This escapist comedy is so cheerfully outlandish that it's hard to resist, and so good-hearted that it's genuinely endearing.
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
As a satire on the only true religion of the American South -- football -- The Waterboy is a delight.
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
An unabashed wallow in the moronic humor of Adam Sandler.
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It's not "Billy Madison," quite, but The Waterboy is still pure Sandler. If you like that sort of thing.
40
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Another film about . . . a cretinous, grating loser.
40
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Chicago ReaderLisa 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.
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
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.