90s classic finds a ‘Happy Place’ on Netflix
Directed by: Kyle Newacheck
Written by: Adam Sandler & Tim Herlihy
Starring: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald
Rated PG-13 for strong language, crude/sexual humor, partial nudity, and some thematic material
Release Date: July 25, 2025
Runtime: 1:54
This review may contain spoilers
Return to my “Happy Place”
I know I’m dating myself, but I must have watched Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison on VHS so much that the tape was worn out (which may sound like gibberish to anyone born after 2000). My friends and I would recycle those goofy movie lines over and over again, irritating both teachers and parents equally.
“That’s your home, ball. Are you too good for your home? Suck my white ass, ball!” “YOU’RE GONNA DIE, CLOWN!” “The price is wrong, bitch!” “JACKASS!”
Now, Netflix is bringing back the foul-mouthed golfer with the hockey spirit, with tons of celebrity cameos, real-life golfers, and nostalgic callbacks.
“Who the hell is Happy Gilmore?”
Adam Sandler returns as Happy Gilmore, now retired as a golfer after winning several championships. Sadly, Happy is also widowed with five children and lost everything due to alcoholism. Happy reluctantly picks up his golf clubs to win money for his daughter’s expensive dance school in Paris (not unlike him winning money for his grandma’s house in the first film).
But, there’s a new golf league, Maxi Golf, which threatens to change the sport and, more importantly, take away big sponsors. Their CEO, Frank Manatee (Benny Shafdie, Showtime’s The Curse), wants Happy as the star of his league, since Happy was also their very inspiration. The rough style of the league sounds like something Happy would have been into when he first started out.
In a bit of irony, Happy stands with traditional golf, opposing a challenge to stop Maxi Golf from taking over the sport. He teams up with other champions to defend golf, including his former rival and enemy – Shooter McGavin (played again by Christopher McDonald).
Sandler Legacy/Curse
Honestly, I had a lot of doubts about Happy Gilmore 2. Let’s face it – Adam Sandler movies are not what they used to be. They were killing it with Billy Madison, the first Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, and The Waterboy; funny, memorable, and full of lines to quote. Big Daddy, Anger Management, and 50 First Dates were pretty good; not really “ha ha” funny, and there was a noticeable change in Sandler’s acting to being more serious. Mr. Deeds and Little Nicky were fun but barely memorable. Then he was shelling out duds with You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Jack and Jill, and Pixels. Grown Ups films were just boring. Don’t get me started with Funny People. And I never bothered looking into any of his crap on Netflix… well, until now.
Dammit, Netflix, luring me back in with my 90s nostalgia.
The Return of Shooter
But let’s get to the main point of the film – Happy Gilmore and Shooter McGavin back at it. It’s time for a rematch nearly 30 years later!
Actually, well, not exactly this time. Shooter did lose his mind after losing the game to Happy in 1996 and has been in an institution ever since. He is freed by Manatee to join Maxi Golf, but Shooter joins Happy’s side. He sorta takes on a mentor role for Happy’s team, like Apollo Creed training Rocky in Rocky III.
A little disappointing, especially since Shooter’s advice isn’t remotely helpful. He just takes over at some point to get his retribution moment. Still, though, seeing McDonald back as Shooter and seeing that losing the game 30 years ago drove him crazy is fun to see. Wanted to see him stay crazy throughout the movie, but he sorta just gets over it.
“You’re in my world now, Grandma”
Ben Stiller returns as Hal, now in charge of Happy’s Alcoholics Anonymous group (what a twist!). I’ll admit, as much as I love the line “check the nametag,” I actually never got his name before. It’s a weird twist of fate that Happy is stuck (for a little while) doing labor for Hal just like his grandma in the first movie. It’s a wild callback.
Speaking of callbacks
This sequel has lots of callbacks. Just think of something from Happy Gilmore, and this movie has some weird connection to it. Even Happy’s blond caddie (played by Jared Van Snellenberg) comes back and is revealed to be golf professional Will Zalatoris. The repo agent (played by Robert Smigel) who was part of acquiring Grandma’s house? He became a lawyer, still concerned about people hating him. The “Jackass” heckler? His son shows up to continue the family tradition of hating Happy and is played by a surprise celebrity (no, it’s not Rob Schneider; he shows up later).
Unfortunately, the actor who played the “Jackass” guy died a few years ago. He and several other actors who died in real life are all honored in a cemetery where Happy and Shooter fight it out. That includes Grandma, the “mistah mistah” lady, and, of course, Bob Barker.
And there’s a lot more cameos planted in Happy Gilmore 2 – including Post Malone, golfing social media influencer Paige Spiranac, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, Margaret Qualley, international basketball player Boban Marjanovic, and Stephen A. Smith. And I could keep going, but I might as well copy and paste the listing from IMDb.
“Just tap it in, just taaaaap it in, give it a little tappy, tap tap taparoo!”
Happy Gilmore 2 was way better than I was expecting. Nowhere near the level of the original, but compared to Sandler’s movies in the last 15 years, this was surprisingly good. That’s not saying much, but it’s worth a watch and has plenty of nostalgia for fans.
Happy Gilmore 2 is streaming on Netflix.
