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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by rod gustafson.

Saying this is the best Adam Sandler movie I’ve ever seen reminds me of the time my mother baked our weekly liver dinner instead of pan-frying it. It was the best liver I ever had, and I’m happy to say I haven’t eaten liver again in almost thirty years…

Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, a 31 year old simpleton from Louisiana who has an obsession for water after being told from childhood that his “daddy” perished in the Sahara. Working as a waterboy, Boucher strives to give the state football team the best water he can. Instead the team sees his childish personality and water purification equipment as a sideline target for their ridicule, which leads to Boucher being fired for distracting the players.

Co-written by Sandler, this script offers few realistic examples for teens who are mocked and trying to regain self esteem. Certainly if most of us tackled a football thug we’d have good reason to consider health insurance. More amazing yet, he gets 97% on his high school equivalency test, even though he’s never gone to school (his momma kept him home).

The movie does include a handful of positive elements, like when Boucher turns down advances from Vicki (Fairuza Balk), a girl who will try anything to get his attention—even removing her shirt (we only see Boucher’s reaction). Also, Boucher is eventually accepted by the community and his mother as he asserts his independence and furthers his education.

But no matter how you cook it, this movie is peppered with profanities and sexual innuendo, and is still a tough choice to recommend to your teens

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Rod Gustafson

The waterboy rating & content info.

Why is The Waterboy rated PG-13? The Waterboy is rated PG-13 by the MPAA

Page last updated February 13, 2012

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I believe in giving every movie the benefit of the doubt. I walked into "The Waterboy," sat down, took a sip of my delicious medium roast coffee and felt at peace with the world. How nice it would be, I thought, to give Adam Sandler a good review for a change. Goodwill and caffeine suffused my being, and as the lights went down I all but beamed at the screen.

Then Adam Sandler spoke, and all was lost. His character's voice is made of a lisp, a whine, a nasal grating and an accent that nobody in Louisiana actually has, although the movies pretend that they do. His character is a 31-year-old man who, soon after the film opens, is fired as the waterboy of a championship football team. Then he talks himself into a job with a team of losers, led by the insecure Coach Kline ( Henry Winkler ).

Bobby Boucher, the waterboy, is one of those people who is so insufferable, in a passive-aggressive way, that you have to believe they know what they're doing. No one could be that annoying by accident. I am occasionally buttonholed by such specimens. They stand too close, they talk too loudly, they are not looking at me but at an invisible Teleprompter somewhere over my shoulder. If I were a man of action, I would head-butt them and take my chances with the courts.

"The Waterboy" tries to force this character into the ancient movie mold of the misunderstood simple little guy with a heart of gold. By the end of the movie we are supposed to like him, I think, especially as the whole school turns up in a candlelight vigil outside the hospital where he waits at the bedside of his (not) dying mother. There is only one way I can see myself liking this character. That would be if "The Waterboy," like " That Obscure Object of Desire " and " Lost Highway ," had two different actors play the same character, so that by the end Bobby Boucher was being portrayed by Tom Hanks .

Kathy Bates has the best scenes in the movie, as Bobby's mother, a possessive and manipulative creature who has kept her son tied to her apron strings in their bayou cabin, which looks like it was furnished by the same artist who draws How Many Mistakes Can You Find in This Picture? Mama Boucher and Bobby share space with large animals and junk shop treasures, and she serves giant swamp snakes, coiled in a tasty brew of herbs and spices. Bates makes her character work as a comic creation, and knows the line between parody and wretched excess.

Henry Winkler is luckless as Coach Klein, because he is given little to do other than be a creature of the plot. And the plot is that exhausted wheeze of a sports movie formula, in which the hero is scorned by everyone until he comes off the bench, shows remarkable talent, and (a) wins or (b) loses the big game. (I do not want to reveal the ending, so you will have to guess for yourself which it is. If you voted for [b], you are reading the wrong movie critic.) Do I have something visceral against Adam Sandler? I hope not. I try to keep an open mind and approach every movie with high hopes. It would give me enormous satisfaction (and relief) to like him in a movie. But I suggest he 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.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The Waterboy (1998)

Rated PG-13 For Language and Some Crude Sexual Humor

Fairuza Balk as Vicki Vallencourt

Henry Winkler as Coach Klein

Jerry Reed as Red Beaulieu

Kathy Bates as Mama Boucher

Adam Sandler as Bobby Boucher

• Adam Sandler
• Tim Herlihy

Directed by

• Frank Coraci

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The Waterboy

• Comedy , Sports

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed

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• Frank Coraci

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Movie Review

Gunga Din he’s not . In The Waterboy , Adam Sandler plays a dim-witted, Cajun mama’s-boy dedicated to serving college football players “quality H2O.” He’s a human tackling dummy. Then, after years of public humiliation, Bobby Boucher becomes a hero by releasing that pent-up hostility on opposing ball carriers and turning his team into a winner.

Critics panned Waterboy , but teens flocked to see Sandler’s crude antics, making the movie a $160 million theatrical hit. Now on video, this comedy’s profane language, sexual innuendo, and mockery of virginity and Christian faith are overshadowed only by its twisted path to vindication. While it’s easy to root for the pathetic aqua toter to overcome his social handicaps and earn respect, what message is Sandler sending young fans by having his character achieve success by going ballistic and leveling people who’ve wronged him—including an old man? Brutal.

Adam Sandler has developed a huge following based on some very mean-spirited, vulgar, sexually explicit material. R-rated films. Salacious comedy albums. While The Waterboy doesn’t quite compare to his worst offenses, this watered-down version of Sandler’s shtick relies on entirely too much crass, kinky humor for discerning families.

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Film Review – The Waterboy (1998)

By now you know that I end every article by asking, “what movie topic should I discuss next?”  Then, I exclaim, “whether it be old or new, the choice is up to you!”  However, it dawns on me that I haven’t been living up to this statement.  So, from now on, every Tuesday a reader requested review will be posted.  If you want a certain filmed reviewed, be sure to comment down below or reach out on Twitter!  Today’s review is The Waterboy and comes from @MadAsAHatter9 .

Before Adam Sandler went off the deep end, he made some pretty ridiculous comedies.  The following review will be spoiler free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8yv9eq5s14

The Waterboy  is directed by Frank Coraci and stars Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates , and Henry Winkler.

We follow a 31-year-old named Bobby Boucher (Sandler) that lives in a local backcountry swamp in Louisiana.  As the title suggests, Boucher is a waterboy for a local college football team.  But when his anger causes him to lose his job, he picks up another gig at a consistent losing college in Louisiana where he quickly learns that he is capable of becoming a dominant football player when he utilizes his rage.  In order to turn the fortunes of the team around, Coach Klein (Winkler) gets Boucher on the team with aspirations of returning to glory as a coach.

image via Examining Life

Suprisingly,  The Waterboy  had an Oscar-friendly release date of November 3rd, 1998.  While the film isn’t exactly Oscar material, it was actually nominated for AFI’s list of 100 Years…100 Laughs which notes the funniest films of all-time.  However, Adam Sandler was also nominated for a Razzie Award for worst actor.

Luckily, it appears that  The Waterboy  was a massive hit with fans, becoming Adam Sandler’s second film to eclipse $120 million worldwide by grossing a total of approximately $186 million .  Considering the film had a mere $23 million budget,  The Waterboy  was a bonafide hit.

Most turn to this film along with others as the height of Adam Sandler’s powers as an actor before he began to phone it in by many people’s standards.  Although he continues to make films on Netflix such as April’s Sandy Wexler , many agree he just isn’t quite the same.

image via VICE Sports

What I Liked

The Waterboy  is stupid, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Straddling the line between stupid humor and annoyance is an incredibly tough feat to pull off.  In fact,  The Waterboy  is most certainly very annoying to a lot of people.  However, the difference between  The Waterboy  and other stupid films is that it has a fun concept in which it then lampoons on a consistent basis.  Having the waterboy take the team to prominence is a fun switcheroo of typical sports movie cliches.

Lesser sports comedies like  Rebound   or the remake of  Bad News Bears always look to add inticing, skilled players that look the part and fit into the band of misfits on the team.  The fun part of  The Waterboy is that it adds the dumbest character of them all to the formula and the team somehow improves.  Although the film becomes more generic after this initial idea (more on that below), it’s a nice little quirk that allows Sandler to go bonkers.

image via Orlando Weekly

Sandler’s performance is where most viewers draw the line.  You’ll either hate the film because of him or love it for the same reason.   His awkward, grating Southern drawls are the source of a lot of dumb laughs if you’re in the right frame of mind.  On the other hand, you might check out within the first five minutes if you can’t handle it.  As for this critic, it works solidly for this absurd movie.

What I Liked…Continued

From its absurdity comes a ton of quotable moments.  If you’re in college, you’d be hard-pressed to get through a month without someone channeling their inner Bobby Boucher.  Although it doesn’t necessarily highlight the film as a piece of art, there’s something to be said about a film that creates some type of cultural significance after its release.  It speaks to watching  The Waterboy  for its pure entertainment value.

Many of the film industry’s best critics have lambasted  The Waterboy  for its quality, including Roger Ebert back in the day .  But, if you’re looking for even the slightest bit of meaning in this film, then you’re searching in the wrong place.  There is nothing here for a classic cinephile.

Lighten up, it’s just stupid fun.

image via YTS

What I Didn’t Like

That being said, even from the most casual viewing perspective, there are some glaring issues with  The Waterboy .

Like most sports movies,  The Waterboy follows the most generic of storylines as we see an awful team slowly begin to improve with everything culminating in the big game against the main rival (and villain) of the movie.  Sound familiar?  That’s because just about every sports movie does it.  After  Rocky , rarely do we get a movie that doesn’t follow an underdog coming to prominence.

Sports movies are consistently at a disadvantage, mostly because the ending can only be one of two results: the team wins or loses.  With these conclusions in mind, it forces the journey of the characters to be wholly rewarding in whatever tone the movie set out to accomplish.   The Waterboy  receives serious demerits for this reason.  There are way too many dips in entertainment value to fully recommend this film to everyone.

The film tries to prop up Boucher’s character with relationship moments between his mother and possible girlfriend that detracts from the best parts of the film: the football games.  Are there some occasional funny moments in these instances?  Sure, but the film takes a serious dip in entertainment value when it occasionally tries to become serious in relationship drama that was never intriguing in the first place.  You watch  The Waterboy  for a few reasons: wacky hi-jinks, football, and celebrity cameos.  That’s it!

The Waterboy  is really, really dumb.  When combined with a generic plot, these points would normally kill a movie.  However, this film is unbelievably silly which helps make up for a lot of issues.  It gets a C+ .

If you haven’t seen this movie, I’d advise checking it out on Netflix as soon as possible.  We don’t get too many screwball comedies that work anymore.   The Waterboy  is a nice reminder that Adam Sandler once cared about his films.  I can’t for the life of me give it a great grade, but it’s certainly a guilty pleasure that is worth your time.

________________________________________

Thanks for reading!  What are your thoughts on The Waterboy?  Do you want a specific movie reviewed?  Comment down below!

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to MovieBabble via email to stay up to date on the latest content.

And, as always, what movie topic should I discuss next?  Whether it be old or new, the choice is up to you!

A current young professional in the Richmond, Virginia area, Nick founded MovieBabble in October of 2016 when he was a bored college student with nothing else to do. (And he kicks himself every day that his story isn't better.) Nick is also a member of the Online Film Critics Society, the Internet Film Critics Society and the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association. You can follow him on Twitter @nkush42

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I miss the Adam Sandler of the early 90s (was it 80s maybe?) where he made those stupid audio skits and whatnot. His films have never approached the level of creativity and humor of some of his better skits.

Very true! Maybe he should try to go a little dramatic, he’s been good in those types of roles in the past.

Listening to his The Goat now for nostalgia. Hilarious stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1NTjqaAKBo

Lol you got that right! That looney style doesn’t seem to fit with today’s audiences anymore. It’s a shame…

I loved Kathy Bates in this movie.

FOOSBALL? YOU PLAYIN THE FOOSBALL BOBBY???

Nothing wrong with a little silliness, now and again. Sometimes it’s just what’s needed! (I’ll take silly over pretentious any day of the week.)

You’re totally right! Something could be completely absurd and nonsensical but if you’re having fun then screw it! Lol

“Gatorade”

Water sucks, it really really sucks!

Great post! I also love Sandler when he’s “good stupid” (“Billy Madison,” “Happy Gilmore”), not just “stupid stupid” (the “Grown Ups” movies).

Completely with you there! I just wish he would find that creative touch again…

Me too! Remember when the Happy Madison banner was a sign of quality comedy? Sigh.

Sigh, indeed

Nice review. Even I agree that back in the ’90s, Adam Sandler was (at the very least) tolerable in his films and this is one that’s just not meant for hardcore film critics. Anyway, I’ve got a request for you. He’s celebrating his 30th Birthday this year, so how about you take a stab at all four RoboCop film, or at least the first one?

You got it! Those will be fun!

“Thank you for your cooperation”.

I find Adam Sandler movies, like you said, straddle that line between stupid and annoying. I had to watch this a few times before I really ‘got it’.

A lot of his films are pretty irredeemable but this one is good fun if you don’t take it so seriously!

I’m not fond of Adam Sandler but someone told me last year that I would enjoy it and your review has confirmed that so thank you!

Glad I could help!!

Hi Nick, I remember Waterboy as one of the few comedies I haven’t been able to see to the end. I first tried to see it on a bus in Mexico and ended up thinking about something else in the dark airconned bus.

Your posts tend to treat the glossy and very Hollywood, I think, and there’s a lot more to movies (not to offend you, just saying). Since you ask for suggestions, I have some.

Kristin Scott-Thomas, have a look at the movies she’s been in. Tell us what you think of Cate Blanchett . (You had a list of greatest female actors that I didn’t understand).

I don’t appreciate your critique since a lot of thought goes into them but I’ll look into your recommendation regarding KST.

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The waterboy.

• Parents say (18)
• Kids say (51)

Based on 51 kid reviews

my thoughts...

Report this review, im going boby boucher.

This title has:

Please do not and never watch The Waterboy until your 15

Classic sandler, greatttttttt, love this film, great movie lots of swearing.

"We waste our money so you don't have to."

"We waste our money, so you don't have to."

Movie Review

The waterboy.

US Release Date: 11-06-1998

Directed by: Frank Coraci

Starring ▸ ▾

• 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
• Lawrence Gilliard Jr. ,  as
• Derek Wallace
• Blake Clark ,  as
• Farmer Fran
• Peter Dante ,  as
• Gee Grenouille
• Jonathan Loughran ,  as
• Lyle Robideaux
• Al Whiting ,  as
• Casey Bugge
• Clint Howard ,  as
• Allen Covert ,  as
• Rob Schneider ,  as
• Todd Holland ,  as
• Greg Meaney
• Jimmy Johnson ,  as
• Brent Musburger ,  as
• Dan Patrick ,  as
• Lynn Swann ,  as
• Lawrence Taylor ,  as
• Paul Wight as
• Captain Insano

Henry Winkler and Adam Sandler in The Waterboy

Bobby Boucher is a retarded 31 year old who loses his job as water boy for a Louisiana college football team. Bobby loves his job as a waterboy. “Now that's what I call high quality H2O.” He bounces back by making himself the water boy for another college football team. This team has not won a game in years and could likely get beat by your average high school team. The coach of both teams used to work together and have a rivalry going.  

After the teams quarterback calls Bobby a, “Needle dick.” Coach Klein discovers that, when angered, Bobby is an unstoppable tackling machine. The problem is that Bobby’s mother is an overprotective, domineering shrew who does not want her son playing, “foosball” as she calls it. Kathy Bates looks like a wonderfully normal mother, presenting herself in clean frocks and a smile. However, she lives on an island in the Louisiana bayou and likes to serve baked boa constrictor or grilled baby alligator to dinner guests. She has a pet jackass that lives in her house and she calls everyone she does not like, “The Devil.”  

Bobby decides to join the team without telling his mother. At first the other teammates make fun of him. “I don't want that loser on the team. Everybody's gonna laugh at us.” The stuck up quarterback remarks. Soon however, they start to respect Bobby after he learns to open, “a can of whoop-ass.” and help them win games.

Bobby also gets a female admirer who is recently out of jail. She comes on strong but Bobby is a virgin, who watches WWE and wears children’s pajamas.  After passing a test, she tells Bobby, “Well, Bobby Boucher, welcome to manhood. I'll make sure to welcome you properly later.” A clueless Bobby responds, “Once again, I'm not quite sure what that means.”

The humor is all very juvenile, which is not always a bad thing. To get Bobby riled up for a game, Coach Klein tells him Gatorade is better than water. After becoming locally famous, Bobby gives a speech to some young rocket football players. His speech is so nonsensical that it inspires their coach to add, “Gentlemen, which brings me to my next point. Don't smoke crack.”

Even though nothing about this film is played straight, Bobby is a likable guy you cannot help but root for.  He loves his Mama, football and water.  Bobby does not hold a grudge. After the quarterback tells him, “Nice going shithead. You lost us the football game.” Bobby replies, “Sorry. Will you please still be my friend?”

The Waterboy is an early Adam Sandler classic to his fans. It follows his well-worn tradition of humor and family. He always combines some sentimentality with his bathroom humor. It strikes the funny bone with some and repels others. For me, Sandler movies are an easy watch. I just sit back and laugh at the absurdity of it all, just as we are meant to.

Photos © Copyright Touchstone Pictures (1998)

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“hunt for the wilderpeople” review – an entertaining & adventurous journey with ricky baker, the eagle – movie review, ex machina – movie review.

Reviewed By: Absar Ahmad

The Waterboy (1998) is a classic American comedy film directed by Frank Coraci and starring the iconic Adam Sandler. The film tells the story of Bobby Boucher ( Adam Sandler ), a 31-year-old man with a waterboy job for a college football team. Despite being a dimwit, Bobby has a unique talent for tackling people. When the team’s coach is fired and replaced by the sadistic Coach Klein (Henry Winkler), Bobby is discovered to have a natural talent for football. Coach Klein transforms a nobody into a star player, and the team goes on to win the championship. This is a heartwarming and hilarious piece of cinema that celebrates the underdog. It is also a film about family, friendship, and the power of perseverance.

The Waterboy is a classic comedy film that has stood the test of time. In fact, it is one of those movies that have garnered a cult following after many years of release.

The film’s plot is relatively simple, but it is executed very well. Bobby Boucher is a lovable and relatable character, and his journey from waterboy to star player is genuinely inspiring. The film also features some other memorable characters, such as Coach Klein (Henry Winkler), Bobby’s mother (Kathy Bates), and his best friend, Vic (Jerry Reed).

Adam Sandler has played the role to perfection and is ably supported by talented actors. The movie is full of memorable one-liners and quotable scenes. However, The Waterboy is more than just a comedy film. It is also a film about family, friendship, and the power of perseverance. Bobby Boucher is a character who has faced a lot of adversity and neglect in his life, but he never gives up on his dreams. He inspires everyone looking to get their chance to shine in life.

My most memorable scenes from The Waterboy are:

The Waterboy Tackle : In this iconic scene, our main protagonist tackles the opposing team’s quarterback with such force that he sends him flying through the air. The tackle is so powerful that it actually creates a sonic boom. Hilariously Adam Sandler!

The Gatorade Bath : After the team wins the championship game, his teammates give Bobby Boucher a Gatorade bath. He is so happy and excited that he starts dancing in the Gatorade. The scene is both funny and heartwarming, showing how much the team respects and loves their newfound star.

The Speech : After the championship final game, Bobby Boucher gives a speech to his teammates and fans. He thanks his teammates for believing in him and helping him achieve his dreams. He also thanks his mother for her love and support. The speech is emotional, inspiring, and touching.

My thoughts on the movie

After its release, the movie was literally thrashed by the critics everywhere. However, it ranked as the number 1 movie in the US box office during its first week. The Waterboy surpassed Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls in its first weekend. This is no mean feat, given the presence of legendary Jim Carrey in the latter. As of 2023, the film is one of the highest-grossing movies in the sports comedy genre across the world. Made on a budget of USD 20 million, the film amassed USD 190 million worldwide , making it a highly profitable venture for the makers.

The Waterboy is a typical Adam Sandler classic American comedy film that will please audiences of all ages. It is a film that is both funny and heartwarming, and it features an outstanding performance by Adam Sandler. If you have never watched it, I recommend checking it out now!

The Waterboy movie is available on Disney+Hotstar OTT and Amazon Prime for rent !

The World of Movies Rating: 10/10

Note : “The images used in this article are screenshots taken from YouTube and have been converted into images for the purpose of this article only. The World of Movies acknowledges that it does not hold any proprietary rights over the images and that their use is solely for the purpose of this article.”

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• American Classic Movies
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The Waterboy Reviews

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/10 | Sep 25, 2020

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

Full Review | Jun 18, 2012

Really dumb, but many teens love it anyway.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 29, 2010

An agreeable yet forgettable comedy...

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 10, 2010

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]

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 12, 2009

A predictable, formulaic, dumb comedy that has about as much depth as Bobby . . . unless you think of it in Forrest Gump terms, and then it begins to get a little less offensive and a little funnier.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jul 24, 2009

Though unabashedly goofy, this comedy also boasts some subtly ingenious moments of mirth.

Full Review | Oct 18, 2008

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

Full Review | Jun 2, 2008

Scrappy and funny and achieves its modest aim, which is to make us laugh like grade-schoolers. The doofus boy triumphs again.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 23, 2007

No stretching involved, but he delivers. It's a safe date film.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 6, 2005

The film is amiably goofy.

Full Review | Jul 21, 2005

It's a piece of comic fluff that has lots of laughs and appeals to the kid in us all.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Apr 9, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 2, 2005

The Waterboy is a disappointment, even by standards associated with Adam Sandler's work.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Feb 28, 2005

Adam Sandler movies are like kumquats -- you either like them or you don't.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Jan 29, 2005

God knows, it tries, but most of the jokes fall flat, and the movie never gets off the ground.

Full Review | Original Score: D | May 22, 2003

The Waterboy should have been sacked long before it reached the theater.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 20, 2003

Sandler proved last year that he can be believable as a real person, but if he insists on playing overblown caricatures, he may not get many more chances.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 8, 2003

Not only can one see the film's "twists" coming a mile away, the jokes along the way are extraordinarily flat as well.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 7, 2002

As a satire on the only true religion of the American South -- football -- The Waterboy is delightful.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 12, 2002

The Untold Truth Of The Waterboy

Today, Adam Sandler is known as one of the biggest comedy movie actors of all time. Before climbing Hollywood's ladder to the A-list, Sandler was a cast member on television's most famous sketch comedy show, "Saturday Night Live." In the mid-1990s, Sandler started making a name for himself in movies , notably "Billy Madison" in 1995 and "Happy Gilmore" in 1996, which made healthy profits at the box office .

It was 1998's "The Waterboy" that finally launched Sandler's career into the stratosphere. Filled with many notable actors in the supporting cast, including Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, and Fairuza Balk, "The Waterboy" told the story of Robert "Bobby" Boucher Jr., played by Sandler. Bobby is a well-meaning but slow-witted youth whose dreams of serving water, playing football, and finding romance are held back due to his love for his domineering mother (Bates).

"The Waterboy" became the first film in Sandler's career to make more than $100 million  domestically. It turned the actor into a comedy superstar alongside the likes of Jim Carrey and Steve Martin . In the decades since its release, the movie has come to be regarded as a classic. The history behind the making of "The Waterboy" is a fascinating one. Let us take a look at some of the surprising events that led up to the creation of the beloved comedy.

It was inspired by an SNL sketch

Adam Sandler started his Hollywood career as a standup comic and sketch comedy artist. Many of the ideas that Sandler would use later in his movie career were inspired by his time working on "Saturday Night Live."  The iconic sketch show was also responsible for the idea that eventually evolved into "The Waterboy."

On "SNL," Sandler made a name for himself singing parodies on his guitar and playing offbeat characters with interesting quirks. Like "Canteen Boy," an assistant scoutmaster who behaves in a childlike manner, pays great attention to detail, and is always seen wearing a water canteen around his neck. If that description sounds very similar to Bobby Boucher, it's no coincidence.

"You could compare [Bobby] to 'Canteen Boy,'" Sandler told CNN in an interview. "Whereas he does love water and they both get picked on a lot." While Canteen Boy inspired "The Waterboy," Bobby Boucher is a better-developed character whose most noticeable quality, Sandler said, is that "he is a genuine, good person." It was this goodness that made Bobby Boucher into something deeper than a character in a sketch, someone whose journey audiences would want to follow over the length of an entire film. 

Everyone loves Bobby Boucher

Right from the start of his career in films, Adam Sandler made a name for himself playing emotionally stunted man-children with anger issues. The anger issues toned down a bit by the later stages of his career, but at the time of "The Waterboy," Sandler was still best known for playing guys who did not always behave in the nicest manner. This was a formula that "The Waterboy" inverted. Instead of having Sandler play an over-the-top zany character in a regular world, screenwriter Tim Herlihy told SB Nation  that this movie changed things up by having Sandler's Bobby Boucher be the nice, relatively sane guy surrounded by whacky characters who accentuated how nice and well-meaning Bobby himself was.

Playing Bobby proved a nice change of pace for Sandler. When he was asked during an interview with The Harvard Crimson  which of Sandler's characters he would want to be stuck on a marooned island with, the actor picked Bobby as his companion of choice (next to Billy Madison), adding that he would "let Bobby [rest] his head on [his] lap and sleep." Also, who better to help you survive on a desert island than a guy who has spent his life learning to collect and ration drinking water?

Kathy Bates tossed the script in the trash

One of the biggest surprises in "The Waterboy" when it first came out was seeing veteran dramatic actress Kathy Bates hamming it up to glory in the role of Bobby's domineering mother desperate to keep her son at her side forever by telling him everything outside their home was a sinful trap set by the devil. 

No one thought Bates would ever want to do such an over-the-top role, not even the makers of "The Waterboy." And they were right. When Bates first got the script for the movie, she saw that it was about football. Having no interest in the sport and not having the faintest idea who the lead actor was, Bates threw the script in the trash. There, it was spotted by Bates' niece, who realized "The Waterboy" was an Adam Sandler movie. 

"[My niece] pulled it out, and she said, 'Adam Sandler! You don't know the Hanukkah song [from 'SNL']?" Bates told Snoop Dogg in an interview . "[My niece told me] 'You have to do this movie!' And she was right. We had so much fun. Unbelievable." Thanks to that bit of prodding, Bates accepted the unusual role of Bobby's mom, Helen, which ended up becoming one of the best-remembered roles of the actress' illustrious career.

The film is related to Hubie Halloween

"The Waterboy" had Adam Sandler playing one of the most vulnerable characters of his entire career. Bobby Boucher was the town outcast who was bullied by everyone around him but maintained a dogged determination to be kind and helpful to others because of his strong love for his mother that extended to the rest of humanity. Echoes of these character traits can be found in Hubie Dubois, Sandler's hero from 2020's "Hubie Halloween." Much like Bobby, Hubie is his town's walking punchline, has an awkward way of talking, and cares far more for his neighbors than they do for him. These similarities were not a coincidence. In fact, Sandler told Yahoo Entertainment that Hubie's full name is a reference to Bobby Boucher since the two characters are so similar.

With "Hubie Halloween"  chock-full of references to many of Sandler's past movies, the actor went a step further in the same interview and entertained that all his movies take place within a collective "Sandlerverse," which might one day lead to an epic crossover among the various characters Sandler has played over the years. So fingers crossed for the day we might get to see Hubie and Bobby save the day together.

The Phantom Menace helped The Waterboy

The biggest movie news around the time of the release of "The Waterboy" was that "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" was going to be released soon after. Fans were agog to see the next part in George Lucas' iconic sci-fi series. The original "Star Wars" trilogy had ended, and CGI had advanced far enough to expand the world of the franchise in a compelling manner. Thus "The Phantom Menace" was primed to generate a large amount of hype as the starting point for a new "Star Wars" trilogy. This actually ended up helping "The Waterboy."

According to a report by The New York Times from that era, the fact that "The Phantom Menace" trailer was attached to "The Waterboy" and a few other lesser-known movies meant that "Star Wars" fans would buy tickets for the smaller movies purely so they could watch the two-minute trailer at the start of the show and leave. This helped bump up the ticket sales for "The Waterboy" and gave it longer legs at the box office. 

You can do it! was always going to be big

In many ways, "The Waterboy" laid the groundwork for the way Adam Sandler would make his movies for the rest of his career. A feel-good story, a likable lead, and a bunch of comedians who all happen to be close friends with Sandler in real life. One such comedian was Rob Schneider, who knew Sandler from their days on "SNL" together, Schneider said in an interview with  Us Weekly .

One of the highlights of "The Waterboy" was Schneider's supporting role as the Townie, who delivers the famous line, "You can do it!" The line became an internet meme before internet memes were a thing. It became a running gag to have Schneider say the line in other Sandler movies, and Sandler returned the favor when he guest-starred in Schneider's movie "The Animal." The fact that the line would be such a hit was already known to Sandler before "The Waterboy" ever released.

"[Adam] called me two weeks before the movie came out," Schneider said. "[He said,] 'In two weeks, 'The Waterboy' is going to come out and you're not going to be able to go anywhere without hearing, 'You can do it!'"

Henry Winkler randomly landed his role

As perfect as Henry Winkler was in the role of the hapless Coach Klein in "The Waterboy," that bit of casting was highly unusual at the time. Back then, Winkler was still known as the epitome of cool.  Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli from the classic TV show "Happy Days" was the last guy you could imagine playing Coach Klein.

After "Happy Days" ended, Winkler found himself cursed with the same problem of typecasting that applied to most actors known for a highly specific breakout television character. Despite being a character actor at heart, Winkler found few opportunities to showcase his range until "The Waterboy" came along.

While Adam Sandler was on "SNL," he sang "The Chanukah Song," which name-dropped Winkler. The actor called Sandler to thank him for the shout-out, and the two ended up becoming friends. That in turn led to Sandler casting Winkler as Coach Klein in a role that was the polar opposite of how the actor was perceived at the time. Thanks to the success of "The Waterboy," Winkler received a fresh boost to his career that allowed him to finally put "The Fonz" behind him and establish a new reputation as a character actor.

A very different original plot

What makes "The Waterboy" work for both football fans and non-football fans is that the movie is not really about the sport itself. Rather, "The Waterboy" is a heartfelt satire of small-town life where the pride of the residents becomes intricately linked with their home team and small-town folks dream of doing something bigger with their life.

While the character of Bobby Boucher was already decided upon as a continuation of Canteen Boy from "SNL," the backdrop for the character's story almost had a completely different New England setting. That was an idea that was explored early on by the film's writer, Tim Herlihy. "At one point, we talked about doing it in black and white and set in the '50s," Herlihy told SB Nation . He added that if they had pursued that idea, "It would've been a very different movie," while also admitting he did not know enough about the New England college football scene to make the premise work. In the end, the team behind "The Waterboy" decided to place the story in Louisiana after a Mardi Gras trip they took inspired them to make a satire of what audiences think people in the South sound and act like.

The giant-sized cameo

Before finding his calling as a linebacker, Bobby Boucher leads an incredibly repressed life. He finds a passive outlet for his aggression by avidly following professional wrestling. Bobby's favorite wrestler is a giant man called "Captain Insano," whom Bobby dreams of working for as a water boy.

Wrestling fans will notice that the role of Captain Insano is played by Paul Wight, better known in wrestling circles as "The Big Show." The 7-foot giant has long been a star in the world of professional wrestling and made several forays into movies. Despite his brief screen time, Captain Insano proved a big hit with audiences, so much so that Wight claims he has bought the rights to the character from the studio that owns "The Waterboy." The wrestler intends to bring the fictional wrestler into the real world as a fresh new in-ring persona for AEW (All Elite Wrestling). The biggest difference according to Wight will be that the new version of Insano will not be rocking his luxurious locks from the movie.

Ariana Grande once played Bobby Boucher

2020 was a tough year for everyone everywhere. The pandemic was raging, and all you could do was hunker down within your home and try to keep your mind off the bad stuff by rewatching old shows and movies. Many classics received a boost in popularity during that time period, including "The Waterboy," thanks to Ariana Grande.

The famous pop star took to social media to post a clip of herself  embracing her inner Adam Sandler  acting as Bobby Boucher in a scene from the movie. Grande went the extra mile by dressing up like Bobby and wearing appropriate makeup to present the appearance of a black eye. The role of Bobby's mom was played by Grande's own mother. Finally, the pop sensation's former castmate Elizabeth Gillies played Bobby's love interest, Vicki Vallencourt.

The clip rapidly went viral on various social media outlets. Grande's attention to detail while portraying Bobby's awkward mannerisms received particular praise. The trending clip caught Sandler's attention, and the actor gave his blessings to Grande's efforts by tweeting, "Bobby Boucher approves of this message."

The real Bobby Boucher?

Even though Bobby Boucher was based on a previous character, "Canteen Boy," playing the role of a star linebacker was a novel experience for Adam Sandler. The actor knew that he had to take care not just of his acting, but also the physical aspects of playing Bobby and looking like he actually belonged on the football field with other players. To that end, Sandler prepared for his role by watching real-life linebackers go about their work during football games. One player whom the actor paid special attention to was former All-Pro NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington. In fact, Arrington even goes so far as to declare himself the real-life Bobby Boucher who directly inspired Sandler's take on the iconic character. "A lot of people don't realize that I'm the 'Waterboy,'" Arrington told Fox Sports Radio . 

"[Sandler is] a big Penn State fan," he continued, "and came to Penn State to watch the linebackers of 'Linebacker U,' and more specifically, LaVar Arrington." The former pro linebacker also pointed out that the "Number 9" shirt Bobby wears in the movie is Arrington's high school number and that Sandler's movements on the football field closely resemble Arrington's "reckless abandon" from his college playing days.

Henry Winkler still has part of his movie tattoo

At one point in "The Waterboy," Coach Klein arrives at Bobby's house to offer him a football scholarship for college. While Bobby is thrilled, his mother nixes the idea with great firmness. Cowed by his mother, Bobby regretfully says no to Klein. Before leaving, Klein reveals the "Roy Orbison" tattoo on his butt that he got without his mother's permission as a way to encourage Bobby to continue playing college football in secret. 

The tattoo is one of the most unexpected moments in the movie, and you are never quite sure whether that was really Henry Winkler with the giant tattoo on his posterior or a body double. As it turns out, not only did Winkler get the tattoo for the movie, but he still has part of it on his body as a way to honor his character in "The Waterboy."

Winkler told WGN-TV (via Outsider) that he "had [the tattoo] removed by laser" before going on to reveal that he kept the "Roy Orbison's glasses" part of the tattoo. A strange but rather sweet way to commemorate the strange but sweet movie that turned Winkler's career around.

The film had a highly mixed reaction

Adam Sandler might just be one of the most controversial stars in the history of Hollywood. Not because of his personal life, but because of how deeply his movies appear to divide critics and general audiences. Influential reviewers frequently lambast Sandler's comedy movies as simplistic, formulaic, and cheap, but that doesn't stop audiences from turning out to see them in droves.

This deepening schism started appearing right from the time of "The Waterboy." The film became Sandler's first bonafide blockbuster, grossing more than $100 million at the international box office. The movie was also torn apart by critics . Sandler was nominated for the Golden Raspberry  award for worst actor, but ironically he  also won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor — Comedy for the same movie.

"It's never been my drive, and it's never been Sandler's drive [to please critics]," "The Waterboy" director Frank Coraci told SB Nation with regards to the movie's mixed reception. "We just really wanna make movies that we believe in, that are funny, that make you feel some good things and have a positive message and that are entertaining." Beyond critics reviews and box office numbers, the biggest testament to the success of "The Waterboy" in the long run is the fact that the movie is still so fondly remembered decades after its initial release.

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The Waterboy

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Have you noticed that you take less heat these days for saying you like Adam Sandler? The Wedding Singer , in which the former SNL comic teamed romantically with Drew Barrymore, was a crossover hit earlier this year. Even those who dis Sandler as a jerk kind of warmed to it. The rest of us, hooked on the jerk joys of Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore , spark more when Sandler tries less to win a wider audience and simply, crassly, rudely runs amok.

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Which brings us to The Waterboy , a Sandler vehicle that offers dumb fun without apology. Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, an unschooled, unscrewed Louisiana mama’s boy who ladles out “quality H2O” to a college football team that kicks his ass and spits in his cooler. When Coach Klein (a very welcome Henry Winkler) discovers that a demon pops out in sweet Bobby any time some fool insults his mama (Oscar winner Kathy Bates is a hoot), the Waterboy becomes the team’s star tackler and a target for de-virginizing by Vicki Vallencourt, played with droll, red-lipped sluttiness by Fairuza Balk.

Sandler and his college buds – director Frank Coraci, co-writer Tim Herlihy, co-producer Jack Giarraputo – may have been to the well once too often with the story of an endearing, maternally obsessed simpleton who finds success and sex through anger. But Sandler makes the laughs go down easy, even if The Waterboy isn’t exactly quality H2O.

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The Waterboy Review

06 Nov 1998

The Waterboy

How you feel about The WaterBoy is going to depend largely on your opinion of Adam Sandler. Indeed, those whose experience of the man begins and ends with the crowd-pleasing commerciality of The Wedding Singer may well be a little perturbed by his latest, as it marks a return to the brand of acquired taste Sandler humour which delights and annoys in equal measures (but has nonetheless catapulted him into the $20 million-a-picture brigade). Folks familiar with the likes of Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison will know exactly what to expect.

Sandler (talking in a voice that makes him sound like a deranged cousin of Donald Duck) is Bobby Boucher, a mollycoddled, virginal 31-year-old whose experience of life outside of his remote Louisiana bayou home has been restricted by his overbearing mom (Bates). His only escape is his long time job dispensing "fine quality H20" to a local football team, something he prides himself on despite being constantly tormented by both coach and players. When he is fired, he takes up the same job at a collegiate team on a major losing streak.

There, his previously untapped tackling skills (which involve mowing down players four times his size) are discovered by Coach Klein (Winkler) and he is promoted to the squad. And he might just enjoy all the attention - particularly from jailbird Vicki Vallencourt (Balk) - provided his mum doesn't find out he's actually playing.

The WaterBoy netted over $160 million in the US, and it's hard to fathom whether it's the appeal of Sandler (who still displays a certain degree of charm despite the irritating vocal tics), the appeal of American football, or the current cinematic fascination with dumb comedy. For its almost total absence of anything resembling a substantial plot, The WaterBoy performs generously in all the above departments, and coughs up far more decent jokes than you'd expect, by far the best involving another team's attempt to field a rival WaterBoy. And at just 90 minutes long, it doesn't run long enough to outstay its welcome.

It's a slight film, though, and despite Bates' frantically OTT mugging and Winkler's thoroughly likeable turn, the promisingly edgy comedy of the first act soon gives way to reams of pop video choreographed football footage, and a final reel which falls total victim to pat-happy Hollywood conformity. All of which makes for perfectly watchable, undemanding fun, but you can't help thinking that a slightly darker tone would have gone a very long way.

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The Origin of Evil review – classy comedy-thriller with shades of Succession and Knives Out

Call My Agent’s Laure Calamy stars as a scheming factory worker with designs on a mega-rich fortune in this classy feast of backstabbing, double cross and venal greed

S uccession meets Knives Out in this comedy-thriller directed by Sébastien Marnier in what is an extremely French comic style: tongue-in-cheek, a little frothy, tiptoeing close to camp. It stars Call My Agent’s brilliant Laure Calamy as a scheming factory worker who wheedles her way into a dysfunctional mega-rich family. Calamy is often cast as likable, relatable women but here she does a very convincing Isabelle Huppert (circa her Claude Chabrol years); there’s something a bit off about her character from the start, possibly even unhinged.

Calamy is Stéphane – at least that’s what she calls herself. Bored of her job on the production line at a fish factory, and broke, out of the blue she calls her father, a self-made hotel and restaurant tycoon. (They’ve never met; she is the result of one of his many affairs.) This is Serge (Jacques Weber), an ageing lion of a man, with a mane of white hair, frail after a stroke but still dangerous. Some of the funniest scenes are at his villa, garishly filled with taxidermy and ghastly furniture. Serge introduces Stéphane to his wife Louise (Dominique Blanc), a frivolous compulsive shopper with a bitchy streak, and their glossy adult daughter George (Doria Tillier), who drops her mask of impassive disdain to shoot Stéphane dagger stares. In the double crossing and backstabbing that follows, no one is blameless. Serge is a monster of Logan Roy proportions. George is trying to seize control of the family business, and have her dad declared incompetent by a judge.

For a while The Origin of Evil looks like it might shake out as a feminist tale: the women uniting to topple an oppressive patriarch. But Marnier’s script, co-written by Fanny Burdino, is more cynical than that, and casting the normally likable Calamy only adds to the air of deception, keeping us guessing about her character’s motives. Without a doubt this is easy entertainment, never dull, and it has some shrewd things to say about class and money – though the satire might have been sharper and the running time shorter by a good 20 minutes.

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Spy x Family Code: White

After receiving an order to be replaced in Operation Strix, Loid decides to help Anya win a cooking competition at Eden Academy, by making the director's favorite meal in order to prevent hi... Read all After receiving an order to be replaced in Operation Strix, Loid decides to help Anya win a cooking competition at Eden Academy, by making the director's favorite meal in order to prevent his replacement. After receiving an order to be replaced in Operation Strix, Loid decides to help Anya win a cooking competition at Eden Academy, by making the director's favorite meal in order to prevent his replacement.

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• Runtime 1 hour 50 minutes
• Dolby Digital
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From the very first scene, we see Percy Boy enveloped in the love of an unconventional family unit that resists narrow definitions of kinship: He lives with his pop (an outstanding Kelton Pell), his Aunty Cressida (Jessica Mauboy, returning to feature films for the first time since 2012's The Sapphires ) and Aunty Prue (Lisa Maza of Wentworth).

Where Percy Boy's parents are is a mystery until later in the film. But whenever things feel tough, he sits in their old family car, talking to them as though they were right there with him.

A star-studded cast of neighbourhood locals further buoy Percy Boy in his journey of discovery. Ngali Shaw (The Twelve) features as well-meaning Constable Kennedy, his kindness a corrective to the violence often meted out by police on First Nations children, although this is never quite interrogated. With a catchphrase of "a bit of shush", Pia Miranda plays a bit part as Percy Boy's teacher, while Jessica McNamee is the town's firefighter. Much of the film features a revelatory Monaghan in flight, as he runs back and forth between his obligations and his dreams.

Percy Boy forms a trio with fellow misfits Keithy Cobb (Max Turner), a plucky asthma sufferer whose inability to be without his puffer is outstripped by his courage, and Daisy Hawkins (Coco Greenstone), a straight-talking, no-nonsense junior who makes up for her lack of height with sheer grit. The three of them unite around Percy Boy's dream to win the 200-metre sprint at their upcoming sports carnival – which would have been easy if his old sneakers hadn't given way.

To say Windcatcher is a feel-good film is not to say that everything is hunky dory. Signs of financial distress are everywhere in Percy Boy's life, from the overdue electricity bill pinned on his fridge to his family's inability to buy him a new pair of shoes.

Percy Boy is a carer of sorts for his rapidly deteriorating Aunt Prue, while the gaping hole of his parents' absence widens further when he loses someone else close to him. The threat of his bullies is surpassed by his post-traumatic stress in response to bushfires — whether in speech or actuality.

That Monaghan can balance the range of these emotions is testament to the young actor's dexterity, aided by the impressive young supporting cast of Turner and Greenstone.

But, for the most part, the utopia of Windcatcher is a small Australian country town in the 90s – where minimally supervised children stay up late watching SBS movies and run around carefree with an unfettered sense of abandon. A $20 note has the power to make dreams happen. The addictive glow of screens is supplanted by misadventures in mineshafts, scrap yards, hand-cobbled lemonade stands and riverbanks.

Saturated with colour and backdropped by jaunty tunes, the world Percy Boy inhabits with his two peers is one flush with possibilities and wonder.

Fantastical elements imbue Windcatcher, notably in Percy Boy's inherited ability to see and commune with spirits. His fear of them is in many ways indicative of his fear of the ghosts in his own life; his inability to relinquish a sense of misplaced responsibility for that which he had no control over.

Going by the moniker "Boy", it's hard not to draw parallels between Windcatcher and Taika Waititi's 2010 film Boy , though the former doesn't have the same dark undercurrent of parental neglect that pervaded the latter, which lent it a starker feel. Tonally more like Waititi's follow-up film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Windcatcher leans into humour and doesn't interrogate the thornier aspects of what's being depicted on screen.

But maybe that's OK. Perhaps it's more than OK. Stories of young Aboriginal boys being proud of their cultural identities and flourishing in their communities aren't commonplace on our big screens. But as Monaghan – didgeridoo player, dancer, captain of his primary school and much-loved member of his local community – shows, it's not an impossibility and nor should it be regarded as one.

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‘Water for Elephants’ Review: Broadway Musical and Circus Merge for Spellbinding Entertainment

By Frank Rizzo

Frank Rizzo

• ‘Water for Elephants’ Review: Broadway Musical and Circus Merge for Spellbinding Entertainment 6 days ago
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Ever feel like running away from home to join a musical? Then “ Water for Elephants ” would be the show of choice that offers escapism, enchantment and heart — and thrills, too.

Based on Sara Green’s 2006 bestseller, the show premiered last year at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre and elevates the musical to new and literal heights with its seamless integration of theatrical and cirque artistry.

It also transcends the literalness of the 2011 film (which starred Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz), making it a unique and imaginative creation of the stage and live performance.

The show is propelled by a fast-moving locomotive of a script by Rick Elice (“Jersey Boys,” “Peter and the Starcatcher”) and the characters on board are on the ride of the lives. For most, it’s about survival. Set during the Depression, the story follows distraught young man Jacob Jankowski ( Grant Gustin , compelling) as he flees from a family trauma, all told in flashbacks by his older self (Gregg Edelman).

After hitching a ride on what turns out to be a circus train, Jacob’s one-day stay with the hard-scrabble touring company is extended after ringmaster/owner Augustus (Paul Alexander Nolan) sees this almost-veterinarian — Jacob dropped out just before graduating Cornell — as an easy asset for the troupe’s sad menagerie. (The song “The Lion Has No Teeth” says it all.)

Through Jacob we enter a sawdust subculture and with him discover the hierarchy, attitude and lingo of circus life where performer are “kinkers,” customers are “rubes” and “red-lighting” is being thrown from a moving train.

Fortunes for the debt-ridden circus reverse when Rosie, a 53-year-old elephant, is brought into the company. But the pachyderm resists training until Jacob finds just the right words and, with Marlena, makes the intuitive animal into the star attraction.

The shared compassion and attraction of the two trainers becomes noticeable by the troupe — including the ruthless, sadistic and mercurial Augustus. It’s not long before something wicked this way comes.

The cast is big-top level. Edelman’s low-key ease and self-aware humor makes this nursing home escapee a beguiling yet clear-eyed guide to the long-ago past and to this fascinating circus caravan.

Gustin as young Jacob shares that likability — and vulnerability — as a man feeling lost and alone until he discovers his true calling, chosen family and love. McCalla plays Marlena not as a victim but as an ever-resilient wife walking the tightrope of fidelity, fear and desperation. Nolan is mesmerizing as Augustus, a master impresario and sociopath of both charm and menace.

Jessica Stone , who staged the modestly-scaled “Kimberly Akimbo,” and her creative team — especially circus designer Shana Carroll, who co-choreographs with Jesse Robb — here tackle a big-canvas production, bringing it all under one spectacular tent without forgetting its human — and animal — hearts.

The production’s masterful illusionists include set designer Takeshi Kata, lighting designer Bradley King and Walter Trarbach, who created a soundscape. For the task of creating, yes, the elephant in the room — as well as the lions, orangutans and other creatures large and small — puppet designers Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman and Camille LaBarre work wonders, capturing each animal’s essence, sometimes with detailed designs but also with the simplest suggestion, especially for Rosie who becomes, via puppeteer Caroline Kane, a fully realized character — and star of this show, too.

The septet of the production’s aerialists and acrobats come from the Montreal-based 7 Fingers company, which made the 2013 revival of “Pippin” so beguiling. Their feats are not just for the sake of a gasp — shout-out here to the astonishing Keaton Hentoff-Killian —  but are metaphorically connected to the story on stage. For instance, as Marlena gently sings “Easy” to calm her injured stallion, the poignancy is echoed in an exquisite Spanish Web performance on dangling ribbons of glistening white fabric by Antoine Boissereau.

The score by the musical collective PigPen Theatre Co. captures the tuneful Americana mood of the era, and mixes it up with songs ranging from swing to folk. Especially fine is the infectious “The Road Don’t Make You Young,” the romantic ballad “Wild” and “Zostan,” the rollicking celebration of Polish commands.

This underdog circus troupe may promote its entertainment as “Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth,” but for this rube’s nickels, “Water for Elephants” could be the greatest show on Broadway.

Imperial Theater; 1,401 seats; top non-premium tickets $199. Opened March 21, 2024. Reviewed March 16. Running time: 2 HOURS 40 MINS.

• Production: A presentation by  Peter Schneider, Jennifer Costello, Grove Entertainment, Frank Marshall, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Seth A. Goldstein, Jane Bergère, Elizabeth Armstrong, Jason M. Brady, Carl & Jennifer Pasbjerg, Erica Rotstein & Crista Marie Jackson, Jana Bezdek & Jen Hoguet, John H. Tyson, Rodney Rigby, John Gore Organization, Jeff & Shannon Fallick, Bonnie Feld, Larry Kroll, The Shubert Organization, Nederlander Presentations, Yonge Street Theatricals, Rich Entertainment Group, Jeremiah H. Harris, Nancy Gibbs, Mark Parkman Fairview Productions, Amy & PJ Lampi, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, Nothing Ventured Productions, Larry Lelli, Steven Spielberg & Kate Capshaw, The Glasshouse USA, Willette & Manny Klausner, John Paterakis, Hope Tschopik Schneider, Gwen Arment & Vasi Laurence, Patty Baker, Crescent Road, Sally Jacobs & Warren Baker, Tawnia Knox & Stuart Snyder, Jack Lane, Madison Wells Live & Takonkiet Viravan, Terry H. Morgenthaler, Pamela Moschetti, Gabrielle Palitz & Fahs Productions, Shapiro Jensen Schroeder, Cynthia Stroum, Patti & Mike Sullivan, Tre Amici Productions, We Eat Dreams Productions, Rachel Weinstein, Maik Klokow and MEHR-BB Entertainment of a musical in two acts by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Sara Gruen, with music and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co.
• Crew: Directed by Jessica Stone; choreography, Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll;  circus design, Shana Carroll; sets, Takeshi Kata; costumes, David Israel Reynoso; lighting, Bradley King; sound, Walter Trarbach; projections, David Bengali; puppets, Ray Wetmore & JR Goodman and Camille Labarre; music supervision and arrangements, Mary-Mitchell Campbell & Benedict Braxton-Smith; orchestrations, Daryl Waters, Benedict Braxton-Smith and August Eriksmoen; music direction, Elizabeth Doran; music coordinator, Kristy Porter; production stage manager, Timothy R. Semon.
• Cast: Grant Gustin, Isabelle McCalla, Gregg Edelman, Paul Alexander Nolan, Stan Brown, Joe De Paul, Sara Gettelfinger Wade McCollum, Antoine Boissereau, Keaton Hentoff-Killian, Paul Castree, Taylor Colleton, Gabriel Olivera De Paula Costa, Isabella Luisa Diaz,, Nicholas Jelmoni, Caroline Kane, Michael Mendez, Samuel Renaud, Marissa Rosen, Alexandra Gaelle Royer, Charles South, Sean Stack, Matthew Varvar, Brandon Block, Rachel Boyd,  Ken Wulf Clark, Samantha Gershman, Harley McLeish, Michelle West.

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