Happy Gilmore: Golf with Attitude

You can be a moderate hit and be loved well after your release. I see it with Caddyshack. But I see it especially with Happy Gilmore as it turns 25 today. In the pantheon of movies Adam Sandler has done, I view him as someone that nails it at times and underdelivers at other points. But during his early post Saturday Night Live days, he could hang with other comedies. There are multiple reasons to why the film is beloved and even gets some love from actual golfers.

First is how the characters are. The plot is Sandler's Happy never making it as a hockey player and with a golf swing, may have found a way to save his grandmother's house that has been repossessed. From there, it finds its characters that help or are a nuisance. And it's from actors that you don't typically think of in the higher end of Hollywood that put up very good performances. Whether it's the mentor of Carl Weathers' Chubbs or Julie Bowen's Virginia who keeps Happy in check, they provide their importance to the character. Even small characters like the heckler or Mr. Larson. Of course, you can't mention the film without mentioning Shooter McGavin, who believes in class, even if it means being an ass to get his point across. It may have made Christopher McDonald the stereotype of being mostly villains, but not your usual bad guy.

Second is the scenes. For me, anything with the orderly guy at the nursing home. Absolute scum, but funny. What's interesting is some TV edits include a deleted scene where Happy finds out how he treated his grandmother and gives him his comeuppance. More than likely to see justice, and I can't blame them. The mini-golf scene with Chubbs on how to putt. You got the Pro-Am scene with Bob Barker and the fight. A couple scenes with the heckler. Every scene is not dull. Not every joke is a winner, but its consistent in having solid scenes. Even the serious scenes like late in the film with Chubbs and around the middle of the film with Happy feeling embarrassed to admit to Virginia why he joined the golf tour. All of it compiles into a decent story and have a fun score to go along with some of the licensed songs. No different than a number of comedies over the last 40 years.

Lastly is how quotable it is. It may not be to the level of Dumb and Dumber, but whether it's the important characters or the small ones, they at least have one line that you can remember. Any outbursts from Shooter or the negativity he gets. Happy's blow ups. That's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure someone has said "warm glass of shut the hell up" or "the price is wrong, bitch." at some point. That's the lasting effect to many movies that people enjoy. It's either that or they've watched a movie so many times, they can recite the whole film.

This is Sandler's best film and like a number of 90s comedies, it holds up. Good pacing altogether. It's not the best comedy in the world, but it's always a fun one to watch unless its butchered completely on television.