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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1998)
Khviinii .Reviews Friday, November 6,19‘)S Women rock WOW Hall The Wilmafest, an all-female mu sic tour, makes a stop in Eugene / PAGE 8A Fiery Food The Ring ofFire puts a little spice in Eugene !s diet with Pacific Rim cuisine /PAGE 7A Volume 100, Issue 49 Adam Sandler sparkles once again as a goofy grown-up in ‘The Waterboy, ’ despite the film's redundant plot By Michael Burnham Oregon Daily Emerald Adam Sandler is a funny, money-making machine. He has a dedicated, cult-like following. And his latest film, “The Waterboy,” will gross a lot of money. These things are certain. But whether Sandler’s film de serves high scores of praise for its originality is up in air. The Touchstone Pictures release about a waterboy-turned football-player touches down in theaters today amid the usual Sandler hype. But the film fumbles because it merely passes by, using the old bag of tricks that has made past San dler movies successful. The first problem with the film is that it fails to tackle an original plot. “The Waterboy” loosely mirrors 1996’s golf comedy “Happy ‘The Waterboy’ DIRECTED BY: Frank Coraci STARRING: Adam Sandler RATING: ★★★★* Gilmore” — only this time it’s football. Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, a 31-year-old foot ball team water boy bred in the Louisiana swamps. With a long history of being bul lied by the team s coach and players, Sandler’s character amasses a life-time of pent up frustra tion. Under the care of a new coach with a bad team, the waterboy finally “opens up a can of whoopass” on an ornery quarterback. The coach, played by Henry Winkler, realizes Boucher’s tal ent and places him on the squad (the South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs) as a defensive lineman. Sandler excels, as he uses his past frustrations as “tackling fuel” to punish the opposing team. The main similarity between this film and “Happy Gilmore” is the underdog-does-well schtick. As in “Gilmore,” Sandler’s character enters the sport and uses his personality and past to reach the pinnacle Turn to ‘WATERBOY,’ Page 6A OmrtesK photo Adam Sandler stars as Bobby Boucher, a loveable waterboy who makes it onto a college football team. Henry Win kler of‘Happy Days’ fame stars as his, coach. Courtesy photo Four dancers ham it up in the Robinson Theatre rendition of ‘Guys and Dolls.' ‘Guys and Dolls’ comes to Robinson The theatrical piece, set in New York City, is a musical story of love and marriage with a 1950s flare By Peter Breaden Oregon Daily Emerald In a whirl of neon and dice, the University Theatre opens its performance season tonight with a rendition of the brassy musical "Guys and Dolls.” “Guys and Dolls” is based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The play unfolds with a look at gangsters who would rather be shooting craps. Nathan Detroit (junior Jacob Hutchinson) and Skye Masterson (master’s student Jonathan Cole) are two well-established swingers. Detroit bets Masterson that he can’t sweep Sarah Brown (senior Elisa Morrison), a sergeant in the Salvation Army, off her feet and down to Havana, Cuba. The tough gangsters are tough, and the emotional women are gushing. Rene Ragan plays Detroit’s bomb shell fiance, Adelaide. “The nature of the musical thing where you just have to burst into song. You have to work on making the scene escalate to the point where singing makes sense. ” Morri son said. Directed by Theater Department Head, Prof. Jack Wat son, the play pays tribute to the career of Horace Robinson, after whom the theater is named. Robinson’s career at the University stretched from 1932 through 1975. As a tribute, this year’s four mainstage plays have been chosen from productions that Robinson put on in his career. Former students of Robinson are directing all four shows. “He truly built the department into what it is today,” Watson said. “I always loved it, but he taught me to re spect the theater. ” Though the production has had a meager five weeks preparation time, performances will focus on the bright musical’s zest. Turn to ‘GUYS AND DOLLS,” Page 6A