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Movies like The Waterboy (1998)

The best movies like The Waterboy (1998) are The Benchwarmers (2006), Kingpin (1996) and Major League: Back to the Minors (1998). If The Waterboy hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. The Benchwarmers (2006)

    A trio of guys try and make up for missed opportunities in childhood by forming a three-player baseball team to compete against standard little league squads.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  2. Kingpin (1996)

    After bowler Roy Munson swindles the wrong crowd and is left with a hook for a hand, he settles into impoverished obscurity. That is, until he uncovers the next big thing: an Amish kid named Ishmael. So, the corrupt and the hopelessly naive hit the circuit intent on settling an old score with Big Ern.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  3. Major League: Back to the Minors (1998)

    At the behest of Roger Dorn -- the Minnesota Twins' silver-tongued new owner -- washed-up minor league hurler Gus Cantrell steps up to the plate to take over as skipper of the club's hapless farm team. But little does he know that Dorn has an ulterior motive to generate publicity with a grudge match between the big leaguers and their ragtag Triple A affiliate.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  4. Major League (1989)

    When Rachel Phelps inherits the Cleveland Indians from her deceased husband, she's determined to move the team to a warmer climate—but only a losing season will make that possible, which should be easy given the misfits she's hired. Rachel is sure her dream will come true, but she underestimates their will to succeed.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  5. Necessary Roughness (1991)

    When the Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos football team is disqualified for cheating and poor grades, the University is forced to pick from a team that actually goes to school. Will they even win a single game?

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  6. The Great White Hype (1996)

    When the champ's promoter, Rev. Sultan, decides something new is needed to boost the marketability of the boxing matches, he searches and finds the only man to ever beat the champ. The problem is that he isn't a boxer anymore and he's white. However, once Rev. Sultan convinces him to fight, he goes into heavy training while the confident champ takes it easy and falls out of shape.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  7. Bad News Bears (2005)

    Morris Buttermaker is a burned-out minor league baseball player who loves to drink and can't keep his hands to himself. His long-suffering lawyer arranges for him to manage a local Little League team, and Buttermaker soon finds himself the head of a rag-tag group of misfit players. Through unconventional team-building exercises and his offbeat coaching style, Buttermaker helps his hapless Bears prepare to meet their rivals, the Yankees.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  8. The Replacements (2000)

    Maverick old-guard coach Jimmy McGinty is hired in the wake of a players' strike to help the Washington Sentinels advance to the playoffs. But that impossible dream hinges on whether his replacements can hunker down and do the job. So, McGinty dusts off his secret dossier of ex-players who never got a chance (or screwed up the one they were given) and knits together a bad-dream team of guys who just may give the Sentinels their title shot.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  9. Happy Gilmore (1996)

    Failed hockey player-turned-golf whiz Happy Gilmore — whose unconventional approach and antics on the green courts the ire of rival Shooter McGavin — is determined to win a PGA tournament so he can save his granny's house with the prize money. Meanwhile, an attractive tour publicist tries to soften Happy's image.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  10. Blackball (2003)

    Blackball follows the fortunes of Cliff Starkey, a working-class fine of lawn bowls with an exceptional talent. Wanting to take on the Aussies he manages to become regional champion, only to get banned. Sports agent Rich Schwartz picks him up and makes him so popular the Bowls Committee deem to lift the ban. Now the question is whether he can regain his form and his friends to beat the Aussies.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  11. Beer League (2006)

    An unemployed slacker inspires his softball teammates to improve their game to avoid getting kicked out of the local league.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  12. The Scout (1994)

    When his star recruit botches a Major League Baseball debut, humiliated talent scout Al Percolo gets banished to rural Mexico, where he finds a potential gold mine in the arm of young phenom Steve Nebraska. Soon, the New York Yankees put a $55 million contract on the table—provided a psychiatrist can affirm Nebraska's mental stability.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  13. Major League II (1994)

    After losing in the ALCS the year before, the Cleveland Indians are determined to make it into the World Series this time! However, they first have to contend with Rachel Phelps again when she buys back the team.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  14. Caddyshack (1980)

    At an exclusive country club, an ambitious young caddy, Danny Noonan, eagerly pursues a caddy scholarship in hopes of attending college and, in turn, avoiding a job at the lumber yard. In order to succeed, he must first win the favour of the elitist Judge Smails, and then the caddy golf tournament which Smails sponsors.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  15. DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004)

    When megalomaniacal White Goodman, the owner of a trendy, high-end fitness center, makes a move to take over the struggling local gym run by happy-go-lucky Pete La Fleur, there's only one way for La Fleur to fight back: dodgeball. Aided by a dodgeball guru and Goodman's attorney, La Fleur and his rag-tag team of underdogs launch a knock-down, drag-out battle in which the winner takes all.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  16. Semi-Pro (2008)

    Jackie Moon is the owner, promoter, coach, and star player of the Flint Michigan Tropics of the American Basketball Association (ABA), the worst team in the league. In 1976 before the ABA collapses, the NBA plans to merge with the best teams of the ABA at the end of the season. Only the top four teams will make the move and the worst teams will fold. If the Tropics want to make it to the NBA, Jackie Moon must rally his team and start winning.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  17. Rookie of the Year (1993)

    When the cast comes off his once broken arm, a 12-year-old boy can throw a 100-mile-an-hour fastball, and the Chicago Cubs want him as their new pitcher.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  18. Blades of Glory (2007)

    When a much-publicized ice-skating scandal strips them of their gold medals, two world-class athletes skirt their way back onto the ice via a loophole that allows them to compete together as a pairs team.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  19. Sweet Dreams (2024)

    Morris navigates his way through a mandatory stay at Sweet Dreams sober living. In an attempt to get his life back on track, he agrees to coach a misfit softball team of his fellow housemates.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  20. Goon (2012)

    Doug Glatt, a slacker who discovers he has a talent for brawling, is approached by a minor league hockey coach and invited to join the team as the "muscle." Despite the fact that Glatt can't skate, his best friend, Pat, convinces him to give it a shot, and Glatt becomes a hero to the team and their fans, until the league's reigning goon becomes threatened by Glatt's success and decides to even the score.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  21. Little Big League (1994)

    When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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  22. BASEketball (1998)

    Two losers from Milwaukee, Coop and Remer, invent a new game combining basketball with the rules of baseball. When the game becomes a huge success, they, along with a billionaire's help, form the Professional Baseketball League where everyone gets the same pay and no team can change cities. When a rival owner wants to institute major rule changes, Coop and Remer's team is the only one standing in the way.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  23. Juwanna Mann (2002)

    A basketball star is booted out of the NBA when his on-court antics go too far, so he poses as a woman and joins the WUBA.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  24. Mr. 3000 (2004)

    Aging baseball star who goes by the nickname, Mr. 3000, finds out many years after retirement that he didn't quite reach 3,000 hits. Now at age 47 he's back to try and reach that goal.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  25. Little Giants (1994)

    When Danny O'Shea's daughter is cut from the Peewee football team just for being a girl, he decides to form his own team, composed of other ragtag players who were also cut. Can his team really learn enough to beat the elite team, coached by his brother, a former pro player?

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  26. Ernest Goes to School (1994)

    Jim Varney's recurring dim-bulb character Ernest P. Worrell returns in this film as a school janitor seeking to obtain a high school diploma.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  27. 3 Strikes (2000)

    Brian Hooks plays a character who is just released from jail. And the state adopts a "3 strikes" rule for felons that involves serious penalties. Hooks has 2 strikes, and wants to change his life for the better. When a friend picks him up, they are pulled over, and his friend shoots at police officers, and Hooks escapes. Now Hooks, a wanted man, must clear his name of having nothing to do with the shooting.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  28. Billy Madison (1995)

    Billy Madison is the 27 year-old son of Bryan Madison, a very rich man who has made his living in the hotel industry. Billy stands to inherit his father's empire, but only if he can make it through all 12 grades, 2 weeks per grade, to prove that he has what it takes to run the family business.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  29. Celtic Pride (1996)

    Two over-loyal Celtic fans kidnap their opponent's star player in order to guarantee their team the championship.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

  30. Varsity Blues (1999)

    In small-town Texas, high school football is a religion, 17-year-old schoolboys carry the hopes of an entire community onto the gridiron every Friday night. When star quarterback Lance Harbor suffers an injury, the Coyotes are forced to regroup under the questionable leadership of John Moxon, a second-string quarterback with a slightly irreverent approach to the game.

    Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy

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Like The Waterboy and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Waterboy?

The closest matches to The Waterboy are The Benchwarmers (2006), Kingpin (1996) and Major League: Back to the Minors (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Waterboy?

People who watched The Waterboy most often go on to The Benchwarmers (2006), Kingpin (1996) and Major League: Back to the Minors (1998).

What is the highest-rated movie like The Waterboy?

Major League (1989), rated 6.9/10 by 934 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Waterboy?

Sweet Dreams (2024) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like The Waterboy?

Yes: The Benchwarmers (2006), Kingpin (1996) and Major League: Back to the Minors (1998).

How are movies similar to The Waterboy chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Waterboy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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