FORE! Below, there are some pretty hefty spoilers for Happy Gilmore 2, which is now streaming with a Netflix subscription.
I grew up watching Happy Gilmore more than pretty much any movie not called Billy Madison. From the first time I watched a copy on VHS at my friend’s house back in the third grade, I was obsessed with this movie and would constantly reference some of the funniest Adam Sandler quotes ever. With Happy Gilmore 2 now out on the 2025 movie schedule, you would think I would be in hog heaven watching the new Netflix original, but that’s where you’d be wrong.
Though I did enjoy some of the callbacks, jokes, silly references, and the show-stealing performance by a certain bad boy of golf, there was something about these homages that turned me off and took me out of the movie. In fact, I was quite annoyed…
running with the golden jacket, Happy hit the golf ball for the first time, or other moments that already live rent-free in my head. Sure, those scenes for the actors who died before the sequel were great and appreciated, but the rest could have been toned down drastically.
I Love A Great Callback, But This Made Happy Gilmore 2 Feel Like A Clip Show
As pointed out in CinemaBlend’s Happy Gilmore 2 review, the long-awaited sequel has a whole lot of heart, humor, and references to the first film (and other heavyweights from Adam Sandler’s filmography). However, while I do agree that the movie is a love letter to the original, all those clips from the legendary sports comedy made it feel like a clip show at times.
I haven’t gone back to count, but I would be willing to bet that the Happy Gilmore 2 runtime is lengthened by at least four minutes because of all these clips. I wish the movie had been more subtle with its nostalgia, and let us make the connections on our own instead of treating the movie like a sitcom episode at the end of the season.
I don’t think Happy Gilmore 2 is the worst movie I’ve seen all year, and there are parts that I really enjoyed. It’s just that the constant barrage of clips from the first movies was too much for me.