Adam Sandler’s hapless golfer is back for more in a long overdue sequel. Here’s our Happy Gilmore 2 review.
Happy Gilmore, director Dennis Dugan’s 1996 sports comedy, is about as classic an Adam Sandler film as you can get. Sandler played an aspiring hockey player who turned to golf when the former didn’t work out. He found himself to have an unusual talent for the sport, eventually leading him to win the US Open.
Over the years, fans have been asking for a sequel but one never materialised. Until now, thanks to Netflix.
Happy Gilmore 2 finds Happy picking up the golf club after leaving the sport behind years earlier. After some practicing and getting back in the game, Happy finds himself rooting for old-school golf as an obnoxious CEO of a new golf tournament (played by Benny Safdie) challenges him to a high stakes game.
The full premise hasn’t actually been revealed in the trailers, so we’ll keep this review spoiler-free. Much of Happy’s motivation here comes from trying to pay for his daughter’s fancy ballet school in Paris. “Everybody needs money to chase their dreams,” Happy sighs as he tries to figure out how to fork out $300,000 while also battling alcoholism. A particularly tragic scene finds his daughter Vienna putting Happy to bed because the golfer is too drunk to do it himself.
Disappointingly, Happy Gilmore 2 abandons such deep themes pretty soon. Instead, director Kyle Newacheck as well as Sandler and his co-writer Tim Herlihy favour repeating the same jokes again and again. They might have been funny in 1996, but by now, the novelty has worn off.
Sandler still proves that he’s willing to put his whole body on the line for his art. Happy falls over, gets golf balls to the testes and crashes golf carts. Sandler certainly gives his everything, but Happy Gilmore 2 just feels like a relic. The movie incessantly makes fun of updating things that don’t need updating, but the film could have at least come up with new jokes.
Read more: The Fantastic Four: First Steps review | Now this is a bit more like it
On a brighter note, Christopher McDonald returns as Shooter McGavin, who still carries a grudge against Happy after years in a mental health institution. McDonald still has an excellent grip on his character and some of the film’s funniest moments happen thanks to him. McDonald and Sandler’s chemistry is also a carrying force here, and the film could have done with more of those two messing around.
Instead of investing in the cast’s chemistry, Happy Gilmore 2 is filled with cameos that range from pro-golfers to WWE stars to rappers. They’re funny at first, but quickly lose their impact. Still, the amount of star power Newacheck has managed to round up is impressive.
Happy Gilmore 2 doesn’t offer anything new or exciting in its far-too-long runtime of 114 minutes. It mostly plays out like the first film, but less genuine. Despite Sandler’s charisma and a genuinely great starting point, you’re probably better off just watching the first film again. Happy Gilmore 2 is too little, too late.
Suggested product
SPECIAL BUNDLE! Film Stories issue 54 PLUS signed Alien On Stage Blu-ray pre-order!
£29.99
Happy Gilmore 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
