Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) Netflix/Comedy RT: 114 minutes Rated PG-13 (strong language, crude/sexual material, partial nudity, comic violence, some thematic material) Director: Kyle Newacheck Screenplay: Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams Cinematography: Zak Mulligan Release date: July 25, 2025 (Netflix) Cast: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio), John Daly, Ben Stiller, Lavell Crawford, Sunny Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Ethan Cutkosky, Philip Fine Schneider, Conor Sherry, Dennis Dugan, Kevin Nealon, Haley Joel Osment, Marcello Hernandez, Travis Kelce, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Steve Buscemi, Kym Whitley, John Farley, Verne Lundquist, Jack Giarraputo, Robert Smigel, Oliver Hudson, Fernando Marrero, Reggie Bush, Rebecca Quin.
Rating: ***
When I first that Happy Gilmore 2 was happening, I thought to myself, “Great, another belated comedy sequel.” I immediately thought of Dumb and Dumber To (20 years after the fact) and the two recent Ghostbusters movies (37 and 40 years) and how they didn’t recapture the magic of the originals. I also thought of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (36 years), a surprisingly solid follow-up to Tim Burton’s twisted 1988 comedy-horror. As you can see, such movies don’t have a good track record.
I didn’t have high hopes for Happy Gilmore 2. It’s been nearly 30 years since the original and like all of Adam Sandler’s most recent comedies, it’s bypassing cinemas and premiering on Netflix. Plus, I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch a man in his 50s still act like he did in his 20s. Despite all these misgivings, I pushed forward and clicked PLAY. Worse comes to worst, I turn it off and try to forget it ever happened. It wouldn’t be the first time I tried to erase a bad movie from my memory.
I’m relieved to report Happy Gilmore 2 isn’t a stinker. It’s actually pretty good. It’s not as consistently funny as the 1996 original and at 114 minutes, it’s too long. However, it’s amusing much of the time and chock full of call-backs to the OG. It also has a semi-serious side with Happy (Sandler) trying to deal with the guilt of inadvertently killing his wife (Bowen, Modern Family) during a tournament. As a result of the tragedy, he quit the game and took up drinking which resulted in him losing everything (including Grandma’s house).
In what could be a Stars- They’re Just Like Us story in Us Weekly, Happy is reduced to working at a supermarket. That’s where he’s approached by Frank Manatee (his Uncut Gems director Safdie), an obnoxious millennial entrepreneur who wants him to join his new golf league Maxi Golf. His intention is to do away with traditional golf and replace it with his extreme form. Happy responds by depositing the jerk in a lobster tank.
Happy thought he was done with golf, but it turns out golf isn’t done with Happy. He picks up his clubs again in order to raise the $300,000 it’ll cost to send his daughter Vienna (real life daughter Sunny), a gifted dancer, to a prestigious ballet school in Paris. Long story short, he and a group of old school golfers go up against the Maxi Golf team in a big final match.
The road to the finale isn’t an easy one. Along the way, Happy deals with his alcoholism when he’s ordered by a judge to join a support group run by Hal L. (Stiller, There’s Something About Mary), the abusive orderly from the first movie. He’s still a dick. He also has to keep his explosive temper in check if he wants to avoid prison (for a drunken golf cart crash). In addition, Happy must contend with the return of his archrival Shooter McGavin (McDonald, Grease) who’s finally free after spending 30 years in a psychiatric hospital. He, of course, still holds a grudge.
Directed by Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery), Happy Gilmore 2 is a rather busy movie. He tries to cram in as much as possible while still keeping it under two hours. What this means is some plot elements, like Happy asking the son (Crawford, The Ridiculous 6) of his late mentor Chubbs to help him train, go underdeveloped. Additionally, the sequel contains more celebrity cameos than you can shake a golf club at. The guest list includes Cameos: Eric Andre, Margaret Qualley, Martin Herlihy, Austin Post, Scott Mescudi, Nick Swardson, Eminem, Jon Lovitz, Ken Jennings, Guy Fieri and many professional golfers plus appearances by Sandler regulars Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Blake Clark and Jonathan Loughlin. Oh yeah, Haley Joel Osment, the kid from The Sixth Sense all grown up, shows up as a cocky young golfer whose name Happy can never remember. WHEW! It’s a lot.
Is there any point in even considering the acting in Happy Gilmore 2? Probably not, but I’ll go there anyway. Sandler gives a performance of surprising maturity. That is to say, he doesn’t behave like a dimwitted adolescent here. He’s a dad trying to do right by his children, a daughter and four sons with his winning violent streak. Sunny has some good scenes as the daughter taking care of her dad. She’s reluctant to leave him in his current state and has to be convinced Dad will be okay. Bowen, seen in ghostly form, is a welcome presence. McDonald gets laughs as the still-buffoonish Shooter. Rapper Bad Bunny shows a flair for comedy as Happy’s new caddy. Real-life pro golfer John Daly is funny as a fictionalized version of himself living in Happy’s garage.
So it all comes down to one thing. Is Happy Gilmore 2 funny? Yes, for the most part. It has some decent physical comedy like a recreation of the famous Bob Barker fight from the first movie. It also pays tribute to cast members from the OG who are no longer with us- e.g. Carl Weathers, Frances Bay, Richard Kiel, Joe Flaherty and Barker. Not all of it works, but enough of it does to make this second round worth watching.
