Happy Gilmore 2 Parent Guide

A few years after his historic golf tournament win, life takes a sad turn for Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler). The death of his wife Virginia (Julie Bowen) left him to care for their five children but unable to keep up with the finances and too deeply grieved to play golf, Happy slid into alcoholism and a string of dead-end jobs. Then his youngest daughter, Vienna (Sunny Sandler), has the chance to go to a prestigious dance school: Happy realizes that the only way he can enable her to follow her dreams is to pick up a club and step back on the green.

As a 90s kid, I have some nostalgia for classic Adam Sandler films such as Billy Madison and, of course, Happy Gilmore. Due to my age, many of the references in those films go over my head, but there’s enough absurdist humor along with classic Sandler shenanigans that it doesn’t matter. I feel similarly about this sequel, which is primarily a vehicle for both decades-old and extremely recent references. There are no nameless actors to fill in the small parts; every face on screen is a cameo, many of whom I could tell must be someone famous, but I had no idea who they were, as I am apparently both too old and too young to be the target audience. (Thirty-somethings take note.) The movie also includes clips from the original, I suspect to fill in the back story for those who have forgotten some of the finer plot details.

With all the cameos and throwback references, it’s no wonder that the runtime is entirely too long for a comedy. There is a fun story buried in here somewhere, but the film is too bloated to hit the right notes. Cutting out a chunk of the second act and streamlining the main story would have made for a much more enjoyable and impactful story. I understand the desire to throw back to such a cultural classic, but the clips and references veer into over-indulgence rather than fun nostalgia.

Although I think this is a flawed film thanks to its unsatisfactory script, I can’t say I had a bad time watching it. I laughed frequently; there are some hilarious running gags; and the actors are obviously having a blast. It doesn’t live up to its predecessor, but Happy Gilmore 2 still manages to be an enjoyable romp that fans are sure to love. Parents should take the PG-13 rating seriously, as the content concerns are comparable or even slightly above those of the original, with sexual references and gestures, fist fights, swearing, and a whole lot of drinking. This is a film made for fans of the original, and it does a pretty good job of pleasing them; nothing more.

About author

Savannah Sillito

Savannah Sillito is a librarian with a master's in library science, a bachelor's degree in English, and a certificate in early childhood education. She enjoys nonfiction books, travel, and is a staunch proponent of the Oxford comma.