Synopsis – Gilmore returns to the sport of golf since his retirement after winning his first Tour Championship, to finance his daughter’s ballet classes.
My Take – By now we are all familiar with the strange phenomenon that is Adam Sandler.
On one hand, he is a very capable actor who has more than proven his acting chops in films like Punch-Drunk Love (2002), The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), Uncut Gems (2019), and Hustle (2022). But on the other hand, he is a populist clown and a titan of the comedy genre who over the past 30-odd years or so has built himself an empire out of the lowbrow.
And one such film that helped him reach that level of success is Happy Gilmore (1996), a simple, grounded sports comedy that was the perfect outlet for Sandler‘s unique comedic sensibilities, letting him be both charming and hilariously angry while shaking up the classic institution of golf. A film that wasn’t a massive commercial earner upon release, but over the years has gained cult status, due to re-runs, particularly in the golf community.
Hence, it isn’t surprising that the Sandman used his ongoing Netflix deal (something that has kept him largely out of cinemas and on the streamer service for the past decade), to revisit his iconic role. Directed by Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery), the resulting film is everything you expect from an Adam Sandler starrer – the good, the bad, and the rest.
While it shares similar beats to the original, like most of his films, the legacy sequel is mostly a broad, spoof comedy, riddled with celebrity cameos and slapstick gags. It is unlikely to convert newcomers but there’s more than enough to entertain the fan base.
Yes, if you take away the dozens of cameos that include professional golfers, rappers, Sandler family members, “SNL” stars, and the usual members of his entourage, there isn’t a whole lot there. But it sure is delightful to see Sandler and returning cast members ease back into their roles.
Even when the script from Sandler and his frequent partner Tim Herlihy doesn’t push any harder than making the first joke that comes to mind and moving forward. This is a film in which a character played by Eminem gets torn apart by alligators for laughs. Need I say more?
The story once again follows Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler), who after the events of the first film, has a very successful golf career, winning five more championships. He also married Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen) and had five children with her. But after accidentally killing her in 2014 when one of his drives hits her in the head, a devastated Happy quits golf out of guilt, becomes an alcoholic and loses everything.
Eleven years later, Happy works at a supermarket and lives with his youngest child and only daughter Vienna (Sunny Sandler), while his four sons have all moved out and are working to support their father and sister.
But when he finds out that Vienna wants to pursue a career in ballet, and that enrolling her in a four-year ballet school in Paris, will cost him $75,000 yearly, Happy resumes playing golf to win enough money for her, and even finds himself in a court-mandated treatment program for his alcoholism.
However, the professional golfer’s tour is taking some heat from a new league called Maxi Golf, which promises more action by making the sport sexier and is run by Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie), the CEO of Maxi Energy Drink. After Happy suggests having a competition between the two leagues, Doug proposes a match with the five best players from each league competing against each other.
It is a solid enough set-up for a legacy sequel, one that could have been a little tighter but thankfully doesn’t lean too hard on recreating every single beat from its predecessor. Between Happy’s family life and a whole new series of challenges for him to tackle, there’s enough freshness to the plot to keep it from feeling like a total rehash of what came before, while still delivering wild golf stunts and a huge range of cameos, including professional athletes, podcasters, Sandler family members, and actors from the first film.
The original film became such a beloved touchstone because it had a serious zany streak running underneath its core of sweetness; it was a key building block in Sandler’s eventual big-screen superstardom. Comparatively, the sequel is more of a laid-back round of golf with pals where everyone stops keeping score after the first few holes.
With the most interesting thing about the sequel being its commitment to defending the game and its traditions – a cause Happy eventually takes in addition to helping Vienna realize her ballet dream, while reckoning with the fact that everyone can smash the long ball now. But in the general sense, it is a goofy and largely by-the-books sports comeback film about a plucky, irreverent underdog who wins everyone over in the end and learns to forgive himself for good measure.
It helps that Adam Sandler once again showcases his signature mix of goofy rage and earnest sincerity grounds the comedy, reminding us why we rooted for Happy in the first place. It is a pleasure to see Ben Stiller, Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald reprise their roles and not miss even a single step.
Benny Safdie makes for a natural pick for the sequel’s villain, and is backed by a smug Haley Joel Osment. Surprisingly, it is Bad Bunny who shines the most in his role as Happy’s busboy turned caddie, Oscar, and proves to be a surprising and delightful laugh riot.
In smaller roles, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Margaret Qualley, Travis Kelce, John Daly, Steve Buscemi, Guy Fieri, Post Malone and the rest of the gang seem to be having a blast. If you like professional golf, there are countless cameos too from real pro golfers. On the whole, ‘Happy Gilmore 2‘ is a nostalgia-fueled, celeb-packed legacy sequel that delivers exactly what you’d expect.
Directed – Kyle Newacheck