• Directed by Kyle Newacheck
• Written by Tim Herlihy & Adam Sandler
• Release Date: 07/25/2025
• Runtime: 118 minutes

Spoiler free mini review – Hockey wannabe turned golf pro Happy Gilmore returns to the silver-ish screen with the Netflix original sequel that’s been 29 years in the making. It funny, self-referential and lighthearted, but maybe a little too much of a cash grab to be anything substantial.

At its core, the sequel is a good-natured charmer about a troubled everyman who is trying hard to grow up without losing himself in the process, and it gives us a lot to laugh about on the way. – Collider

In an era were movie execs and studios can be gun-shy about new and different intellectual property, you’re starting to see this kind of thing creep up more and more. Banking on the nostalgia of movie goers everywhere, things that were popular in yester-year (and are probably still quoted today) are being rehashed, sequeled and redone for a new audience, with some amount of creditability that the studios can guarantee. There are elements of Happy Gilmore 2 that most certainly feel like a cash grab, all too predictable and wrote, but there is enough that shines through that makes it a decent watch.

There were some bits that were actually unpredictable, like the killing off of Virginia in the first 5 minutes, at the hands of Happy himself no less. Also the sheer number of references, callbacks and cameos that appear in this film. I know Adam Sandler is a popular guy in Hollywood, but holy hell, this movie must have every celebrity he’s ever met, popping up somewhere. From Professional Football Player Travis Kelce as a club waiter, to Former Pro Golfer turned Social Media Personality Paige Spiranac as a Sporting Goods Store employee. The Sandler family gets in on the action as well, with Sandler’s wife and some of his daughters being cast in secondary roles. It’s actually impressive the volume of cameos present in this film, that it might warrant a second watch.

If what you have been really jonesing for in the last 30 years is a second Happy Gilmore, this movie will probably scratch all your itches and give you all the warm and fuzzies. It’s exactly what you would expect from a Happy Gilmore sequel, and as the viewer you get the wonderful job of deciding whether or not that’s a good thing. The movie is entertaining, albeit cheesy, the cameos are fun, and Sandler actually shows a little range in his performance, while spending about a third of the movie as Sad Gilmore. If you’ve got a spare afternoon and need a few good chuckles, throw it on in the background, if nothing more than just to say you did.

I would recommend Happy Gilmore 2 to all Adam Sandler fans, fans of the original movie, golfing fans and fans of lighthearted, self-referential comedies.