Dumb in the Worst Way

Rating: Null/10 (12 November 2001)

It's amazing how many people justify the poor quality of this film by pointing out it isn't Woody Allen or Billy Wilder. Well, neither were "Animal House" and "Caddyshack"! What's the difference? Those two comedies were smart and clever, and didn't rely on obvious sight gags and an wince-inducing "funny" voice for laughs. At least, if they did, it was funny then and apparently not funny now.
Adam Sandler may be an all-around nice guy. He seems down-to-earth for someone with his fame and fortune, and I admire his loyalty towards old friends and colleges. But the man is simply not funny. Most of his movies, especially this one, focus on humor so obvious it seems the "laughter" sign lights up after every fart gag and pratfall.
For example, Sandler's Cajun moron brings his soon-to-be coach (Henry Winkler) home for dinner with his highly protective mama (Kathy Bates). The joke here is that Sandler is an obviously grown man still living with his mother. Why? Because he's an idiot. Ha ha ha. During dinner (a plate featuring a lot of lame cajun food jokes), the mama flat-out refuses the coach's offer to allow Sandler to play football (or "fuzz" ball, as Mama humorously calls it 'cause she's ignorant) for no reason except the writers were too lazy to think up a genuine antagonist. Once she leaves, Winkler shows Sandler how to stand up to one's mother by dropping his pants to reveal a Roy Orbison tatoo on one of his butt cheeks. "Laughter" sign lites up.
Want more? There's several jokes falling along the same lines here. This is the sort of movie they play ad infinitum on "USA" and "HBO" during the afternoon, but somehow "The Waterboy" managed to bring in quite a bit of dough back in 1998. Who cares? The Macarena was a number one hit, too!
* out of ****