HAPPY GILMORE 2 (NETFLIX) (2025)

SYNOPSIS: After being torpedoed by allied submarines, a Japanese soldier and a British POW are stranded on a deserted island and soon discover that they’re being hunted by a ferocious mythological creature, the Orang Ikan.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Just when you thought Adam Sandler was on a winning streak following Uncut Gems and Hustle, he returns not with another transformative performance but with Happy Gilmore 2—a sequel no one expected nearly three decades after the original cult classic.

Sandler reprises his role as the hot-headed golfer Happy Gilmore, who has enjoyed a long and successful career since winning his first Tour Championship in 1996. Now married to Virginia (Julie Bowen) and a father of five, Gilmore spirals into alcoholism and loses his sense of purpose after her untimely death. When his gifted daughter is accepted into a prestigious ballet school in Paris, the washed-up golfer is forced to make a comeback to fund her dreams.

Co-written by longtime collaborator Tim Herlihy and Sandler himself, the film plays out as a two-hour string of lazy gags and recycled punchlines. Where Hubie Halloween had a multi-purpose thermos, Happy Gilmore 2 has Gilmore turning everyday objects including his golf clubs into liquor bottles. Instead of delivering a compelling sports comedy, the film relies on shallow laughs and nostalgic callbacks.

One of the more notable throwbacks is the return of Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), who now plays Gilmore’s ally rather than his nemesis. Ben Stiller’s Hal L.—the abusive nursing home orderly from the first film reappears as the head of an Alcoholics Anonymous group. While longtime fans may appreciate these cameos, they’re likely to baffle or bore anyone unfamiliar with the original.

The central plot revolves around a “Maxi Golf” tournament that reinvents the slow-paced sport as an extreme spectacle. Benny Safdie and Haley Joel Osment show up as the film’s cartoonish villains while the emotional heart of the film—Gilmore’s relationship with his daughter offers a few moments of genuine warmth. Unfortunately, his sons are reduced to crude comic relief, providing nothing but a string of toilet jokes and distractions.

Whether or not nostalgia sells, Happy Gilmore 2 feels unnecessary and instantly forgettable. Sandler looks worn out and uninspired, content to goof around with his Happy Madison crew—Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Nick Swardson and others. Even a lineup of cameos including Bad Bunny (as Gilmore’s caddie), Eminem and Travis Kelce can’t salvage the film.

In the end, Happy Gilmore 2 doesn’t hit the mark for longtime fans or newcomers. It’s more a celebration of Sandler’s inner circle than a movie with a purpose. The laughs are fleeting and the story? Even more so.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee