Set your expectations appropriately, and “Happy Gilmore 2” is pretty much par for the course. Hold too tightly to your love of the original, and the sequel shanks into the drink for bogey.
The 29-years-later follow-up to 1996’s beloved gonzo golf comedy “Happy Gilmore,” one of the films that launched Adam Sandler’s big-screen stardom, is kinder, gentler and much older (if not wiser) than the original. It’s a palpable vibe shift. Even when the new film drops callbacks to the first one and trots out some gags reminiscent of its predecessor, its roll is slower. Sweeter. Nicer. And that’s not great for a Happy Gilmore movie.
Gone are the first film’s signature blistering tantrums. Come on, you loved them. We all did. It was flat-out fun watching young Happy absolutely lose it on the course as the establishment looked on in horror. In the sequel, he has to work himself up to that state (like Popeye force-feeding himself spinach), and since he’s now a venerable figure, even the top pros love him too much to mind. That’s a logical progression, but it takes the most crazy and dangerous elements out of the film.
It turns out that Happy, after his failed-hockey-fueled run to the top of the leaderboard in the golf world, actually went on to have a great career as a PGA champ. Then, due to a series of unfortunate events, the forcefully retired fellow finds himself broke, drunk, and in need of a major cash infusion to pay for his daughter’s dream ballet school. We get the training montage, the bad guys lining up against him, and Happy back in action – this time with the full embrace of the golf establishment. No more punk outsider; now it’s heads shaken in wonder at Happy being Happy.
The villain is influencer-generation, Mr. Beast-type Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie) who wants Happy to join his wacky, new, extreme! golf league. It’s the kind of thing young Happy would have dug – in fact, it’s largely inspired by him. When he won’t join, Manatee concocts a challenge match between the best of the PGA and his top players that somehow threatens golf as we know it (???). Of course, there are twists that make him sure he’ll win, and whether Happy can stop him is in question because of the trauma that forced him into retirement. Yep. You’ve heard this one before.
But speaking of the establishment, some of the world’s top golfers appear in the movie; one supposes the original was so adored that, 30 years later, pros lined up to be in the sequel. That’s really the main fun of the film – the dizzying array of cameos by the Sandler stable of repeat-offending actors, as well as major athletes and musicians. Not to spoil those appearances, but you know what kind of round you’re in for when he goes to a municipal golf course early on and bit parts are played by Los Angeles Sparks star Kelsey Plum, Eric Andre, Margaret Qualley, and Ben Marshall of Please Don’t Destroy. In more-than-cameo appearances are the likes of Bad Bunny and PGA legend John Daly.
Still, it’s a pleasure to see Happy back on the golf course, walking up to the tee, and obliterating the ball. Beyond that, the returns of pretty much every character whose actors are still alive feel pretty fan service-y. That’s definitely the filmmakers’ target: No alarms and no surprises, the same old sports comeback template we’ve seen many a time and oft. The film has kid gloves on, with oodles of redemption to be had. It lopes languidly from one not-so absurd gag to another.
To be fair, one of the highlights is Happy’s relationship with his kids – a bunch of chips off the old block (read: head-banging idiots) with a talented sister. The family scenes play well, as the knuckleheaded juniors provide sincere support and affection. Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) is back, too, in a different light, and that’s amusing, as well.
There are laughs to be had, here and there; the good news is, the sequel isn’t terrible. It’s just not anything special, nothing with the spark of the original. At its worst, it feels like a paycheck movie, as many of Sandler’s other Netflix outings have (not, for instance, the excellent “Hustle”), except to the cameo performers, who look like they’re having more fun than the star is. By the way, Sandler cast numerous family members.
It’s calculated to hit the buttons fans expect, but with a lighter touch than the first one’s sledgehammer wielded by a raging clown in golf clothes. How well that kinder, gentler approach works depends largely on the viewer’s expectations. The sequel unquestionably suffers by comparison to the original, which felt like a very silly bolt from the blue that zapped traditional golf in the heinie. This one is more like four or five putts to get in the cup.
“Happy Gilmore 2” is now streaming on Netflix.
