The Waterboy

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The Waterboy

PG-13

1998

1h 28m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

32%

Tomatometer

74 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Raised by his overprotective mother, Helen, Bobby Boucher Jr. is the water boy for a successful college football team coached by Red Beaulieu. When Beaulieu fires Bobby, he takes up the same position for a losing rival team, led by despairing Coach Klein. After witnessing Bobby beat up a player who teased him too much, Klein adds him to the roster as a linebacker. Soon, Klein's players are championship contenders.

Critics Consensus

This is an insult to its genre with low humor and cheap gags.

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Andrew O'Hehir

Sight & Sound

06/18/2012

A witless and utterly predictable comic fantasy about a misfit turned hero.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

12/29/2010

1/5

Really dumb, but many teens love it anyway.

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Glenn Lovell

Variety

06/02/2008

The formulaic mix of mirth and mayhem is aimed way down the MTV food chain...

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

09/25/2020

2/10

This juvenile, unnecessary, and utterly pathetic madness can barely be considered a comedy; the jokes are so immature and flat that it more closely resembles a tragedy.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

07/10/2010

2.5/4

An agreeable yet forgettable comedy...

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Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews

08/12/2009

2.5/4

There's an innocence to The Waterboy that makes the picture part slapstick and part fairy tale...The only problem with letting kids see this Adam Sandler movie? They might want to see another one. [Blu-ray]

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Dennis G

@MunchinBooty Apr 26

Classic Adam Sandler. Awesome movie. Seen it a hundred times.

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william R

@dodgers2win Apr 25

The movie was more entertaining than anything released in 2026 so far

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Zac H.

@RT23725957 Apr 20

I love this movie and I like how Bobby knocked out the football players out Cole and visualizes the players as other people I really love this movie. 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

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Ed R

@JustcallmeER Apr 8

A classic nostalgic Adam Sandler movie filled with laughs the entire way through.

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Joel C

@Joelcas1613 Mar 1

Pretty good film, funny, good premise (even though it's a bit cliche), and a great third act. Give it a watch, 3 stars. God bless.

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timulo D

@timulo Feb 13

This film is too good for these humourless, snotty, out of touch activist-reviewers. Screw em, nobody needs professional reviewers anymore, they killed their own industry.

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Frank Coraci

Director

Adam Sandler

Bobby Boucher

Kathy Bates

Helen 'Mama' Boucher

Henry Winkler

Coach Klein

Fairuza Balk

Vicki Vallencourt

Jerry Reed

Coach Red Beaulieu

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13%

53%

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Synopsis

Raised by his overprotective mother, Helen, Bobby Boucher Jr. is the water boy for a successful college football team coached by Red Beaulieu. When Beaulieu fires Bobby, he takes up the same position for a losing rival team, led by despairing Coach Klein. After witnessing Bobby beat up a player who teased him too much, Klein adds him to the roster as a linebacker. Soon, Klein's players are championship contenders.

Director: Frank Coraci
Producer: Jack Giarraputo, Robert Simonds
Screenwriter: Tim Herlihy, Allen Pasqua, Adam Sandler
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures, Waterboy Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 6, 1998, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $161.5M
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS