Happy Gilmore 2: Electric Boogaloo

Fore! Adam Sandler and his crew of misfits have teed up a sequel to their beloved 1996 sports comedy Happy Gilmore. While Saturday Night Live’s first few comedies from the 90s are quotable, endlessly rewatchable, goofball classics, he’s spent a while meandering around romcom mediocrity. Dipping into the nostalgic well makes a lot of sense.

Happy Gilmore 2 takes place in real time, 30 years after its predecessor. Happy and Virginia (Julie Bowen) are married, with five kids and seven golf championships. Life is good. Until tragedy strikes.

Gilmore’s life is unexpectedly thrown off course into a downward spiral of despair. When his daughter, an extraordinarily talented ballet dancer has the opportunity to attend a prestigious dance school in Paris, Happy has to snap out of his funk and return to golf to save the day.

This movie is impossible to discuss without spoilers. And if you plan on watching it, it’s best to go in spoiler-free and let the surprises and cameos wash over you. This isn’t Citizen Kane. It’s a big, dumb unnecessary sequel. Much like Kevin Smith’s later View Askewniverse movies, it’s specially designed to tug on your nostalgic heartstrings while providing plenty of laughs along the way. If you were a fan of the original AND you’re a GenX girl, dad, it’s a must-watch.

The movie really leans into the pro golf universe with tons of cameos from pro golfers. I am not a golf fan, so I had no idea who these people were. The first film didn’t require you to be an expert pro golf fan, whereas this one suffers a bit if you’re not.

Again, big dumb fun. Lots of surprises and cameos. Full of real-life pro golfers. Not great.

Also of note, some of the cameos are questionable, with a few figures having done/said some problematic things. There’s also an alligator scene, which makes sense in the context of the first film, but comes across a bit tasteless here.