Film: Happy Gilmore 2

GENRE: Comedy
RATING: PG-13 for language, crude material and partial nudity
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 54 minutes
PLATFORM: Netflix
STARRING: Adam Sandler (Big Daddy, Uncut Gems, Grown Ups, SNL)
Christopher McDonald (Quiz Show, Hacks); Bad Bunny (newcomer)
DIRECTOR: Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery; Workaholics)
WRITERS: Tim Herlihy & Sandler (Waterboy, Big Daddy, Hubie Halloween)
PLOT: Happy needs money in order to help his daughter live her dream.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Happy Gilmore is one my favourite Sandler films.

STORY STUFF: I was impressed with most of the storyline. They found a good way to tear Happy down so he could rise to the occasion again. The family angle is always a great way to go. The humour is still there as I laughed out loud plenty of times. His four boys are hysterical and stole the film. I enjoyed the references to the original and all the people who came back for another round while also recognizing those we’ve lost.  I thought the Maxi Golf stuff went a bit too far though and made it cartoonish when it didn’t need to be. I also felt that they didn’t quite know what to do with Shooter McGavin this time around, same goes for Ben Stiller. But overall, it was a fun time and made the wait worth it.

ACTING STUFF: Sandler plays Happy with all the gusto you expect but also gets emotional moments with his family. Love all the cameos of returning characters, musicians, sports people and famous golfers (I even knew a couple of them). I love Please Don’t Destroy, so it was fun to see Martin Herlihy playing with his dad’s friend. I thought it was sweet that Sandler’s daughters were involved and even one of them played his daughter. But as I said before, the four sons are fantastic as they fly off the handle so easily but support their dad so lovingly. I’m glad that I didn’t recognize them from anything and I could just enjoy their antics with zero previous baggage.

ARTISTIC STUFF: You could tell that some big money was spent on some epic needle drops. For a comedy, there is usually not that much to say. I liked the running gag of liquor being hidden in a large variety of items – must have been fun to make all those things.   

VERDICT: Four stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You enjoyed Happy Gilmore as this is a fitting sequel.   
UPCOMING REVIEW: The Fantastic Four