Happy Gilmore appeals to both MAGA and woke fans — and that's his genius

Indianapolis Star

3 days ago

There's a danger in trying to pull too much hidden meaning from an Adam Sandler movie.
For years, the comedian-turned-actor has starred in films that provide a few belly laughs ‒ at least for those of us with a certain sense of humor ‒ but not a lot of in-depth social commentary on the human condition.
With Sandler, dating to his time as a "Saturday Night Live" cast member during the early 1990s, what you see is mostly what you get. With his style of comedy, you either love it or you don't.
Except for the original "Happy Gilmore" and "The Wedding Singer," I find most of his movies unwatchable.
Yet there was something about the original "Happy" movie, featuring a failed hockey player who turns into an irreverent golfing sensation, that inspired a cult following and compelled Hollywood to greenlight a sequel almost 30 years after the first movie's debut.
After much more thought than a healthy person probably should give to such matters, I believe I've discovered why Happy Gilmore makes his fans happy: He's a character who appeals to both the woke- and the MAGA-oriented in our tribal society.
If you remember any tidbits of the first movie, the MAGA side of Happy Gilmore's personality was easy to see, two decades before Donald Trump's first successful run for the presidency.
As a hockey fan, Happy was a man's man. He had a short temper and a tendency for settling problems with his fists. He hated effeminate intellectual types, like the tax collector who was preparing to sell his grandmother's home at auction.
If Trump says what a lot of people are thinking, Happy did what a lot of people would like to do ‒ either by taking a whack at those who annoyed him or tossing them through glass doors.
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In the first movie, after discovering his talent for hitting long drives, Happy joined a professional golfing circuit, modeled after the real-life PGA Tour, then made a mockery of the sport's stuffy traditions and mannerisms.
Parts of the story are very familiar. "Caddyshack" was another golfing movie that poked fun at the snobbery of the country club set and the decadent lives its members led.
Happy and his followers in the first movie seem to identify strongly with the Make America Great Again crowd of modern-day politics, too. Happy's supporters at golf tournaments were bikers and other free-spirited individuals who delighted in following their Everyman hero's lead and defying rules and conventions aimed at ruining the common person's fun.
Happy was Trump before Trump burst onto the political scene.
That's not all, though: The Happy of the original movie was a pretty woke guy, too. Consider the people in his inner circle: There's his mentor, a Black former golfer. His caddy is a homeless person he meets at his first pro event.
His main love interest is the smart and capable tour communications director, who is dismissed by chauvinistic men in her life. His role model is his elderly grandmother.
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Happy seems to see the value in people regardless of their gender, social status, color or age. While he is short-tempered and prone to violence, he also is quick to show forgiveness and compassion toward the less fortunate.
That was the hidden genius of the first movie. Happy had traits that were relatable to people at both ends of our society's fragmented political spectrum. Die-hard conservatives and raging liberals alike could cherry-pick some of Happy's traits and claim him as their own.
So how did this character development translate in "Happy Gilmore 2"?
The new Happy, 30 years older and maybe somewhat wiser, hasn't mellowed all that much. He's still quick to use his fists to settle problems, or even toss those who bother him into a nearby lobster tank.
He also has four sons who have grown into regular working Joes, all doing manual labor jobs and sharing their dad's pugilistic tendencies. "Money is for snobs," one of them declares early in the movie.
Happy has a new live-in house guest − former pro golfer John Daly, an unabashed Trump supporter in real life, who plays himself in the movie. (Don't worry; there are plenty of other cameos from athletes, sportscasters and other celebrities to keep the surprises coming throughout the movie.)
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Happy 2.0 still has qualities that should also endear him to liberals. His new caddy is played by Bad Bunny, a Hispanic singer who endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. His allies in the movie include the son of his Black golfing mentor from the first movie and a transgender woman.
Happy spends a large portion of the movie trying to get his daughter into ballet school − in Paris, of all places − and he ends up defending some of the stodgy traditions he mocked in the first movie.
In short, whether you're a liberal or a conservative, it's not hard to find parts of Happy's personality that fit your worldview.
Whether that was by accident or design, it may explain why Hollywood thought movie fans would be willing to walk the course with Happy Gilmore again after all these years.