Adam Sandler’s career has been on the rocks, but he may be able to pull himself back up with a remake of one of his most iconic movies. Some people are skeptical, others excited. With his multi-movie deal with Netflix and an unlikeable trailer, the cast and crew is not in the clear until the movie releases.
Everything we know about the new movie
“Happy Gilmore 2” is a Netflix original airing July 25. In March, Netflix released a teaser and then the official trailer in May. From the trailer, we learn that Happy Gilmore is in a similar situation that he was in the original: he needs a lot of money quickly. In this case, it is to pay for his daughter’s expensive ballet school.
Adam Sandler will, of course, play the lead in this movie. Accompanying him are stars like Julie Bowen, Ben Stiller, Christopher McDonald, Bad Bunny, Travis Kelce and Blake Clark. Sandler has continued his tradition of including family members and the sequel will include his wife Jackie and daughters Sadie and Sunny.
What the sequel will entail
As the 1996 movie was successful, those working on the project thought it would be best to keep it similar.
The end of “Happy Gilmore” was a tied-up one. Happy won the golf tournament that he had been working towards, resulting in buying back his grandmother’s house and having a happy ending. Due to this, fans are not expecting the next movie to solve any underlying issues.
“We worked hard trying to write something that we thought people would have a good time with, and I’m more excited, probably the most excited I’ve been in many years to shoot something,” Sandler himself stated.
The trailer revealed a similar idea. The plot seems to be recycled from the original, which has sparked some controversy. As the original story was a hit, the creators likely thought that a repeat would do well.
Additionally, the trailer reveals some obvious callbacks to the ’96 original.
An original cast member Christopher McDonald commented on the new movie, as he will be appearing in it to reprise his role of Shooter McGavin.
“They’ve outdone themselves,” McDonald told PEOPLE when referring to Sandler and Netflix. He discussed the fact that the movie was about the characters growing up and seeing what happened in their lives, whether they stuck with golf or gave it up.
Sandler from 1996 to now
Only two years after “Happy Gilmore,” Sandler starred in “The Wedding Singer.” This movie continued his streak of funny yet romantic movies, as it earned a 72% on Rotten Tomatoes and was well-received by audiences.
“The Waterboy” and “Big Daddy” received a 71% and 74% respectively, proving the two previous were not anomalies in Sandler’s talent’s.
Unfortunately, his career went downhill from there.
Sandler’s worst-rated movie, “The Ridiculous 6,” received a 0% from critics and 36% from audiences. The humor in the 2015 movie was deemed “crass” and “unintelligent,” or that it falls completely flat.
A controversal issue with his recent movies is that he signed an eight-year deal with Netflix. This forced the actor to create uninspired movies. This deal led to “Murder Mystery” and “Murder Mystery 2” with co-star Jennifer Anniston. Audiences have not hated these movies, but they are not as big as the actors in them.
Despite audiences criticizing the Netflix originals, the platform released the fact that the first two movies in this deal were the biggest releases they have ever had. Due to this, Netflix and Sandler signed to make four more, adding up to eight.
In addition to acting, Sandler got into producing and voice acting. He has a producer credit on many of his own movies, such as “Murder Mystery,” “Leo” and “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzva.”
Risks to the fans
Before Netflix announced the sequel in 2024, Sandler and McDonald joked about a sequel in a combined interview. Despite the lack of planning or production, fans began to speculate–but not everyone was pleased.
With the love fans have for “Happy Gilmore,” Sandler and Netflix have some large shoes to fill.
While the movie is iconic, it is iconic for its time. Leaving the movie in the past may be the healthiest way to honor it. A reboot opens the doors to make mistakes and ruin the charm from the original.
Sandler has been aware of this risk. People have been asking him for a long time to make a sequel. His response to this has always been the idea that he will let people down, so he and co-writer Tim Herlihy worked hard to make it as good a movie fans will like.
Risks using Netflix
The lack of a theatrical release is a concern to some as well. “Happy Gilmore” was released in theaters when it came out in 1996. In April of this year, select theaters re-released it in anticipation for the sequel.
Going to a movie theater is a memorable event, especially because people have to leave their homes and spend money each time. “Happy Gilmore 2” will not get the chance to have that special movie theater feeling.
Fans who know about the release are excited, but without the theater buzz, less people are aware. People are not asking their friends to go seethe movie with them, and others are not asking how it was in theaters.
Additionally, Netflix produces many easily forgotten streaming-only movies. The platform has banked on algorithmic movies for a long time, forcing people to lose interest. While “Happy Gilmore 2” will likely not hold this type of plot, the past has given viewers a poor assumption about Netflix originals. Whether or not the plot is good, a forgotten movie is not a success.
Trailer fan theories
Despite having very little complications, fans of “Happy Gilmore” have created some of thier own ideas, whether it be about the plot or the poor trailer.
Some people refuse to believe that the movie will be recycled and the plot is bad, so they blame the trailer. They are difficult to edit, especially when trying to avoid spoilers and surprising cameos. Die hard fans blame the trailer and continue to be excited for the movie to come out.
With a sequel this anticipated, Netflix and Sandler likely knew what to put in the trailer to get people excited for the remake, but they may have gone a little too far with it.
Plot fan theories
One fan has reviewed the trailer and came up with an idea: Shooter McGavin played by Christopher McDonald is dead. The reviewer Phillip Sledge believes that Shooter could be a ghost who guides Happy through his next tournament.
Sledge notices the graveyard and Shooter’s dishevilled appearance from the trailer and puts the information together. Shooter is only seen with Happy and when he does, the character is wearing pajamas. While this could be a nod to Sandler’s untraditional wardrobe, it could have a deeper meaning.
Other theories speculate Julie Bowen’s character is dead as well. Her character Virginia is seen in a beautiful garden, also interpreted as Happy’s happy place.
One theory puts the graveyard scene with Happy and Shooter as the place Happy goes to visit is late wife. In this scenario, Shooter is very much alive.
Sledge’s theory covers this and says that Virginia could be in the happy place, where Shooter is in the not-so happy place.
While we will not know the fate of any of the characters until July 25, the trailer has fans speculating what has happened in the story.
Excitement for the movie
Adam Sandler, Netflix and the rest of the crew have been very open about their excitement for the sequel.
Sandler has been a part of many interviews about the release. In all of them, he makes jokes about his co-stars and has nothing but praise to give everyone. The genuine happiness he brings to the movie shows his excitement for the project.
McDonald has been the same way. He told PEOPLE they “…just had a great time,” when filming.
Sandler’s romantic co-star Julie Bowen revealed that she thought Sandler was going to replace her with a younger woman.
“You’re the heart of the movie,” Sandler said to Bowen upon hearing her concerns.
The love the cast has for each other is evident. With the addition of fun guest stars and new characters, the more the group convinces audiences the movie will be a good watch.
With skepticism surrounding the movie, Netflix and Sandler are not in the clear yet. Audiences loved “Happy Gilmore,” but there is no way to know they will love “Happy Gilmore 2” until July 25. Overall, people have mixed opinions, but die hard fans are waiting to see if their theories and hopes are realized. At the end of the day, the movie was a great one when it came out. If the sequel is bad, fans can just pretend like it does not exist.
