Happy Gilmore

"The price is wrong, bitch!"

Happy Gilmore (Sandler) loves hockey.  He has a killer slap shot, but can't find a team.  To add insult to injury, he is fired at work and his girlfriend leaves.  His Grandma (Bay) is his biggest fan and the most important person in his life.  Her home is seized, and they need $270,000 to get it back.  As movers take everything away, they challenge him to make an impossible golf shot, which he nails.  His impressive swing catches the eye of former professional golfer Chubbs Peterson (Weathers).  Chubbs convinces Happy to compete in a local golf tournament.  Happy hates golf, but ends up winning the tournament.

His win guarantees that he will compete in the Pro Golf Tour.  He instantly clashes with professional golfer Shooter McGavin (McDonald), who doesn't think Happy belongs on the tour.  Happy's antics on the golf course catch the attention of the head of public relations, Virginia Venit (Bowen), who offers to help Happy's image.  Can Happy win enough money to save his grandma and find a job that he enjoys?


This is my favorite Adam Sandler movie.  It is also my one of my favorite golf movies (tied with Caddyshack).

The story, written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy (who has worked with Sandler many times), is funny and interesting.  It has the emotion of a traditional sports movie, but with lots of humor.  It even has cameos by PGA golfers.

The cast is great.  Sandler plays a similar character in most films, and it works well here.  He has the perfect antagonist in Christopher McDonald's Shooter McGavin.  He is character you love to hate.  The movie is best when they are on screen together.  Ben Stiller is uncredited as the orderly at the nursing home, and he is the right amount of unhinged to make the role memorable without taking away from the rest of the film.  Carl Weathers and Julie Bowen are good in their respective roles, and Frances Bay is sweet at Grandma.  The film also features cameos or small roles for Sandler's usual  co-stars.

The film is best remembered for the fight with Bob Barker and Sandler yelling at a golf ball (pictured above).

Happy Gilmore (1996) 92 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for language and some comic sexuality
Director: Dennis Dugan
Starring: Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore
Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin
Julie Bowen as Virginia Venit
Frances Bay as Grandma Gilmore
Carl Weathers as Chubbs Peterson
Allen Covert as Otto
Richard Kiel as Mr. Larson
Dennis Dugan as Doug Thompson

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

"Why are they looking for you?"

"I suspect, they're trying to kill me."

James Bond (Lazenby) is trying to find Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE.  During the investigation he rescues Countess Tracy di Vicenzo (Rigg).  He first saves her from injury and then he saves her from embarassment.  He is captivated, she is irritated, but their paths continue to cross.  Tracy is the only daughter of European crime boss Marc-Ange Draco (Ferzetti), who agrees to help Bond find Bloefeld when Bond and Tracy begin dating.

Bond takes a vacation from MI-6 to go to Switzerland and follow a lead.  He poses as Sir Hilary Bray to infiltrate an allergy clinic run by the Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp (Savalas).  The clinic is populated by young, beautiful women and shrouded in secrecy.  Can Bond discover the clinics true purpose and find true love?


This is the sixth James Bond film based on author Ian Fleming's novels.  This is the first and only film to star George Lazenby as Bond.  Sean Connery left the franchise after making You Only Live Twice, and Eon Productions hired Lazenby, an unknown actor, to replace him.  While still film, Lazenby announced that he would not return as Bond.

The film is based on Fleming's 1963 novel.  Unlike the previous Bond films, the script stayed close to the novel and it was a more realistic film (with minimal gadgets).  Peter Hunt, who served as an editor on the previous Bond films, made his directorial debut with this film.

The music was composed by John Barry, who opted for a instrumental opening theme "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."  Barry also wrote a love song for the film, "We Have All the Time in the World," which was performed by Louis Armstrong.

This film tends to get a bad rap.  When it was released, it had the difficult job of being the first Bond film without Connery... could the franchise succeed, were audiences willing to accept another actor (and an unknown actor) in the role?  For many fans, the main issue with this film is that Lazenby didn't play the character exactly the same as Connery... which was a trend that carried on with subsequent protrayals.  Each actor that takes on the mantle, like Lazenby, makes the character their own, and that is something that fans have come to expect.  He is ok in the role, not my favorite Bond but he isn't terrible.

It was the longest Bond film (until Casino Royale in 2006), and the only one that have Bond in a serious relationship.

It isn't a terrible film, but it is very different from the other films in the franchise.  Diana Rigg is great as Tracy.  She is strong and capable and isn't willing to just let Bond save her and puts up a fight at every turn.  She is compelling and interesting and I wish she was in more of the film.  Telly Savalas is always interesting, but he's too much here.

I don't love this film, but I am intrigued by the background and behind the scenes drama and look forward to watching Becoming Bond to see Lazenby's story.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) 140 minutes
Director: Peter Hunt
Starring: George Lazenby as James Bond
Diana Rigg as Countess Tracy di Vicenzo
Telly Savalas as Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp
Gabrielle Ferzetti as Marc-Ange Draco
Ilse Steppate as Irma Bunt
Bernard Horsfall as Shaun Campbell
George Baker as Sir Hilary Bray
Yuri Borienko as Grunther

Ma vie de Courgette: My Life as a Zucchini

Icare, known as Zucchini, is a quiet boy who loves creating art.  He made a kite with a picture of his father, who left years before, and he uses his alcoholic mother's beer cans to make a tower.  After his mother's death, which he accidentally causes, he is sent to an orphanage.

The other children at the orphanage are also in pain.  They miss their parents, who are in trouble or dead.  Zucchini starts to rebuild his life with the help of Raymond, the police officer who found him, and the other orphans.  Can Zucchini find a family with his new friends?


This film is an adaptation of the 2002 novel "Autobiographie d'une Courgette" by Gilles Paris.  The film was previously adapted as a live-action French television show called C'est mieux la vie guand on est grand in 2007.

This film is a stop-motion animated film that gives the characters large and expressive eyes.  It has a colorful palette and a quirky sensibility, while still conveying deep emotions.  The film is available in it's original French (with subtitles) or an English dubbed version.  The English version has a different cast, and changes the names of some of the characters (such as the main character, Courgette in Frennch and Zucchini in English).

The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film.  It won several other international animation awards.

My Life as a Zucchini [Ma vie de Courgette] (2016) 66 minutes
Director: Claude Barras
Starring: Gaspard Schlatter as Courgette
Sixtine Murat as Camille
Paulin Jaccoud as Simon
Michel Vuillermoz as Raymond
Paul Ribera as Ahmed
Estelle Hennard as Alice
Elliot Sanchez as Jujube
Lou Wick as Beatrice

[English version]
Erick Abbate as Zucchini
Ness Krell as Camille
Romy Beckman as Simon
Nick Offerman as Raymond
Barry Mitchell as Ahmed
Clara Young as Alice
Finn Robbins as Georgie
Olivia Bucknor as Beatrice
Ellen Page as Rosy

Everything, Everything

"I'm willing to sacrifice everything just to live one perfect day."

Maddy Whittier (Stenberg) has a rare disease, Sever Combined Immundeficiency (SCID), that compromises her bodies ability to fight infections.  She cannot leave her home and everything in her life is sterilized.  She longs to be outside and dreams of swimming in the ocean.  She has a big imagination and confronts her world through books.  Her mother, Pauline (Rose), is a doctor and regularly monitors her health.  The only other person in her life is Carla (de la Reguera), her nurse for the last 15 years.

Her world changes when a new family moves next door.  The son, Olly Bright (Robinson), is captivated by Maddy.  Their bedrooms face each other and they slowly begin to communicate.  She looks forward to their conversations and wishes they could meet in person.  Can Maddy find a way to make her dreams come true?


The film is based on the 2015 novel "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon.  I have not read the novel, and I wasn't sure I would enjoy this film.  It seems like a straightforward story, but there was a big twist that I did not see coming.

This is director Stella Meghie's second film, after 2016's Jean of the Joneses.  I enjoyed her direction in this film and I hope she continues to make movies.

Amanda Stenberg is perfect as Maddy.  She is confident and smart and knows what she wants.  She is also awkward, but in an endearing way.  She has great chemistry with Nick Robinson.  He has a personality and has to work for the relationship.  They don't just fall in love overnight, the beginning is cringe worthy but you can't look away.  When they finally do get together, it is earned.

It was a sweet movie that made me laugh and cry, and I was glad to see it.  I can't wait to read the book and fall in love with these characters all over again!

Everything, Everything (2017) 96 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements and brief sensuality
Director: Stella Meghie
Starring: Amanda Stenberg as Maddy Whittier
Nick Robinson as Olly Bright
Anika Noni Rose as Dr. Pauline Whittier
Ana de la Reguera as Carla
Taylor Hickson as Kara