The long-awaited sequel to my all-time favorite Adam Sandler movie is finally here.
I’ve quoted the original Happy Gilmore all of my life – “It’s all in the hips.” “Just tap it in.” “You can trouble me for a warm glass of shut the hell up!”
However, when I initially saw the trailer for this new one, it wasn’t a very encouraging sight. It very much seemed like the movie was going mostly for a nostalgia trip as many sequels are doing nowadays, and I was worried that the comedy would be sacrificed in service of this.
Now, the nostalgia is certainly there, but thankfully, the comedy is also there. For this follow-up to come about 30 years later, it’s absolutely worth seeing. That’s if you haven’t already, with its nearly 47 million views upon release being Netflix’s highest U.S. opening weekend ever.
In this follow-up, Adam Sandler is back as Happy Gilmore, who after the first film’s events went on to have a majorly successful golf career until a tragic accident occurs, sending him into guilt and alcoholism. A decade later, having lost everything, he’s working at a grocery store to make ends meet and living with his daughter. When she’s accepted into an elite ballet school in Paris, Happy decides to get back on the golf course and return to the game.
Adam Sandler slips back into the role with the same goofiness but the same heart as before, but the real highlights for me with this cast were the supporting stars. The standouts were my cousin from the island Bad Bunny as Oscar, Happy’s new caddie who aspires to open up his own restaurant, and Christopher McDonald who returns as Shooter McGavin, the first film’s main antagonist.
Both of these actors are absolutely hilarious here; Benito’s chemistry with Sandler is perfect, and McDonald’s storyline of him being so scarred by the events of that film that we now find him contained in a mental institution, until he escapes and later makes amends with Happy and helps him on his path to better things.
I also loved Sandler’s relationship with his kids in this movie; his four sons match his character’s iconic fiery anger so well, with his daughter being more of the emotional core of the story being played by his real-life daughter. Sandler’s real-life wife and older daughter also show up here, albeit in much smaller roles.
Speaking of very small roles, this film has cameos galore. I’m usually not a fan of this as it often feels like the filmmakers are looking for the audience to recognize certain celebrities and have that be the joke rather than take the time to create an effective joke.
But I have to say, damn near every cameo here had me cracking up. There are some appearances here from people like Margaret Qualley and Travis Kelce that had been announced long ago, but there are even more unexpected appearances here that are some of the movie’s funniest moments, especially those that are used to tie back to certain characters and events from the first film.
I’ll give away one of my favorite cameos here as it’s the most subtle one, but it’s with Sandler’s late Grown Ups co-star Cameron Boyce, with a clip of him from the show Jessie appearing on a TV screen.
Moments like this and others where he’s featuring his friends and family in his movies, whether these parts are significant or not, serve as a reminder of how much Sandler cares for the people in his life. I do feel that this is a genuine connection that audience members have always had with him and how he’s maintained this lengthy success in his career.
Another aspect of modern comedies that I’m usually not fond of is when a gag is introduced that is funny for the first time, so they make the habit of repeating it to the point where it’s not just unfunny but frustratingly annoying.
Happy Gilmore 2 has one of those running gags; whenever Happy drinks, you see the many different kinds of hidden flasks that he uses. This time around, however, I didn’t find this annoying at all and on the contrary, I found the gag itself to be funnier the more they went back to it with how creative they were getting with it.
Like many of Sandler’s movies, this has the classic underdog narrative that is part of the charm most of his filmography has, and this one is no exception. However, it doesn’t feel quite as underdog as it doesn’t nearly have the same stakes the first film did. In 1996, Happy Gilmore was literally the underdog character as he was a complete unknown, shoutout to Bob Dylan, who was primarily looking to save his grandma’s house.
This time around, he’s established as a golf legend where everyone knows his name and his long golf drives, and as much as he is still driven by doing what’s best for his family here, it doesn’t feel as dramatic once you reach the end. Without giving much away though, thanks to Bad Bunny, it does end on a very satisfying note.
I definitely had my expectations surpassed with this one; if you were never a fan of the first one or hadn’t seen it yet, I can see why this wouldn’t land for you as it is unabashedly nostalgia bait, leaning into much of the same physical and slapstick humor.
But I felt this was much better than it had any right to be, and I’m glad it’s putting a new audience onto the original because it’s always been my favorite Sandler flick, and this is a more than worthy sequel that we’re getting 30 years later.
