Happy Gilmore (1996)

Directed by: Dennis Dugan | 92 minutes | comedy, romance, sports | Actors: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Frances Bay, Carl Weathers, Allen Covert, Bob Barker, Richard Kiel, Dennis Dugan, Joe Flaherty, Lee Trevino, Kevin Nealon, Verne Lundquist, Nancy McClure, John Shaw, Mark Lye, Fat Jack, Ben Stiller

Is golf a fun sport? Either way, it’s certainly not the most exciting sport to watch. For all the people who are already nodding at the word ‘golf’ and who switch to another channel with the NOS golf reports, ‘Happy Gilmore’ is a relief. No boring sleep-inducing images of golfers staring at a ball for half an hour and then dropping it into a well with a small tap, no, Adam Sandler (“Billy Madison”, “Little Nicky”, “Click”) brings as failed ice hockey player Happy Gilmore put the fun back in the game of golf.

The story of the film isn’t very deep, but that doesn’t matter for this kind of comedy film either; one in a line of related comedies that Sandler seemed to have patented early in his career.

More important is the question of whether the film works? Are the jokes well timed? Does the protagonist manage to hit the comic note? For the most part this is the case with ‘Happy Gilmore’. Sandler is especially on his toes in his makeup and crude one-liners and the supporting roles of Ben Stiller as a sadistic caretaker for the elderly and those of Carl Weathers and Richard Kiel (‘Jaws’ from the James Bond films) make you laugh.

Another strong point of the film lies in the depiction of the golf world, which is usually seen as stiff and boring. On the other hand, the arrival of Happy Gilmore brings on an almost endless invasion of lower social types (read anti-socials) who are normally not allowed at the posh clubs where golf is usually played. So it seems that with the arrival of Happy at the golf club, decay seems to have struck. It is clear that Happy and the fans he attracts are not wanted. But the clash between these two worlds provides the solid foundation for the jokes of Sandler and his associates.

“Happy Gilmore” is considered by many to be one of Sandler’s better comedies, and they’re right about that. Not a brilliant film but there is enough to laugh about to give you a nice evening.