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