Adam Sandler has been quite a polarizing figure for his films over the past few decades. He’s had films enter the cultural comedy zeitgeist like Billy Madison (1995), The Wedding Singer (1998), and 50 First Dates (2004), he’s had films that almost earned him an Oscar nomination like Punch Drunk Love (2002), Hustle (2022), and Uncut Gems (2019), and finally, he’s had a plethora of films that have most assuredly earned their Rotten scores on Rotten Tomatoes such as Jack and Jill (2011), Blended (2014), and That’s My Boy (2012). 

However, for many audience members of the 90s, Sandler’s magnum opus was Happy Gilmore (1996), a story about a short-tempered aspiring hockey player who attempts pro-golf to save his grandmother’s house. For three decades, Happy Gilmore has filled our homes with laughter, but when Happy Gilmore 2 was announced, audiences were skeptical. Legacy sequels are not looked upon kindly nowadays, especially one made by Sandler, who is the very definition of hit-or-miss. Nonetheless, Happy Gilmore 2 has come out for his drive, took a ‘Gilmore swing,’ and made it to the edge of the green–a good shot, but not good enough for a hole-in-one.

Happy Gilmore 2 immediately falls into a quite unfortunate trope wherein his love interest from the first film, whom he married and had five kids with, is killed early on,  essentially fridging the talented Julie Bowen. This moment marks a stark contrast in the expected tone of the film, but also lays the groundwork for Happy’s arc. In Sandler’s new story, Gilmore must overcome his alcoholism and sense of failure after killing his wife to afford a prestigious dance school for his daughter, Vienna (played by his real-life daughter Sunny Sandler). After squandering his fortune through apparently horrible financial decisions, Gilmore must return to golf.

Additionally,  Happy must face professional golf’s threat: a brand-new, “hip” Maxi Golf league, created by Benny Safdie’s hippie CEO, Benny Manatee, and led by the top Maxi Golfer, Haley Joel Osment’s Billy Jenkins. Together with the help of several other famous golfers, his trusty caddie Oscar (Bad Bunny), and the ghost of his dead wife, Happy Gilmore has to save golf, save his daughter’s education, and save himself. 

As with many absurdist comedies, the plot falls off the tracks several times to the point that Happy Gilmore’s main objective–to help his daughter get the education she deserves –can feel oft-forgotten as saving traditional golf takes the reins. However, at its core, this is a movie about family as Sandler emphasizes his on-screen and real-life relationship with his daughters, both of whom play a core role in this film, although only one plays his daughter in the story. Additionally, Sandler has given himself four rough and rowdy sons, all of whom provide a sweet roughness to the Gilmore family. 

A fun aspect, although only to a point, is that apparently every character from the first movie has a child doing the exact same thing their parents did. This gives the audience some wild cameos to enjoy, most of which hit pretty well, such as Eminem playing the son of the “Jackass” guy (the late Joe Flaherty) or basketball player Boban Marjanovic playing the son of Happy’s old boss  (the late Richard Kiel). Unfortunately, some of these cameos, such as the inclusion of Chubbs’s son (Lavell Crawford), feel very tacked on and out of place in an already stuffed movie. 

Speaking of cameos, this movie is rife with them beyond just the legacy characters’ kids. At one point, Gilmore meets a trio of golfers, including almost-Oscar nominee Margaret Qualley, nepo baby and Please Don’t Destroy member Martin Herlihy, and master of memes Eric Andre, on a golf course run by WNBA All-Star Kelsey Plum. Additionally, Post Malone operates as a Maxi Golf analyst, and golf legend John Daly acts as Happy Gilmore’s live-in best friend, confidante, and hand sanitizer enthusiast. 

These cameos can feel distracting at times, as too many recognizable faces appear in brief but nonsensical cameos, such as Kelsey Plum at the golf course or an influencer like Alix Earle appearing. A lot of these celebrity appearances go beyond Sandler’s normal Hollywood pull and feel like an intentional flex to show how much people want to be in a Happy Gilmore film, for better or worse. That being said, some of these celebrities and their roles work out pretty well and really add to the comedy of the film.

The creme de la creme is Bad Bunny as Gilmore’s new caddy, Oscar. Bad Bunny’s performance is a major highlight, providing some of the best comedic moments, particularly a sequence involving a batting cage, and later, his cousin, played by Marcello Hernandez. Meanwhile, golf superstar Scottie Scheffler has some of the best lines in the film as he stands out from the laundry list of pro golfers who joined the project. 

Out of all of the cast, though, the person having the most fun is Christopher McDonald, returning to his iconic role as Shooter McGavin. This is a man in his 70s who gets to play a crazed lunatic who beats Happy in a graveyard and makes a pivotal putt on ice. McDonald gives his all, and it shows clearly and fervently on screen. Conversely, it’s hard to say if Sandler enjoyed this role or if Gilmore is written too somberly in contrast to the comedic nature of the story. Never is there a moment where Sandler fully taps into the youthful rage of the original film, or any scene where Sandler comes close to his iconic delivery of yelling at a ball to go into its hole after a failed putt. However, Sandler still has good moments, especially with his running gag with alcoholic drinks being stashed in anywhere and every place you can imagine. 

Overall, Happy Gilmore 2 may not reach the highs of its predecessor, but there are enough jokes to make for a decent watch. While its overt references to characters of the original film may get grating, especially due to the numerous split-second flashbacks, the film also offers a lot of new material and doesn’t solely stoop to nostalgia or re-used jokes. Happy Gilmore 2 may not be a hole-in-one, but it’s got at least one good drive in it.

Review Courtesy of Tate Fowler

Feature Image Credit to Netflix