Happy Gilmore 2 (dir. Kyle Newacheck)
By: Adam Freed
A lot of time has passed since the pristine world of golf was reshaped by the uncouth barbarism of Happy Gilmore. In 1996 the comedic story of a failed hockey player, turned long-driving golf anarchist solidified its star Adam Sandler (The Waterboy, Billy Madison) as a viable comedic leading man, and returned the irreverent golf comedy back to the form it hadn’t enjoyed since the release of Caddyshack (1980). But 1996 was a long time ago, and Sandler, now almost 60, is no longer the fresh-faced noise pollution comedian whose profanity-laced antics once found golden purchase in the hearts of teenage boys. Times have changed, and so has Adam Sandler. The comedian, who was once considered a limited talent in acting circles, has become the rarest of things, a well-rounded man. There was no path forward for Adam Sandler’s career without evolution, a welcome metamorphosis that took place in the form of his partnering with visionary directors like Paul Thomas Anderson in Punch Drunk Love (2002) and the Safdie Brothers in the indie darling Uncut Gems (2019). From the cocoon of slapstick muckery emerged an Adam Sandler that is still as funny as ever, but is armed with a lifetime of experiences that made the path to accessing his humor come with the price of pain and a touch of longing. No moment in Sandler’s career has better demonstrated his rare and honed ability to coax tears of laughter and sadness simultaneously than his Netflix standup special Adam Sandler: Love You (2024), in which the musical comedian pays homage to those without whom, his life and career would look markedly different.
The now bearded Sandler returns to the world of ribald golf humor with a greater sense of purpose, both as an actor and as the character Happy Gilmore. Fans find the former five time champion Gilmore, now 59, a broken man, alcoholic and desperate after the loss of his wife Virginia, once again portrayed, mostly in flashback, by Julie Bowen (Modern Family). The Gilmore family has expanded as Happy is now a father of five adult children, a foursome of sons who are the comedic embodiment of toxic masculinity and his sweet daughter Vienna, performed admirably by Sandler’s daughter Sunny. Both of Sandler’s daughters play crucial roles in the film, and offer performances that clear themselves on charges of nepotism. Now penniless after the loss of his mythical golf swing and his desire to compete, Gilmore needs to muster the strength to provide his youngest the opportunity of a lifetime to dance at an elite Parisian school, which comes with an eye-opening price tag. Audiences who access their Netflix accounts searching for complex plot construction within Happy Gilmore 2 are going to be disappointed, but the magic of director Kyle Newacheck’s film is its ability to offer a nostalgic gravity that wasn’t present in the first film. Despite its very humorous, and effective, parade of cameos and callbacks, Happy Gilmore 2 is a film about a failed father desperate to right himself in the autumn of his life. Through a jungle of famous faces, all willing to support the notoriously generous and humble Sandler, audiences will experience an irreverent comedy that means more than its source material ever could.
Despite the laundry list of returning performers who reprise their roles nearly three decades after the release of Happy Gilmore, there is a noticeable vacancy in the film left behind by the 2024 passing of Carl Weathers (Rocky, Predator). Weathers, who played Chubbs Peterson, Happy’s coach and spiritual advisor, is replaced by a pitch perfect Lavell Crawford (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) who as Slim Peterson, pays homage to his screen father and offers Happy the same type of ridiculous friendship offered by Chubbs in 1996. Happy Gilmore 2 is just as imbecilic as its predecessor, but in many ways means more this time around. This is no doubt a credit to its everyman star, Adam Sandler, who despite his unquestioned comedic timing, is now armed with a sense of discernable purpose detectable just behind the crow’s feet that adorn his smiling eyes.
Target Score 6/10 - Kyle Newacheck’s Happy Gilmore 2 is a joyful comedy that is certain to please those mildly amused by the 1996 original. The long awaited Netflix sequel is a whirlwind of famous faces from the worlds of sport and comedy, and yet overcomes the weight of its triviality on the massive shoulders of its lovable star Adam Sandler.