Movie Review: Water Boys Proves That Guys Can Compete Like Girls

When Suzuki finishes dead last at his latest swim meet, he realizes his passion for the sport far outreaches his abilities. As he leaves the competition, he walks by the pool where a synchronized swimming team is putting on a performance and inspiration strikes. Suzuki returns to his high school and asks his friends and newly formed swim-club to join him in preparing a synchro routine for the school talent show. When everyone else gives up on the idea, Suzuki and his small group of friends take it upon themselves to make the program a success.

This is how director Shinobu Yaguchi begins his high school sports comedy, Water Boys. The story is not a new one, we’ve seen it in The Mighty Ducks, The Little Giants, and Dodgeball but it carries some uniquely Japanese touches with the kabuki theatre, very abrupt slapstick comedy to break up the dramatic scenes, and the “learn how to dance” via Dance-Dance Revolution scene. It’s a simple, linear plotline but it’s far from uninteresting with a few plot twists and lots of laughs.

The acting is quite robust, capturing the boundless enthusiasm of youth, the teenage awkwardness with the opposite sex, and the adolescent drive to be accepted. The main characters, Suzuki (Satoshi Tsumabuki) the leader of the group, Sato (Hiroshi Tamaki) the arrogant one, Ohta (Akifumi Miura) the one with a frail body, Kanazawa (Koen Kondo) the guy who just learned how to swim and Saotome (Takatoshi Kaneko) the shy one, are portrayed by a group of young actors, many of whom had their debut in this film. Not only were these guys strong during their dramatic segments, they are also decent comedians. As the plot progresses we can see them grow into likeable, realistic people.

This is a feel-good sports movie that has all the clichés that the viewer expects: the team of outcasts, the annoying bullies, the overbearing gym coach, the crazy mentor, and the list goes on. The novel aspect of this film is that the boys have chosen a sport that is mainly practiced by girls. So not only are the boys fighting the bullies who think they are losers, but the patriarchal notion that boys should not partake in synchronized swimming.

Article Author: Danny Smooth

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