Today’s quick review: Happy Gilmore. Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler), an aspiring hockey player, discovers his true calling when he realizes that his fast slapshot gives him a phenomenal golf drive. Under the tutelage of Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers), Happy takes the golf world by storm, using brute force to make up for his lack of experience. Along the way, he makes an enemy of Shooter McGavin (Christohper McDonald), a stuck-up golf pro.
Happy Gilmore is a sports comedy about a novice golfer who defies every unwritten rule of the game. Adam Sandler stars as Happy, a hockey player whose boisterous antics make him a controversial figure on the golf course. Happy Gilmore follows its hero as he learns the rules of golf, competes with the pros, and tries to win the money he needs to save his grandmother’s (Frances Bay) house from being taken by the IRS.
Happy Gilmore makes its premise work for it. Happy’s slapshot is just ridiculous enough for some comedy without undermining the rest of the story. The humor stays focused on golf rather than veering off into weird tangents. Happy is a likable protagonist, a fairly ordinary man who brings his down-to-earth sensibilities to the golf pro tour. Finally, the story is a satisfying underdog sports plot with a nice sense of progression.
The end result is a comedy that knows exactly what it’s trying to do and pulls it off. Happy Gilmore is a fine pick when you’re in the mood for something light, well-calibrated, and more focused than other comedies of its kind. Not everyone will like Adam Sandler’s sense of humor, and the story is a little more laid-back than other sports movies, but Happy Gilmore’s strengths are enough to give it broad appeal. Check it out.
For an even goofier underdog sports comedy, check out Dodgeball or Kingpin. For a classic golf comedy, try Caddyshack. For another comedy starring Adam Sandler, try Big Daddy or Anger Management. For a kids’ sports comedy about a boy with an incredible fastball, try Rookie of the Year.
[7.0 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116483/). I give it the same for well-judged comedy in a tidy package.