ekim-11
This was a wonderful movie. I thought it was hilarious beginning to the end. The formula of the movie has been done over and over again, a group of underdogs who rise to the occasion and prove all their doubters wrong. Yes it was a regular Hollywood-ish formula, but the actors were so enjoyable to watch, that it was really fresh to watch. The fact it was a story about a male synchronize swim team is already groundbreaking in my eyes. I enjoyed the facial expressions from both Sato and Suzuki during moments of disgust and surprise. And the Sea World Man is so funny. He resembles my uncle so much. I would definitely buy this movie and highly recommend it. Be forewarned, there are scenes that may offend people who aren't used to the culture of metro sexuality and/or homosexuality. If you can get past all that, you will truly enjoy this movie.
jmaruyama
Yaguchi Shinobu is quickly becoming one of my favorite Japanese directors. His movies don't pretend to have any agenda other than entertaining audiences. I enjoyed both his "Adrenaline Drive" and "Swing Girls" a lot and consider them some of my all-time favorite movies. "Waterboys" was made in-between the two aforementioned films, and while it shares the same type of lighthearted drama and infectious comedy of the others, I didn't quite warm up to it as much as the other films. Perhaps it has to do more with the subject matter at hand then anything else. I didn't find the humor behind an all male "synchro" swim team all that hilarious. Granted there are a lot of funny scenes in the movie especially when "Shall We Dance's" Takenaka Naoto begins training the boys using some very unconventional methods, like using the game "Dance Dance Revolution" to give the boys dance rhythm or using dolphin training exercises to improve their swimming. The ending performance was a bit painful to watch and many may cringe at the sight of skinny kids dancing to the J-Pop music of Puffy and Finger Five. That being said, I found "Waterboys" to be an enjoyable movie and while I don't like it as much as "Swing Girls", it certainly is another feather in the cap of director Yaguchi. Here's hoping he continues to make great and fun movies.
nakataohana
This is a light hearted comedy of 5 young men in their last year of (boys only) high school who sign up for a swim team under the direction of a new female coach. The 5 young men who have seen themselves fail in other traditional sports, discover their strengths and overcome weaknesses in their pursuit to participate as a synchronized swim team at their school festival.The plot had unexpected twists and turns that kept me laughing as new elements, such as the new girlfriend, a trainer who used non-traditional methods, an unexpected pregnancy, drag queens, and a girls high school were added. In Japan, synchronized swimming is normally seen as a women's sport.It was a very enjoyable movie!
lucasinian
"Waterboys" is a comedy, a very anime-esque one too, which doesn't mean a bad thing. In fact, I liked this movie for its funny moments and wacky plot elements.The story is basically about five high school boys who decide to learn synchronized swimming, influenced by the new coach of their school's swimming team, Sakuma; An attractive young woman that is into synchro swimming. However, because of an unexpected incident, Sakuma has to go on vacation, leaving the team without supervision. With the Tadano High's summer festival coming very soon, every club from the school is preparing a special event on their own. Suzuki and friends eventually decide to organize a special sync swimming show, with the help of a dolphin trainer. Of course, this wouldn't be an interesting movie, if they didn't face some unexpected events along the way...This is a real feel-good movie that almost everyone can enjoy. Some situations are totally hilarious, reminding me of japanese anime. The five main characters couldn't be more colourful and the acting was superb as well. Shinobu Yaguchi did an awesome job directing this movie, which is a mixture of a lot of nifty elements, from the great characters to the unbelievable humorous moments, this movie is just great.I haven't watched Yaguchi's other works like Adrenaline Drive, for example, so I'm not sure how this one compares to them. But I'm sure if you like comedies and you're a bit open-minded, you'll like "Waterboys".
AD
