Surprise, Surprise!
Dr. Daniel's review of The Waterboy

in for observation

Starring Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed, Blake Clark, Larry Gilliard Jr., Clint Howard.

Directed by Frank Coraci. Rated PG-13.

    Okay, here's the deal. You know the concept of the good surprise...or the bad surprise. I mean, there's nothing better than a surprise birthday party -- that's a good surprise -- unless you flip on the lights to see both your girlfriends in attendance -- that's a bad surprise. Finding a five spot in your jacket pocket, good surprise. Blue lights in the rearview, bad surprise. Romance with a stranger, good surprise. Stranger is a psycho, bad surprise. You get the drift.
   Anyway, the movie biz gets good surprise, bad surprise too. Unexpected hits. Big budget flops. And more often than not, the good surprise benefits the moviegoer, while the bad surprise throws punches the studios' way. Such a case couldn't be clearer than the unexpected emergence of Adam Sandler.
   Over the past several years, while other comedians served up bad surprise after bad surprise (reference Dan Aykroyd, Dana Carvey, and Chevy Chase), Adam Sandler was delivering a steady supply of funny, profitable hits (Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer). Good surprises all the way.
   And now, he's done it again. And this time, the surprise is on me. After the dang fabulous success of The Wedding Singer, I couldn't wait to see what Sandler's next move would be. And then, I heard he was adapting his SNL character, Canteen Boy, to the bigscreen. My howls of sorrow were heard for miles. I always hated the Canteen Boy sketches.
   But, good surprise! The result is The Waterboy, and it's every bit as funny and warm as Singer, but with more of the sporty lunatic spin of Happy Gilmore.
   Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, a slow-witted 31-year-old Louisiana mama's boy, whose sole ambition is to serve sparkling water to college football players. And instead of being appreciated for his unwavering dedication to his craft, the players goof on him mercilessly. The championship team's head coach (Jerry Reed) declares Bobby a moronic distraction and fires him, leaving him to offer his services to the pathetic perennial losers, South Central Louisiana State University. Well, the abuse continues on his first day at practice with his new team, but instead of encouraging it, Head Coach Klein (Henry Winkler) tells him to stand up for himself. In doing so, Bobby unleashes his anger through a bone-crunching tackle, to the mouth-watering delight of Klein.
   Klein convinces Bobby to join the team, against his mama's wishes, and in short order, the new star linebacker is leading SCLSU to glory. The simple plot includes Bobby's classroom exploits, a crime-crazy girlfriend (Fairuza Balk), and enough conflict to keep things moving, but it's all just a framework for a parade of funny scenes featuring a host of wild and wooly characters. Leading the way is Kathy Bates, hilariously engaging as Mama Boucher, and if awards could be given for laughs-per-screen-second, Blake Clark's "Farmer Fran" character would be in line for the tallest trophy going. His indecipherable, shirtless assistant coach role is just plain hilarious. Winkler, Reed, and Balk also score touchdowns, accompanied in their exploits by the likes of entertaining goofballs Clint Howard and Rob Schneider. Also look for a surprisingly ironic scene featuring former football great Lawrence Taylor.
   Granted, The Waterboy won't make you contemplate the larger issues of life. It won't scoop up awards come Oscar time. And, its plot won't make you sit on the edge of your seat. But, as no surprise to the legion of Adam Sandler fans who helped it rake in $40 million on opening weekend, The Waterboy will make you laugh.