Happy Gilmore 2 – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Happy Gilmore 2  – Angry Golf Balls and Nostalgic Swings: The Sequel

Looking out into the world becomes a means of finding that genuine thought.  With our own eyes, we look at things with a means of perception.  From creativity to purpose, that relative touch becomes a moment of seeing what is and what can be.  With film, it becomes a path of expectations levied against desirable outcomes.  Even if that ‘levy breaks’, there can be enough for a fun journey.  In this review, I look at the latest Netflix Comedy.  Through a dose of nostalgic tastes, Happy Gilmore 2 might not hit that perfect hole in one … but there are enough laughs to have a good time on the angry golf course.

In a world of golf legends, a former champion returns to the greens in hopes of fulfilling his family’s wishes … and finding closure to a tragic past.  With sequels, there is a balancing act between gripping the audience with purpose while finding a pathway of the journey’s intent.  The fondness for the original is something that stands true, so there is a delicate dance in recapturing that magic while not feeling more of the same.  With this sequel, it becomes a matter of being a fan or non-fan of the original.  With that in mind, the enjoyment of this film becomes the acceptance of two things:  Nostalgic reverie and the Obscurity of the Journey

Nostalgic Reverie

As you come into this film, you get a voice-over narration from the titular character, Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler), as he walks through the highs and lows of his golfing career.  As a certain tragic event happens (plot device), this leads to the foundation for the main throughline of the film:  Happy Gilmore decides to return to golf so he can make enough money to send his daughter to a premiere dance school in Paris.  From here, the filmmakers build off your typical rags to riches foundation, weaving it through familiar comedic beats, flashbacks and Easter Eggs.  With each moment, you get that ‘forced’ wink and nod in seeing returning characters or situations (review the cast list on the film’s IMdb Page – link).  This drags down the characterized moments between Happy Gilmore and his family, drowning out genuine situations for the sake of bait-like gimmicks.  Even with the nostalgic crutch, the comedic elements do stand out (at times), a levy of seeing some kind of growth in the titular character as he deals with another conflict: the Tour Championship’s fight against a rival league.  This leads to the second major point.

Obscurity of the Journey

Even with a lot of nostalgic bait, it is this second plot that adds indifference to the comedic elements (in the film).  With Happy Gilmore returning to the Tour Championship, it pushes them to challenge the rival league in a competitive/winner takes all like match.  Through some plot armor, Happy Gilmore earns a spot on the Tour Championship side.  This ultimate challenge of traditional vs. change adds a new spin to the film, providing a platform that breeds a colorful dynamic through cheesy dialogue, goofball humor and over-the-top antics.  The blend of obscurity and nostalgia adds a twist to the formulaic direction, refreshing the recognizable with a sense of forward momentum for our characters.

Through these two points, the journey becomes a manner of hopeful discourse in the aspect of familiar situations.  With Happy Gilmore facing the ‘ultimate test’ in a one-dimensional rival, we head into a third act of bombastic moments, forced cameos and slightly raunchy scenes.  This leads to the typical triumph like climax and epilogue.  Happy Gilmore 2 has some laughable moments, but it eventually becomes a painted cover of the same old beats.  For those that are fans of the original or Adam Sandler, you will have a lot of fun with this film.  Since it is on streaming, I’d say it can still be a good Friday Night at home.

Full Score – 2.5 out of 5 (Friday Night Rental)