Adam Sandler returns in Happy Gilmore 2
The long awaited Netflix follow-up to Adam Sandler's 1996 cult classic is so bad that its two-hour runtime feels twice that length, and one wonders how it can be classified as a comedy because it's about as funny as gingivitis, which, incidentally, is one of numerous punchlines in the film that fall flat.
It's actually astonishing a film with this many cameos - from famous real-life golf pros like Scottie Scheffler to Post Malone and Hollywood starlet Margaret Qualley - can be so mind-numbingly boring.
And this critic says that as an unashamed fan of the original, and as someone who has a keen appreciation for Sandler's singular brand of everyman comedy.
Of course, as you'd expect, there's a ton of fan service here, beginning with a recap of the first film to set the scene for the sequel.
Sandler's Gilmore, the failed ice hockey player turned pro golfer, has enjoyed a ton of success since we last saw him, winning five more tour championships and fathering five children to Virginia, his love interest from the original.
But it all goes horribly wrong one day when a wayward tee shot hits Virginia in the noggin, killing her instantly.
Happy swears he'll never play golf again, and drowns his sorrows in drink, much to the dismay of his now-adult kids.
His daughter (played by Sandler's real-life daughter, Sunny) is an aspiring ballet dancer, and winning a place at an expensive dance school in Paris might just be the motivation Happy needs to get back on the golf course.
First he'll need to find his 'happy place', which has changed significantly from the first movie and now includes age-appropriate features such as positive results from cholesterol tests and time alone to watch internet videos on the toilet.
That isn't the only thing standing in the way of making his daughter's dream comes true - a rival golf tour (a lampoon of LIV that goes by the name of the MAXI Golf League) is posing an existential threat to the sport itself.
So, in case you haven't already figured it out, Happy must rediscover his love for the game, remaster his inimitable tee shots and see off the challenge from MAXI.
It results in a ridiculously convoluted plot, which tries to shoehorn legacy characters, such as Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) and Ben Stiller's abusive retirement home orderly, into roles that make little sense.
And Bad Bunny as Happy's caddy could've been fantastic but somehow ends up lame, which pretty much sums up the whole film.
Easily one of Sandler's worst movies.
1 star
Happy Gilmore 2 is available to stream on Netflix now.
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