TRASH IN MY EYE No. 235 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux
Happy Gilmore (1996)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
Rating: MPAA – PG-13 for language and some comic sexuality
DIRECTOR: Dennis Dugan
WRITERS: Tim Herlihy & Adam Sandler
PRODUCER: Robert Simonds
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Arthur Albert (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Jeff Gourson and Steve R. Moore
COMPOSER: Mark Mothersbaugh
COMEDY
Starring: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Frances Bay, Carl Weathers, Allen Covert, Robert Smigel, Bob Barker, Richard Kiel, Lee Trevino, Kevin Nealon, Verne Lundquist, Will Sasso, and Dee Jay Jackson with Ben Stiller
Happy Gilmore is a 1996 American sports comedy film from director Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler. The film focuses on a ill-tempered hockey player who applies his talents to golf in the hopes of winning big tournament money that he can in turn use to save his grandmother's home from the IRS.
Like a lot of moviegoers, I’m a huge Adam Sandler fan. Sandler is generally not a darling of the critics, but his movies are hilarious. Even though most of his films display the most mediocre filmmaking and most juvenile script writing, Sandler is a genuinely fine comedic actor, and his comedic stage persona – stage, screen, wherever, comes across as both endearing and funny. Happy Gilmore is from the early period of Sandler’s film career as the leading man or star, and while the movie’s concept is juvenile and the character immature, Happy Gilmore simply works quite well.
Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) tries out for a local semi-pro(?) hockey team, but fails to make the cut as he does every year. On a dare, Happy discovers that he can hit a golf ball to a distance of over 400 yards (apparently a big deal). Spurred on by Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers), a local club pro, Happy enters a local golf tournament and wins both the tournament and a spot on the pro golfer’s tour.
When his grandmother (Frances Bay) loses her home to the I.R.S. for owing a decade’s worth of back taxes, Happy accepts the bid to join the pro tour in hopes that his earnings can save her house. Standing in the way is Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), a golf pro jealous of the attention Happy’s unique golf skills and his volatile temper earn him. So Shooter not only sets about trying to get Happy kicked off the tour, but he also buys Grandma Gilmore’s house. Will Happy win the tour championship and get the house back into family hands?
Happy Gilmore is the David vs. Goliath, insider vs. outsider, fish-out-of-water, class conflict story that works so well when a popular star plays the underdog. Sandler has a likable sort of every man quality about him. Christopher McDonald plays a great comic villain, mostly because he has a sense of humor about himself even when he plays the heavy. His looks and demeanor says “stuffed shirt, upper class jerk,” and while he obviously takes his work seriously, he never takes himself so seriously that he can’t be the fall guy.
On the strength of a good comic villain/hero dynamic and some nice (but tiny) supporting performances, I recommend Happy Gilmore. For Sandler fans, it’s a must see.
7 of 10
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars
Edited for the original: Wednesday, July 23, 2025
The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
---------------------
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment