Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Fresh and Exciting

Captivating movie !

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is not only one of Adam Sandler's best movies but one of the best movies of all time in my opinion. I love Adam Sandler in almost everything he's in. Most people say Adam Sandler was only good in the 90s but I disagree even though I do think his older movies are better than the newer ones. This movie is a classic in its own right but not on the same level as Caddyshack. This movie has great slapstick, funny one liners, pretty good music, and some fine performances but Adam Sandler is the best thing about this movie. I also like the fact that it's one of the only times Adam Sandler shares the screen with Ben Stiller. I look forward to seeing them both in The Meyerowitz Stories. I love this movie!

I had not seen Happy Gilmore. People were shocked when I would say this but I also had zero desire to see it and the more time that passed, the less I wanted to see it. It seemed like it was in that vein of comedy that I didn't care for at all. I don't hate Adam Sandler, but I hate when he does stupid so I lumped Happy Gilmore into that. My wife insisted we check it out when they added it to Netflix so we gave it a try. Not only was Happy Gilmore not terrible, it was actually quite funny and silly but in all the right ways and you can actually see Adam Sandler's charisma that has made him a comedy staple for the last couple of decades. This was far better than his fare as of late. I even was especially impressed with that infamous and ridiculous fight between Happy and Bob Barker. Someone told me just before I watched this that I had to because it was a staple of 90's cinema and I scoffed at them. Well I take back my scoff. For all it's ridiculousness, it is a quintessential 90's film and it's the perfect type of movie to just turn your brain off and have some fun.Sometimes its hard now to figure out why Adam Sandler is so successful. But when you go back and look at Happy Gilmore you see the type of guy that came out of Saturday Night Live with a ton of talent. Happy is a great character full of anger and uncontrollable outbursts and he's funny and commands attention. Its not an Award worthy performance, it's just a fun role. A good part of the success of the movie is the supporting cast. Christopher Mcdonald is absolutely perfect as the egotistical nemesis to Happy. McDonald is always good at these types of character roles and this is no exception. Julie Bowen (now known for Modern Family of course) is decent as the love interest. Her character is very one-dimensional but she does alright. She certainly doesn't flex any comedic muscles in the role. Frances Bay, another great character actor, is perfect as Happy's beloved Grandmother. Some other faces to watch for are Bob Barker (of course), Ben Stiller, Joe Flaherty, Richard Kiel and Allen Covert to name some of the stronger supporting roles.Director Dennis Dugan has had a very interesting career. He has done a lot of Television and a lot of silly comedy. Then he seems to have hitched his ride to Adam Sandler and hasn't looked back since. I don't know if Dugan feels comfortable in the genre or what but this was one of his better films with Sandler so I guess he deserves credit. I'm not sure he has much style, he just sort of uses his cast decently and tells his story. Happy Gilmore is a dirty adult comedy but it's also not toilet humour for no other sake so I can respect that. I laughed a lot and had a good time so I eat my words and I admit to Happy Gilmore's deserved legacy in 90's film history. 8/10

The earlier Adam Sandler films, are the best. All Sandler films are harmless enough. The early ones are comical, joyful and unrealistic. This comedy ticks all those boxes. Happy Gilmore (Sandler) is a terrible hockey player with a mean swing and serious anger issues. Taking up golf under the wing of an expert (Carl Weathers), Happy smashes his way through tournaments to raise money and save his grandmother's house. Current golfing champion Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), hating the media attention Happy's receiving, plans to cut his golfing time short. Sandler's on top, ridiculous form, his anger delivers the hardest laughs. Happy Gilmore's story produces that comic edge with its unbelievable, can-do attitude, like a script originally for an animation. The comedy heavily outweighs the plot. Happy Gilmore is easy- going.

Happy Gilmore (1996): Dir: Dennis Dugan / Cast: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Carl Weathers, Christopher McDonald, Bob Barker: Not nearly as funny as Caddyshack, which worked due to its views of golf stereotypes. A name like Happy Gilmore indicates that he was the apple of his grandmother's eye but it never sustained his inner torment. He plays bad hockey but when his grandmother is forced into a nursing home by the I.R.S he promises to win her home back but he does so through golf. Carl Weathers coaches him then he feuds with champion Shooter McGaven. The idea of one's talent translating to unfamiliar places works as a plot but much of this is repetitious, predictable and stupid. Directed by Dennis Dugan who brought the world Problem Child. There are moments of visual flare but much of the humour is obnoxious. Nonetheless some viewers may relate to Adam Sandler as Gilmore whose willingness to help his grandmother is met with the struggle to maintain one's temper. Julie Bowen is basically a romantic prop to be won over. Christopher McDonald as Shooter is the high class antagonist. Weathers holds strong as a coach with a wooden hand due too an attack by an alligator. Bob Barker appears long enough to have a golf confrontation with Happy and beat the snot out of him. This is certainly no Caddyshack but it would be a great candidate for several cracks with a golf club. Score: 6 ½ / 10