Joey Magidson
Adam Sandler has not made nearly as many sequels as you might have thought. Sure, there’s two Grown Ups films and three Hotel Transylvania movies, but aside from there being a sequel to Murder Mystery, he’s really not gone back to the well, especially with his old classics. So, making Happy Gilmore 2 is kind of a big deal. Happy Gilmore is one of the flicks that made Sandler a star, so returning to the character is notable. Had it come out in theaters, this likely would have been a hit. Instead, it’s streaming on Netflix, where even more folks will watch it, as well as care less that this is a bit of a scattershot work.
Happy Gilmore 2 coasts a bit on the comedy charm of Sandler, which has been true of many of his movies, so that’s not surprising. He’s not as manic as he was in the original film, partly due to age, though also partly due to the design here. There’s some fairly serious elements at play, even if the overall tone is still very silly.
Since we left Happy Gilmore (Sandler), his life was great, until it wasn’t. Multiple golf championships, as well as four children with wife Virginia (Julie Bowen), have him feeling like he’s made it. Then, while in a tournament, he accidentally kills her with an errant ball. Happy retires, left as a single father, and becomes a sad drunk. When we meet him, he’s lost his grandmother’s house, is living in a bad part of town with his youngest daughter Vienna (Sunny Sandler), and working at a grocery store. He rejects an offer from Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie) to join his upstart extreme golf league, making an enemy in the process. However, when Vienna’s ballet skills have her eligible to study in Paris, Happy needs the money, so it’s only a matter of time until he picks up the clubs again.
Since Virginia loved traditional golf, he returns to the PGA Tour, seeing a lot of old friends. However, Frank wants to crush golf, hoping to use Happy’s rival Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) in his plan. So, eventually, it comes down to Happy and some pros going up against Frank’s group, including Billy Jenkins (Haley Joel Osment), in his extreme golf games. No bonus points for guessing who wins, but the way it wraps up is actually fairly satisfying.
Adam Sandler does exactly what you’d expect here, though he’s a bit more of a sad, quiet clown, than the angry young man of the original. It’s the right choice, even if this is a very silly work. It’s a better performance for it, though no one will confuse this for Sandler’s best work. Benny Safdie is big and broad here, as are Christopher McDonald and Haley Joel Osment. Sunny Sandler is fine, while Julie Bowen is basically a cameo. The supporting players, in addition to all manner of athletes cameoing, include Eric André, Bad Bunny, Steve Buscemi, Kevin Nealon, Margaret Qualley, Jackie Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Ben Stiller, and many more.
Director Kyle Newacheck is mostly just doing the bidding of Sandler, who co-writes with Tim Herlihy (a frequent writing partner), but that’s what makes sense for this work. Any real directorial vision would have clashed with what works for Sandler and Netflix. Nothing here is overtly bad (give or take killing off Virginia and the dumb changes to golf that Frank makes), though nothing here is particularly remarkable. It’s more the amusing vibe that leads the way, as well as the enjoyment that comes from seeing Sandler back playing this older, and maybe slightly wiser, character.
Happy Gilmore 2 isn’t necessarily a good movie, but it’s charming enough that fans of the first one, as well as Adam Sandler fans, will get a kick out of it. It’s dumb fun and does what it sets out to do. So, you need to keep your expectations in check, but if you meet it where it is, the film ends up working. Mostly, it’s just something to have on, laugh at, and move on from. It’s not high art, but it likely will make you smile.
SCORE: ★★★
“Then, while in a tournament, he accidentally kills her with an errant ball.”
Good. Freaking. God. Clerks III. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Happy Gilmore 2. Modern movie comedies are so terrified of depicting a marriage that they will literally kill off one of the spouses to avoid even trying. And Adam Sandler has been married to the same woman for over twenty years! Surely he of all people would know how to write a married couple for a film!
He even has his wife in the film! But yes, it’s a very odd trend.