HAPPY GILMORE 2
Starring: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie,
Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Philip Schneider, Ethan Cutkosky, Conor Sherry, Sunny Sandler, John Daly, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, Haley Joel Osment, and Ben Stiller
Director: Kyle Newacheck
NICK
It’s no surprise that Adam Sandler (known for featuring his friends and family in his films) can still bring sincerity into his trademark comedies. But Happy Gilmore 2 is infused with more heart than we’ve seen from him since the underrated Click, nearly 20 years ago. Unfortunately, some of the other “mores” don’t work as well. The film is far more vibrant than the original, to the point it sticks out, and there are just too many cameos. Yes some hit, but they’re unnecessary since the core themes surrounding family and the love letter to golf are all that’s needed to make this one work.
ROBERT
If you had all the money in the world and could give jobs to your wife, kids, and all your friends and their family, wouldn’t you? Watching Happy Gilmore 2, that is what I imagine was the impetus for its existence. Previous Adam Sandler comedies were always quirky and goofy with outlandish characters, but they were buoyed by a modicum of heart and likeability, and this film sorely lacked that tether. It mostly felt like meeting contractual Netflix obligations with a hint of nostalgia; even Ted Sarandos’ daughter is in it. A funny joke will land here and there, but this is the definition of superfluous.
AMARÚ
Maybe it’s a win to say there are small victories in Happy Gilmore 2, starting with the clear joy everybody and their momma had making this legacy sequel. And when I say everybody, I mean EVERYBODY is in this movie. That joy manifested some chuckles out of the hundreds of call backs and cameos. But those tiny positives barely dragged me to the end of a movie with a horrible inciting incident, tons of unfunny end-of-scene stingers, and head-scratching goofball scenarios. So is it worse when Adam Sandler films are outright bad, or when there’s heart and misplaced hope amongst the trash? You decide that one.
QUENTIN
All things considered, including the overall quality of Adam Sandler’s direct-to-Netflix catalog and the typical success (or lack thereof) of decades-later sequels to classics that no one really asked for, Happy Gilmore 2 is about as good as it could be. Yeah, it’s little more than a forced, nostalgia-driven cameo parade of callbacks (complete with clips to remind you exactly what they are calling back too), but for those of us who saw the original in our formative teen years, there is enough heart to carry the day (or at least two hours, anyway) and enough charm to let one overlook the very obvious flaws.
KATIE
I don’t relish writing this as someone who really likes Happy Gilmore and Adam Sandler’s earlier comedies in general, but Happy Gilmore 2 may be one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. Aside from the mind-numbingly stupid story, terrible dialogue, and the fact it's offensively unfunny, the worst thing is that it’s just soulless. It lacks anything that would suggest anyone who made it cared about anything other than making money in the laziest way possible, and the reliance on nostalgia and onslaught of cameos only adds insult to injury. I wish it were better, but it just didn’t work for me.
ADRIANO
The charm of Happy Gilmore is the acknowledgement that it's not very good, but Adam Sandler's sensibilities make it one of the most quotable comedies ever. With Happy Gilmore 2, some of that is there, but not enough to save the film's instant reversal of the first film’s course and a nonsensical "new golf" narrative. Worst of all, the movie desperately needs to remind you of what you liked about the original, even shoving clips of the first film in your face to a degree that would make The Final Reckoning roll its eyes. Yet even with all that, it could've been worse… I suppose.
BODE
Even if Adam Sandler’s longtime Netflix deal has yielded more bad than good, I still greatly anticipated Happy Gilmore 2. Yes, it’s out of my love for the original, but I was genuinely curious to see how Happy (Sandler) fits in a new era. The answer gave me more than I expected. On one hand, it’s overlong and chockfull of lazy nostalgia. On the other, I laughed more than I thought I would, and much of the film’s surprising self-reflection of life and death admittedly got to me. This isn’t great cinema, but for what it is, it passes the time reasonably.
