Netflix is about to lose this Adam Sandler comedy movie at the worst time possible — here's your last day to stream 'Happy Gilmore'
Yes, everyone's fave unorthodox golfer entered the Tour Championship way back in 1996, but he's coming out of retirement on July 25 for the streaming service's legacy sequel, "Happy Gilmore 2."
Anticipation is building, as fans have sent Happy's original outing to the top 10 on Netflix. So, with hype there, and the impending sequel, now feels like it'd be a pretty bad time for Netflix to lose the original "Happy Gilmore" movie, right?
Well, unfortunately, that's exactly what's about to happen. Thanks to a warning that's flagged on the movie's listing page, we know that "Happy Gilmore" is leaving Netflix soon. If you're planning your viewing, your last day to stream "Happy Gilmore" on Netflix U.S. is Thursday, July 31.
That's just a handful of days after the sequel drops, so if you want to stream both films back to back, you'll only have a very small window to do so on Netflix.
And if you haven't seen the original Sandler comedy before, here's a little more info about the film to help you decide whether to bump it up your watchlist or not.
Dennis Dugan's sports comedy "Happy Gilmore" follows Adam Sandler's titular dreamer. Happy hopes to become an ice hockey player, but even though he's developed a powerful slapshot, his temper and ice skating skills prevent him from making it big.
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When he discovers that his grandmother owes the IRS a lot of money and is at risk of losing her home, Happy discovers that his slapshot could be put to use in an entirely different sport altogether: golf.
Mentored by Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers), Happy sets out to dominate the sporting world to try and earn enough money to pay off his grandmother's debts.
In addition to Sandler and Weathers, "Happy Gilmore" also stars Christopher McDonald as Happy's rival, Shooter McGavin, Julie Bowen as Virginia Venit, Frances Bay as Happy's grandmother, plus Ben Stiller, Will Sasso, Bob Barker, Allen Covert, Richard Kiel, and more.
Reviews for "Happy Gilmore" are somewhat divided. At the time of writing, the movie holds a 63% critics' score on the review aggregate platform, Rotten Tomatoes.
The site's consensus reads: "Those who enjoy Adam Sandler's schtick will find plenty to love in this gleefully juvenile take on professional golf; those who don't, however, will find it unfunny and forgettable."
Reviewing for Empire, Darren Bignell gave the movie a 3-star rating, writing: "Sandler becomes more personable as the film progresses, and there's a couple of truly side-splitting scenes. And there's a nice edge to the McEnroe-style histrionics because, at the end of the day, it's exactly what most spectators would really love to see on the fairway."
The Washington Post's Richard Harrington, meanwhile, said at the time: "'Happy Gilmore' may not be an ace in the hole, but it beats par by a long shot."
Roger Ebert, however, wasn't so fond of Sandler's comedy. "Happy Gilmore" earned a 1.5-star rating from the critic, who said: "'Happy Gilmore' tells the story of a violent sociopath. Since it's about golf, that makes it a comedy," and argued it was "the latest in the dumber and dumbest sweepstakes" at the time..
Admittedly, it's been a long time since I revisited "Happy Gilmore" myself, but I do remember getting a few laughs at Happy's antics. It's not my favorite comedy by any stretch, but I'm sure there's still some laughs to be had, if you can get a kick out of Happy's explosive temper (and you don't mind all the brand-name dropping).
The fan score is significantly higher, currently sitting at 85% (based on over 250,000 ratings). Take a quick scroll through audience reactions logged on the site, and you'll see a wide range of scores, from plenty of 5-star reviews and fans labelling it a "classic" (even if there are some less-than-stellar reactions, too).
All told, if you're convinced by the audience reactions, you know you like Sandler's brand of comedy and/or you're excited for the sequel, then you probably have your answer: yes, you should stream "Happy Gilmore" on Netflix before it disappears.
If you're not excited or just don't get on with this kind of comedy caper, we can still help you find your next watch: check out our round-ups of the best Netflix comedies or the best movies on Netflix for tons more streaming recommendations.
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