Title – Happy Gilmore 2 (2025)

Director – Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery)

Cast – Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Bad Bunny, Haley Joel Osment, John Daly, Julie Bowen

Plot – Years after taking the golfing world by storm, pro-golfer turned supermarket worker Happy Gilmore (Sandler) is lured back into the sport he gave up to prove to himself, his fans and his loving family that he still has what it takes to be a champion.  

“Nothing’s off-limits for these commies”

Review by Eddie on 28/07/2025

Arriving onto our screens at home (courtesy of Netflix) 29 years on since the original 1996 sports comedy launched its star Adam Sandler into the big leagues, Happy Gilmore 2 marks the return of one of Sandler’s most well-liked and well-known properties, gifting us a final product that is sure too appease fans of the original while not gaining new fans along the way.

More so an excuse for Sandler and his team that includes original members Christopher McDonald as fan favourite/Gilmore nemesis Shooter McGavin and Julie Bowen as Gilmore’s loving partner Virginia (getting one of the films most unexpected moments) to harken back to past glories, mix and mingle with an abundant array of celebrity cameos that matter little to the grand scheme of things, Happy Gilmore 2 doesn’t worry too much about crafting a real reason to exist but considering what could’ve been the end result here is about as mindlessly enjoyable as it could’ve been.

Working alongside director Kyle Newacheck, who last collaborated with Sandler on the atrocious Netflix offering Murder Mystery, Happy Gilmore 2 kicks off proceedings in a fast-paced and solidly humorous fashion, enhanced by the films secret weapon John Daly as a Gilmore house co-inhabitant, with anyone who regularly quotes or revisits the original likely to enter peak reminiscing nirvana as we go for a trip down memory lane to a bygone era where comedies in this ilk use to be prime movers at the global box office.

Getting looser as time wears on, Happy Gilmore 2 certainly starts to feel the weight of clocking in at just under two hours in length and looking to draw out a very flimsy premise and audience enjoyment is likely going to depend on how willing one is too go along with an increasingly chaotic and juvenile outing but when you consider much of Sandler’s Netflix original work, Happy Gilmore 2 is thankfully one of the more watchable and entertaining examples of their lucrative partnership.

Not so much of a film, more so an excuse to live off the good-will of the 1996 original and get as many willing celebrities to come along for the ride (did anyone ever think a feature film would include Post Malone, Eminem and Bad Bunny?), including a bunch of scene-stealing real life golf pros who have a blast at their own expense in the films second half, Happy Gilmore 2 is as slight as they come but by owning what it is and giving its target audience an experience that was too be expected, Sandler and his merry band of off-siders may not have hit a hole in one but they’ve struck the right amount of energy and good-natured fun to allow Happy Gilmore 2 to come in just under par.

Final Say –

Unlikely to win over any new fans or convince any naysayers of the brand of its worthiness, Happy Gilmore 2 is unashamedly what it is for better and worse as Sandler takes a victory lap of his most popular past achievement.

3 hidden flasks out of 5