Happy Gilmore (1996)
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Failed hockey player-turned-golf whiz Happy Gilmore — whose unconventional approach and antics on the green courts the ire of rival Shooter McGavin — is determined to win a PGA tournament so he can save his granny's house with the prize money. Meanwhile, an attractive tour publicist tries to soften Happy's image.
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5 films that influenced Happy Gilmore
What critics say influenced Happy Gilmore
It's no "Caddyshack," but "Happy Gilmore" is still a great golf comedy.
When it comes to golf comedies (not a very popular genre, apparently), the film residing at the dubious pinnacle is Rodney Dangerfield's Caddyshack.
Happy's girlfriend; a haughty pro (Christopher McDonald), who is embarrassed by the presence of such an uncouth player on the tour; and a hulking fan (Richard Kiel, Jaws from The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker ), who's always ready to jump to Happy's defense.
Happy's girlfriend; a haughty pro (Christopher McDonald), who is embarrassed by the presence of such an uncouth player on the tour; and a hulking fan (Richard Kiel, Jaws from The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker ), who's always ready to jump to Happy's defense.
Sandler would build a more comfortable nest for his sense of humor with 1996’s “Happy Gilmore” and hit pay dirt with 1998’s “The Wedding Singer,” but “Billy Madison” was a victorious launch, establishing the gibberish-speaking comedian as a force of nature unwilling to play by the rules.
Mostly, Sandler comes across as a goofy, well-meaning comedian willing to serve his own material rather than overwhelm it: He wrote the script with Tim Herlihy, and this team has clearly come a long way since their maiden effort, "Billy Madison."
First Billy Madison, now Happy Gilmore.
Universal has now re-released two early Sandler films -- Billy Madison (1995) and Happy Gilmore (1996) -- in a two-pack DVD set.
Like “Billy Madison,” “Happy Gilmore” features Adam Sandler when he was younger and more raw.
Unlike comedian Adam Sandler's first offering, the vilely unfunny "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmore" opens more happily, coming close to hitting a TV-like three laughs per minute.
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Director Dennis Dugan ("Problem Child") does himself proud, however, with his meticulous arrangement of certain scenes; were all the movie as good as the skating-rink first kiss between Happy and Virginia or Happy and Chubbs' nighttime visit to the world's most intoxicating miniature golf course, "Happy Gilmore" would card a 66.
It does in "Happy Gilmore," a formulaic but occasionally funny fish-out-of-water comedy directed by Dennis Dugan ("Problem Child") and starring former Saturday Night Live performer Adam Sandler as the first violence-prone, beer-chugging, obscenity-spouting competitor on the pro golf tour.