, Henry Winkler, Jerry Reed (his last film role before
his death in 2008), Larry Gilliard, Jr., Blake Clark, Peter
Dante and Jonathan Loughran, and produced by Robert
Simonds and Jack Giarraputo.

Lynn Swann, Lawrence Taylor, Jimmy Johnson, Bill

Cowher, Paul "The Big Show" Wight and Rob Schneider
have cameo appearances. The movie was extremely
profitable, earning $161.5 million in North America
alone.[1] This was Sandler's second film to eclipse $120
million worldwide in 1998 along with The Wedding
Singer.[1]

Adam Sandler's character, Bobby Boucher (pronounced

/bue/ boo-SHAY), bears a strong resemblance to his "The Directed by Frank Coraci
Excited Southerner" comedic skits from his album What the
Hell Happened to Me? The portrayal is one of a Produced by Jack Giarraputo
stereotypical Cajun from the bayous of South Louisiana, not Robert Simonds
the typical stereotype of a Southerner. He also shares Adam Sandler
similarities in speech and mannerism to Canteen Boy, a Written by Tim Herlihy
recurring character, also portrayed by Sandler, on Saturday Adam Sandler
Night Live.[2] Like Bobby, Canteen Boy was a soft-spoken Starring Adam Sandler
manchild who preferred "purified water, right out of the old Kathy Bates
canteen," which he always carried with him. Fairuza Balk
Jerry Reed
Henry Winkler
Music by Alan Pasqua
Contents
Cinematography Steven Bernstein
1 Plot Edited by Tom Lewis
2 Cast
Production Touchstone Pictures
3 Filming and production
company
4 Soundtrack
4.1 Track listing Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
5 Critical reception Release date November 6, 1998
5.1 Awards and nominations
6 References Running time 90 minutes
7 External links Country United States
Language English
Budget $23 million
Plot
Box office $186 million
Bobby Boucher (Adam Sandler) is a socially inept,
stuttering 31-year-old water boy of the University of Louisiana Cougars, a major championship-caliber college
program,[3]. He lives with his excessively protective mother Helen (Kathy Bates), and believes his father,
Robert Sr., died of dehydration in the Sahara while serving in the Peace Corps.
And school authorities begins to notice the players constantly bullying Boucher, the Cougar's head coach, Red
Beaulieu (Jerry Reed), fires Boucher, claiming he is "disruptive." After a few failed attempts to find work,
Bobby approaches Coach Klein (Henry Winkler) of the far more austere South Central Louisiana State
University Mud Dogs, and is hired as the team's water boy. The Mud Dogs are a struggling team both on and
off the field. They have lost 40 consecutive games, their cheerleaders are alcoholics, and players are forced to
share equipment due to budget cuts.

Helen forbids Bobby from playing football, warning him of its "evils." After the new team picks on him, Bobby
is encouraged by Klein to stand up for himself, leading him to to him tackling and knocking out the team's
quarterback. It turns out Bobby has hidden anger issues due to Helen's excessive sheltering and years being
bullied. Seeing his potential, Klein meets with Bobby and Helen and tries to persuade her to let Bobby play,
emphasizing this can get him a college education, but Helen stubbornly refuses.

Klein eventually convinces Bobby to play without letting Helen know. Bobby quickly becomes one of the most
feared linebackers. In his first game, Bobby causes a turnover that costs the team the win, but he helps the team
win the next game, ending their long losing streak. The Mud Dogs go on a winning streak and earn a trip to the
annual Bourbon Bowl to face the Cougars and Coach Beaulieu. Bobby's newfound fame and confidence also
allows him to reconnect with his childhood crush, Vicki Vallencourt (Fairuza Balk), who has been in prison
multiple times. Helen forbids Bobby from seeing her, warning him that girls are "the devil."

Beaulieu crashes the Mud Dogs' pep rally and reveals that Bobby never finished high school (being
homeschooled by his mother) and his high school transcript was fake, making him ineligible for college and
football. This turns the team and fans against him. Klein convinces NCAA to let Bobby play if he can pass a
GED exam. He apologizes to Bobby and admits to submitting the fake transcript, because he was desperate to
get even with Beaulieu. It is revealed that Klein and Beaulieu used to be assistant coaches at the University of
Louisiana. Beaulieu took credit for Klein's playbook, got promoted to head coach and immediately fired Klein.
The experience drove Klein to a mental breakdown, making him unable to come up with new plays. The story
convinces Bobby to help Klein get revenge on Beaulieu and prove himself to everyone. While studying, Bobby
inadvertently reveals to Helen that he has been playing football, going to college and seeing Vicki. This leads to
them having a fight that ends with Bobby defying his mother, saying he enjoys school, football and being with
Vicki.

Bobby passes the exam, but Helen feigns illness. Feeling he drove his mother to illness, Bobby stays in the
hospital with her. Meanwhile, Vicki spreads words of Bobby passing the exam. This leads to a gathering of fans
at the hospital who apologize for not supporting him and try to convince him to play. Seeing his son struggling
to ignore his calling, Helen has a change of heart. She eventually tells Bobby the truth about his father, who
abandoned her while she was pregnant with Bobby. Consequently, Helen is constantly afraid that Bobby would
leave her. Having seen him being happy and making new friends, she decides to let Bobby go and encourages
him to play in the Bourbon Bowl.

Arriving at halftime, Bobby finds Mud Dogs losing 27-0. He tries to encourage the team, who apologizes for
not treating him with the respect he deserves. With Bobby's help, Coach Klein overcomes his fear of Beaulieu,
and comes up with new plays. Mud Dogs begin to catch up, unsettling Beaulieu who resorts to underhanded
tactics. Meanwhile, Helen help sobering up the team's cheerleaders, while Vicki fills in for Bobby's usual
waterboy duties. Eventually, the Mud Dogs win the Bourbon Bowl by a score of 30-27, ending Beaulieu
"perfect season" with the Cougars. Bobby is named the MVP.

Some time later, Bobby and Vicki get married. Robert, Sr. (Frank Coraci in a cameo role) shows up and tries to
convince Bobby to skip school and go to the NFL, citing the success of Tiger Woods and his father. He is
tackled to the ground by an enraged Helen, while the crowd cheers. Bobby and Vicki leave to consummate their
marriage.

Cast
Adam Sandler as Robert 'Bobby' Boucher, Jr.
 Kathy Bates as Helen
'Mama' Boucher
Henry Winkler as Coach
Klein
Fairuza Balk as Vicki
Vallencourt
Jerry Reed as Coach Red
Beaulieu
Peter Dante as Gee
Grenouille
Larry Gilliard, Jr. as Derek
Wallace
Blake Clark as Farmer Fran
Jonathan Loughran as Lyle
Robideaux
Clint Howard as Paco
Allen Covert as Walter
Rob Schneider as The
Townie; Schneider reprises
this role in Adam Sandler's
2000 film Little Nicky,
despite being made by New
Line Cinema; in turn,
Sandler plays the same
townie in Schneider's film
The Animal.
Kevin Farley as Jim
Simonds
Frank Coraci as Robert
'Roberto' Boucher, Sr.
Paul Wight as Captain
Insano
Soon Hee Newbold as Mud
Dog Cheerleader
Dan Fouts as Himself (ABC
Sports commentator)
Brent Musburger as Himself
(ABC Sports commentator)
Lynn Swann as Himself
(ABC Sports commentator)
Chris Fowler as Himself
(ESPN commentator)
Lee Corso as Himself (ESPN
commentator)
Trevor Miller as Himself
Moosie The Cocker Spaniel
as Herself
Dan Patrick as Himself
(ESPN SportsCenter
commentator)
Lawrence Taylor as Himself
(LT's Louisiana Lightning
Training Football Camp)
Bill Cowher as Himself
(Pittsburgh Steelers coach)
Jimmy Johnson as Himself
(Miami Dolphins coach)
Jennifer Bini Taylor as Rita

Filming and production

The Waterboy was mostly filmed in the Central Florida and Orlando area as well as around Daytona Beach,
DeLand, Florida, Lakeland, Florida, and surrounding areas.

The Mud Dogs home games were filmed at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand, Florida, home of the local high
school team (the DHS Bulldogs). The classrooms and gym where Bobby takes the GED are part of Stetson
University, also located in DeLand. Stetson's Carlton Student Union building is featured in the scene where
Bobby is told his mother has been hospitalized.

The scenes involving mama's cabin were shot on Lake Louisa, in Clermont, Florida.

Coach Klein's (Henry Winkler's) office was a stage built inside of the Florida Army National Guard Armory in
DeLand, Florida. It is home of Btry B 1st Bn 265th ADA. If one was to look closely, in the background of the
practice field scenes, they can see the Armory and some military vehicles.

The initial exterior shot of the University of Louisiana stadium was EverBank Field in Jacksonville; the interior
of the stadium is actually the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Citrus Bowl was also the filming location
for the climatic Bourbon Bowl game, while the flyover shot at the beginning of the game is of Williams-Brice
Stadium at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.

The "medulla oblongata" scene was filmed at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. The extras in the
scene were students at the college, and the scene was shot on campus in Edge Hall.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack for The Waterboy was released on November
3, 1998 by Hollywood Records.[4]
The Waterboy: Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Track listing Released November 3, 1998
Length 54:53
No. Title Artist Length
1. "Born on the Bayou" Creedence 5:15 Label Hollywood
 Clearwater
Revival
2. "More Today Than Goldfinger 3:22
Yesterday"
3. "Boom Boom" Big Head Todd 3:33
and the Monsters
4. "Feed It" The Candyskins 3:35
5. "Peace Frog" The Doors 2:57
6. "Let's Groove" Earth, Wind & 5:38
Fire
7. "Always on the Run" Lenny Kravitz 3:53
8. "Doin' My Thang" Incidents / 4:10
Lifelong
9. "Small Town" John Mellencamp 3:40
10. "New Year's Eve" Joe Walsh 4:00
11. "No One to Run With" The Allman 5:58
Brothers Band
12. "Tom Sawyer" Rush 4:34
13. "Glowing Soul" Candlebox 4:18
Total length: 54:53

Critical reception
The Waterboy received mostly mixed to negative reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten
Tomatoes, 35% of the reviews were positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's consensus says "The
Waterboy is an insult to its genre with low humor and cheap gags."[5] At Metacritic, the film holds a rating of
41%, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]

Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun Times gave the film a negative review, saying "Sandler is making a tactical
error when he creates a character whose manner and voice has the effect of fingernails on a blackboard, and
then expects us to hang in there for a whole movie."[7] Lisa Alspector of the Chicago Reader also gave the film
a negative review, writing "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."[8] Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post described the movie
as "Another film about . . . a cretinous, grating loser."[9]

Manhola Dargins of L.A Weekly gave the film a mixed review, writing: "Of course it's dumb, but every 10
minutes or so, it's also pretty funny."[10] Glen Lovell of Variety said of the film, "This yahoos-on-the-bayou
farce is neither inventive nor outrageous enough.".[11] David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews also gave the film a
mixed review, calling it "an agreeable yet forgettable comedy".[12]

Janet Maslin of The New York Times said the film was "so cheerfully outlandish that it's hard to resist, and so
good-hearted that it's genuinely endearing.".[13] Mark Savlov of the Austin Chronicle also gave the film a
positive review and said the film was "A mildly amusing bayou farce with plenty of 'foosball' action to liven
the sometimes plodding proceedings."[14]

The film grossed $185,991,646 worldwide from a $20 million budget.[15]

Awards and nominations

For his role Sandler was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor. The film was also a
nominee for the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs.[16]

References
 1. "Box Office Mojo" (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=waterboy.htm).
2. Nguyen, Vi-an (July 11, 2013). "15 Movie Stars Who Got Their Starts on Saturday Night Live" (http://pa
rade.com/52753/viannguyen/15-movie-stars-who-got-their-starts-on-saturday-night-live/#adam-sandler).
Parade Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
3. "Movie/TV helmets" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110714081535/http://mghelmets.com/movies.html).
Mghelmets.com. Archived from the original (http://mghelmets.com/movies.html) on July 14, 2011.
Retrieved 2012-10-04.
4. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-waterboy-mw0000601243
5. "The Waterboy Review" (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waterboy/). Retrieved 5 June 2014.
6. "The Waterboy" (http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-waterboy). metacritic.com. CBS Interactive.
Retrieved 5 June 2014.
7. Ebert, Roger. "THE WATERBOY" (http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-waterboy-1998).
rogerebert.com. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
8. Alspector, Lisa. "The Waterboy Review" (http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-waterboy/Film?oid
=1065682). Retrieved 5 June 2014.
9. O'Sullivan, Michael. "The Waterboy" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/vi
deos/waterboyosullivan.htm). washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
10. Dargins, Manhola. "The Waterboy Review" (http://www.laweekly.com/film/film_results.php?showid=53
7&Sumbit.x=49&Sumbit.y=21).
11. Lovell, Glen. "Waterboy Review" (http://variety.com/review/VE1117913660?categoryid=31&cs=1).
variety.com. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
12. Nusair, David. "The Waterboy (July 10/10)" (http://reelfilm.com/mini103.htm#waterboy). Retrieved
5 June 2014.
13. Maslin, Janet. "The Waterboy (1998) FILM REVIEW; Md Dogs! Mud Dogs! Rah Rah Rah!" (https://ww
w.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A00E3D9173EF935A35752C1A96E958260&partner=Rotten%2520
Tomatoes). Retrieved 5 June 2014.
14. Savlov, Mark. "The Waterboy" (http://www.austinchronicle.com/calendar/film/1998-11-06/the-waterbo
y/). austinchronicle.com. Austin Chronicle Corp. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
15. "The Waterboy" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120484/). IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
16. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs Nominees" (http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs500.pdf) (PDF).
Retrieved 2012-10-04.

External links
The Waterboy on IMDb
The Waterboy at AllMovie
The Waterboy at Rotten Tomatoes

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Waterboy&oldid=793811710"

This page was last edited on 4 August 2017, at 03:20.

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