The Waterboy

Adam Sandler is charming and disarming as he dusts off and mashes together his beloved SNL characters Cajun Man and Canteen Boy to create Bobby Boucher, the sweet-tempered, simple-minded, bayou man-child who relishes his job of eighteen years as the much-abused waterboy for the local 'good' (well-funded but nasty of spirit) university's football team. True to the appropriate cine-formula, there is also a nearby 'bad' (under-funded but generous of spirit) university where Bobby seeks tenure after finally being driven away from his long-time place of employment by the relentless cruelty of those whom he seeks only to refresh and hydrate. It is under the kindly tutelage of the 'lesser' university's down-and-out football coach (Henry Winkler phones it in, but warmly) that Bobby realizes his unusual athletic prowess and develops some basic people skills. Kathy Bates has an enormous amount of fun, and is a laugh riot, as Bobby's earthy, over-protective, swamp-shack-dwelling mom; and Fairuza Balk is accessibly luscious in a Daisy Mae turn as Bobby's resourceful, tomboyish, creole-cutie sweetheart. Deadpan delivery, satisfying sight gags, and 'elbow-your-neighbor-and-point-at-the-screen' cameos make this an attractive option for fans of the genre.