Happy Gilmore (1996) starring Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Frances Bay, Carl Weathers Movie Review

Happy Gilmore (1996)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore (1996)

Sandler's Gilmore Girl Fantasy

Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler - Billy Madison) loves to play ice hockey as he can be violent and hit the puck really hard, unfortunately he isn't very good at it. But when his Grandma (Francis Bay) is about to lose her home due to unpaid taxes Happy discovers his talent for smacking a puck translates to hitting a golf ball really far, something which comes to the attention of golf pro Chubbs (Carl Weathers - Predator). But Happy's unorthodox golfing style and his rowdy fan base doesn't sit well with the golfing establishment especially Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) who sets about making sure Happy fails especially when Happy and administrator Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen - Joe Somebody) become close.

If I said that Adam Sandler's career is like a diabetic's postprandial graph I am not sure many will get it but after a slow start he hit the peak during the mid 90s with "Happy Gilmore" and "The Wedding Singer". But then every movie which followed it got a little bit less entertaining until suddenly every movie was the same as the last one with Sandler trading on the angry character. Fortunately "Happy Gilmore" did come relatively early on in Sandler's career when many enjoyed the petulant comedy he traded on and that he had an entourage of stars who frequently cropped up in supporting roles.

Frances Bay and Julie Bowen in Happy Gilmore (1996)

The thing about "Happy Gilmore" is that it is such a visual movie that to try and do it justice in a review is difficult, how do you go about describing the running start which Happy has when it comes to striking a golf ball or describe the fake hand which gold pro chubbs has. You can't and as these things and many more are the basis of many a visual gag you can't do it justice. All I can say is that in one fantasy scene which amongst other things features a dwarf dressed as a cowboy we also get Julie Bowen in lingerie with big jugs, I mean pitchers of beer. And then there is a hilarious fight scene with an entertaining cameo from Bob Barker.

In truth the cast are a big part of what makes "Happy Gilmore" enjoyable because from Richard Kiel and his sizeable frame to Carl Weather and his character's false hand everyone of them has some thing about them which is amusing and memorable. As I said there is Julie Bowen in lingerie and it is her most memorable scene in the movie but then there is also Ben Stiller who shows up as a scary orderly with a "Village People" style moustache. It is again a very visual thing when it comes to the cameos and the characters but it surprisingly works well and still does with "Happy Gilmore" remaining one of Adam Sandler's better comedies.

What this all boils down to is that "Happy Gilmore" whilst a typical Adam Sandler movie remains one of his most entertaining with plenty of visual humour and various cameos to stop it being all about Sandler playing yet another angry character.


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