Happy gilmore 2

Happy Gilmore 2 

Directed by Kyle Newacheck

Eff Netflix. I generally loathe the streamer company after they made it crystal clear their ultimate goal is to completely put movie theaters out of business. Not only that, but they have mandates in their movies. Everything has to be made with the idea that the viewers will only be watching while playing on their phones. Netflix is anti-art and there's a reason I have never reviewed something of theirs.

Until today that is! Like any other young boy in the 90s and early 2000s, I loved Adam Sandler. The family had a VERY well worn VHS copy of HAPPY GILMORE. Is it one of the funniest movies ever made? Well if you asked me and my sisters the answer is a resounding YES. For those uninitiated, Happy Gilmore is the story of a wannabe hockey player with anger issues and a (sorta) secret heart of gold. With his hockey career over before it began, Happy finds himself on a golf course and quickly becomes the new punk rock rebel of the old boys club.

Here we are nearly 30 years later. I wished HAPPY GILMORE 2 was more of a real movie, with a theatrical release. This being Netflix, it is almost by definition considered streamer slop. Despite all of that, someway somehow, Adam Sandler and his team have delivered a decent sequel! The fact that it's not terrible but actually pretty funny is one of the biggest shocks of the year. 

This being Sandler, one of his best secret weapons is the healthy dose of heart he infuses in his characters. Think of his relationship with his Grandma from the first movie. I won't reveal key plot points here but Happy is a family man now, taking care of 5 children and working through some grief. Money issues brings him back to the golf course, but can this old timer win one last tournament?

The first half of HAPPY GILMORE 2 is totally buzzing with the cameos and jokes meeting a pretty smooth flow. Everyone that's alive from the first movie is back and everyone that has died since then also get a tribute. Also some of Sandlers kids are in the movie as well as his wife. I'm telling you, lots of heart here.

Sandler and the director do a pretty good job of recreating the same anarchic spirit of the first one. Sure there's lots of nostalgia and call backs, maybe too many. But there's also lots of new gags and a plot that actually has some meat on it. 

Above all else, Sandler is a delight to watch. Even with the insane amount of The Worse Movies Ever Made under his belt, the dude still got it. Maybe now he can come back to movie theaters? 

☆☆☆ out of 4