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Happy Gilmore 2

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Happy Gilmore 2
At a golf course, Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore, stands in front of the audience who is cheering for Happy as he is seen looking at his left while holding on a hockey stick. His Hockey Jersey at the back reads "Gilmore" with the number 18.
Release poster
Directed byKyle Newacheck
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyZak Mulligan
Edited by
  • Brian Robinson
  • Tom Costain
  • J. J. Titone
Music byRupert Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • July 25, 2025 (2025-07-25)
Running time
118 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Happy Gilmore 2 is a 2025 American sports comedy film directed by Kyle Newacheck, and written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler. It is a sequel to Happy Gilmore (1996), and stars Sandler alongside Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Bad Bunny, and Ben Stiller. Sandler, Bowen, McDonald, Stiller, Dennis Dugan, and Kevin Nealon reprise their roles from the original film, with John Daly, Sunny Sandler, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Ethan Cutkosky, and Haley Joel Osment in supporting roles.

The film follows Happy Gilmore (played by Sandler), a widowed alcoholic and ex-golfer who returns to professional golf to help pay for his daughter's overseas ballet school. Filming for Happy Gilmore 2 took place in New Jersey from September to December 2024. It was released onto Netflix on July 25, 2025, and received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

[edit]

After winning his first Tour Championship in 1996,[a] Happy Gilmore has a successful golf career, winning five more championships. He also has five children with his wife Virginia Venit. After accidentally killing Virginia in 2014 when one of his drives hits her in the head, Happy feels devastated and quits golf out of guilt. He soon becomes an alcoholic and loses everything after a repossession worker sues him for instigating a brawl when mistaking the worker for a car thief.

Eleven years later, Happy works at a supermarket and lives with his only daughter and youngest child Vienna, while his four sons—Gordie, Wayne, Bobby, and Terry—have all moved out and are working to support their father and sister. Vienna wants to pursue dancing, and her dance teacher recommends enrolling in a four-year ballet school in Paris, which costs $75,000 yearly. Frank Manatee, CEO of Maxi Energy Drink and the upcoming golf league Maxi Golf, later approaches Happy and wants him to be the league's star. Happy refuses but resumes playing golf with encouragement from John Daly, wanting to win enough money to put Vienna through ballet school.

During his first round since Virginia died, Happy drinks heavily and crashes his golf cart, which gets him fired from his job and in legal trouble. A jury agrees to remove all charges if he completes an alcohol treatment program and refrains from any physical altercations. This treatment program's leader turns out to be Hal L., the caretaker who forced Happy's grandmother into sweat shop labor.[a]

Vienna and John advise Happy to practice seriously and to join the next Tour Championship, which he does. One month later, Happy meets old companions, including Doug Thompson, president of the Tour, who worries about Maxi Golf rising fast. After Happy suggests having a competition between the two leagues, Doug proposes a match with the five best players from each league competing against each other. Happy, with help from his new caddie, Oscar Mejías, plays well at the Tour Championship in the first three rounds, but collapses in the fourth round on Mother's Day, seeing visions of Virginia on the course before getting drunk, finishing sixth. The winner, Billy Jenkins, admits to being in Maxi Golf, having participated in the Tour Championship as a taunt, vacating his place on the team and enabling Happy to join.

Having been in psychiatric care since losing to Happy at the 1996 Tour Championship,[a] Shooter McGavin is granted a release by Frank. He explains to Shooter that all players on Maxi Golf, including Billy, have their iliolumbar ligament severed, increasing their driving distance, and asks him to join as their captain. Disgusted with this and how Frank's "extreme" version of golf highly strays from the traditional game, Shooter escapes. Having heard about Virginia's death, Shooter visits her grave and briefly fights Happy there before they call a truce. Happy later meets Slim Peterson, whose father Chubbs Peterson had mentored Happy in 1996, and Slim joins Shooter in coaching Happy, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler to face Maxi Golf.

During the match, Scottie gets disqualified in the first round for punching his opponent. Although the course is heavily designed to advantage Maxi Golf, as all their golfers are long drivers, the traditional golfers manage to make it 2-2, with the help of Shooter, who replaces Brooks after he gets injured. Happy and Billy then face off in a tie-breaker. Happy has a chance to putt for victory, but Frank alters the green to make it impossible to putt. He then makes a deal with Happy: if Happy misses the putt, Happy must join Maxi Golf. Otherwise, Frank must discontinue Maxi Golf, buy Happy's house back, pay for Vienna's ballet school, give Happy his new electric car, and open a new Italian restaurant for Oscar. With help from the lattermost, Happy sinks the putt and wins.

When Happy celebrates his three-month sobriety, Hal is exposed as a con artist and gets arrested. Maxi Energy Drink is discontinued after being revealed to cause significant oral health issues, leaving Frank in ruin and in hiding. Happy later accompanies his kids at an airport as they fly off to Paris, promising to join them after completing the British Open, but is forced to walk when he forgot to charge the electric car.

Cast

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  • Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore, a golfer who comes out of retirement
  • Julie Bowen as Virginia, Happy's deceased wife
  • Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin, Happy's rival who suffered a mental breakdown following his defeat at the end of the first movie
  • Benny Safdie as Frank Manatee, the CEO of Maxi Energy Drink and sponsor of Maxi Golf
  • Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny) as Oscar Mejías, Happy's caddy and a former busboy who dreams of owning a restaurant
  • John Daly as a fictionalized version of himself, a hermit who lives in Happy's garage
  • Ben Stiller as Hal L., the abusive leader of a support group for alcoholics. Stiller reprises his role as Hal L. from both the previous film and Hubie Halloween (2020).[3]
  • Jackie Sandler as Monica, Vienna's dance teacher
  • Sadie Sandler as Charlotte, a member of Hal L.'s support group
  • Sunny Sandler as Vienna, Happy's youngest child and only daughter who is an aspiring dancer
  • Maxwell Jacob Friedman as Gordie, Happy's eldest son
  • Ethan Cutkosky as Wayne, Happy's second son
  • Philip Fine Schneider as Bobby, Happy's third son
  • Conor Sherry as Terry, Happy's youngest son
  • Dennis Dugan as Doug Thompson, the head of the professional golf tour
  • Kevin Nealon as Gary Potter, a sports commentator and former golfer
  • Haley Joel Osment as Billy Jenkins, a young pro-golfer with a powerful swing similar to Happy's who defects to the Maxi Golf team
  • Lavell Crawford as Slim Peterson, son of Happy's late mentor Chubbs who also sports a prosthetic hand due to a vending machine incident
  • Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, and Scottie Scheffler as fictionalized versions of themselves, members of the team representing the traditional Tour Championship at the Maxi competition
  • Will Zalatoris as a fictionalized version of himself, depicted as Happy's previously-unnamed former caddy (played by Jared Van Snellenberg in the first film)
  • Eminem as Donald Floyd Jr., son of the late heckler Donald Sr. (known as the "Jackass" guy and played by Joe Flaherty in the first film)
  • Marcello Hernandez as Esteban, Oscar's cousin
  • Travis Kelce as Oscar's abusive boss at the club restaurant
  • Oliver Hudson as Harley, a Maxi Golf team member
  • Fernando Marrero as Screech, a Maxi Golf team member
  • Reggie Bush as 8-Ball, a Maxi Golf team member
  • Becky Lynch as Flex, a Maxi Golf team member
  • Boban Marjanović as Drago Larson, the son of Happy's late boss Mr. Larson (played by Richard Kiel in the first film)
  • Judy Sandler as Mrs. Larson
  • Nick Swardson as Ben Daggett
  • Blake Clark as a homeless man living on a beach

Cameos and returning characters

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Steve Buscemi portrays the Gilmores' neighbor Pat, Kym Whitley plays support group member Bessie, and John Farley appears as Nate. Eric André, Martin Herlihy, and Margaret Qualley appear as Steiner, Fitzy, and Sally, a trio of young golfers whom Happy joins, while Austin Post (Post Malone) portrays DJ Omar Gosh. Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi) plays an FBI agent. Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Kelsey Plum and musician Andrew Watt play the Golf course receptionists.

Verne Lundquist reprises his role as himself from the first film alongside Jack Giarraputo as Jack Beard. Robert Smigel reprises his role as the IRS agent from the first film, now working as a lawyer. Jon Lovitz plays a "dapper" man at a driving range and Rob Schneider appears as a dwarf riding a tricycle in Happy's imagination. Sportscaster Dan Patrick portrays Pat Daniels. Longtime Sandler collaborator Jonathan Loughran portrays the orderly who releases Shooter from the mental facility.

Professional golfer cameos

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Professional golfers Keegan Bradley, Fred Couples, Nick Faldo, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Sergio García, Charley Hull, Hunter Mahan, Collin Morikawa, Jack Nicklaus, Corey Pavin, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Lee Trevino (who also appeared in the first film), and Bubba Watson make cameo appearances as themselves.

Nelly Korda and Nancy Lopez appear alongside co-writer Tim Herlihy as the doctors overseeing Shooter's release from the mental facility, and Paige Spiranac plays an employee of Dick's Sporting Goods.

Celebrity appearances

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Famous non-golf personalities appearing as themselves.[4]

Via archival footage

[edit]

Sandler also paid tribute to his late Grown Ups and Grown Ups 2 co-star Cameron Boyce. In 2019, Boyce died at the age of 20 due to complications from epilepsy. During one scene, Boyce briefly appears on a television screen in a clip from the Disney Channel series Jessie (2011–2015), which Sandler also guest-starred on.[5]

In addition to this, footage from the original film and other sources is used in a heartfelt tribute during the final moments of the movie. As Happy walks off into the sunset, he looks to the sky and waves to several figures from his past, depicted through archival clips and visual effects. These include Grandma Gilmore (Frances Bay), golf coach Chubbs (Carl Weathers), Donald the Heckler (Joe Flaherty), Bob Barker, Happy’s former boss Mr. Larson (Richard Kiel). The scene serves as a nostalgic and emotional farewell, paying tribute to several beloved characters and actors from the original film, many of whom have passed away since its release.

Production

[edit]
The Times Square Ball replaced by a Happy Gilmore golf ball.

In September 2022, Adam Sandler stated that he hoped to eventually make a sequel to Happy Gilmore, saying he had been creating ideas for what a follow-up film would be, while stating the character would be involved in a senior golf tour.[6] In February 2024, Carl Weathers, who played Chubbs Peterson in the first film, died at age 76. Despite his character's death in the first film, he was set to reprise his role appearing as a ghost in Happy's dreams while his son Slim (Lavell Crawford) would resent Happy for causing his father's death. Weathers' death forced a heavy rewrite with Chubbs instead being given tributes throughout the film and Slim having already forgiven Happy and reduced to a smaller supporting role.[7] Other actors, who had died since the first film that are given tributes, include Frances Bay who played Grandma Anna Gilmore, Richard Kiel who played Mr. Larson, gameshow host Bob Barker who played himself and Joe Flaherty who played Donald the "Jackass" Guy, each of whom died in 2011, 2014, 2023 and 2024, respectively. An indirect tribute was given to Dustin Diamond (who died in 2021), due to the Maxi Golf character Screech being confused for Diamond's character of the same name from Saved by the Bell, despite Diamond and Sandler having never worked together.

In March 2024, Christopher McDonald revealed that a sequel was in development, and that Sandler had shown him a draft of the script to read.[8] During development, the LIV Golf league was founded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund to rival the PGA Tour, giving inspirations to the film's storyline of the rivalry between the Tour and Maxi Golf.[9]

In May 2024, it was announced that Netflix had greenlit the film, taking over for the first film's distributor Universal Pictures.[10] Kyle Newacheck was hired to direct the film, with Tim Herlihy co-writing the screenplay with Sandler. In July, Nick Swardson announced he would star in the film.[11] In August, Sandler revealed Benny Safdie would have a role in the film,[12] with football player Travis Kelce set to make a cameo.[13] In September, McDonald and Julie Bowen were confirmed to be reprising their roles, with Bad Bunny, Margaret Qualley, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman also added to the cast.[14][15][16] John Daly would reveal he had filmed scenes for the film.[17]

Principal photography began on September 9, 2024, in New Jersey, coinciding with Sandler's 58th birthday.[18] A casting call took place at a hotel in Morristown, New Jersey.[19] Filming locations in New Jersey include a country club in Bedminster,[20] a burger shop in Garfield,[21] a golf center in Hackettstown,[22] a nail salon in Maplewood,[23] a beach in Middletown,[24] a deli in Millburn,[25] a French restaurant in Montclair,[25] a cafe in Morristown,[26] a public school in Newark,[27] Seton Hall University in South Orange,[23] Montclair Golf Club in West Orange,[25] Verona Town Hall in Verona Township,[28] a boys & girls club in Kearny, and a Stop & Shop supermarket in Clifton. Filming wrapped on December 10, 2024.[29]

Release

[edit]

Happy Gilmore 2 premiered at the Lincoln Center in New York City on July 21, 2025.[30] The film was released on Netflix on July 25, 2025.[31] For the week of July 21 to 27, Happy Gilmore 2 ranked first on Netflix's top 10 English-language movies list, drawing 46.7 million views in three days. It is also the biggest US Netflix film debut of 2025, with 4.7 million views in the US over its opening weekend.[32]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 63% of 111 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "With Adam Sandler and company clearly having a good time, Happy Gilmore 2 thwacks hard with nostalgia when it should've putted but will still put fans of the original back in their happy place."[33] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[34]

Richard Roeper of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "The scatological 'humor' is as low-brow as it gets; either you find it funny or you don't. I've never been a huge fan of that ... stuff, but the physical, Three Stooges material has a certain, admittedly dumb, slapstick appeal. Still, Happy Gilmore makes par through the strength of its sheer stupid energy and the game efforts of Sandler and his 50 or so co-stars. It's good to be back in that Happy Place."[35]

Conversely, Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Other than a running gag revolving around Happy's use of every possible object as a liquor container, the film's main humor involves people being painfully hit by golf balls. By the time the movie ends and you've been assaulted by one tired gag after another, you'll know exactly how they feel."[1]

Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence gave the film a B- and commented "Between Happy's family life and a whole new series of challenges for him to tackle, there's enough freshness to the plot to keep it from feeling like a total rehash of what came before, while still delivering wild golf stunts and a huge range of cameos.[36]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c As depicted in Happy Gilmore

References

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  1. ^ a b c Scheck, Frank (July 25, 2025). "'Happy Gilmore 2' Review: Adam Sandler's Netflix Sequel Is Terrible — and Fans Will Love It". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  2. ^ "Happy Gilmore 2 (12)". British Board of Film Classification. July 24, 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  3. ^ Richards, Bailey (November 9, 2024). "Happy Gilmore Is Back! Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller Spotted Filming Long-Awaited Sequel in New Jersey". People. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  4. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (November 18, 2024). "'Happy Gilmore' Director Returning for Role in Netflix Sequel". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Garner, Glenn (July 26, 2025). "Adam Sandler Included Subtle Cameron Boyce Tribute In 'Happy Gilmore 2'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  6. ^ Clayton, Davis (September 29, 2022). "Adam Sandler Talks 'Hustle,' Hosting 'SNL' This Season and Being Open to 'Waterboy' Sequel: 'I Love Mama'". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Saperstein, Pat (July 17, 2025). "Adam Sandler Says 'Happy Gilmore 2' Had Massive Part for Carl Weathers". Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  8. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (March 22, 2024). "Happy Gilmore 2 Script in the Works From Adam Sandler, Says Original Film Star". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Schreiber, Max (July 26, 2025). "How Adam Sandler Got PGA Tour and LIV Golf Stars Together for 'Happy Gilmore 2'". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  10. ^ Grobat, Matt (May 15, 2024). "Happy Gilmore Sequel Greenlighted At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  11. ^ Chinman, Luke (August 7, 2024). "Happy Gilmore 2: All About Adam Sandler's Follow-Up to His '90s Comedy Classic". People. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  12. ^ Perella, Vincent (August 21, 2024). "Adam Sandler Confirms Benny Safdie Is in Happy Gilmore 2 and Says That His Josh Safdie Baseball Film Is 'Hopefully Going to Come Back'". IndieWire. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Evans, Greg (August 21, 2024). "Adam Sandler Says Travis Kelce Set For Happy Gilmore Sequel Cameo". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Galuppo, Mia (September 10, 2024). "Bad Bunny Joins Adam Sandler in 'Happy Gilmore 2' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  15. ^ "Margaret Qualley reveals how she got the part in Adam Sandler's 'Happy Gilmore 2'". The International News. September 25, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  16. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 27, 2024). "Professional Wrestling Star Maxwell Jacob Friedman Joins Adam Sandler In 'Happy Gilmore 2'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  17. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (September 27, 2024). "Happy Gilmore 2: Infamous Pro Golfer John Daly Reveals He Filmed Role in Netflix Sequel". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  18. ^ Harrison, Scoop (September 9, 2024). "Happy Gilmore 2 Officially Begins Production, Adam Sandler Reveals". Consequence Film. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  19. ^ Morel, Kyle (August 21, 2024). "The casting call for 'Happy Gilmore 2' drew a massive crowd to this small New Jersey town". Golfweek. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  20. ^ "'Happy Gilmore 2 ' Filming to Start at Fiddler's Elbow in Upcoming Weeks". TAPinto. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  21. ^ Ahmad, Manahil. "This North Jersey restaurant will be a filming spot for 'Happy Gilmore' sequel". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  22. ^ Barron, Sam (September 17, 2024). "Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow Spotted Filming 'Happy Gilmore 2' At Hackettstown Golf Course". Hackettstown Daily Voice. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "VIDEO: Adam Sandler Spotted Filming in South Orange & Maplewood". The Village Green. September 13, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  24. ^ Kuperinsky, Amy (September 17, 2024). "See photos of Adam Sandler on 'Happy Gilmore 2' set in N.J." NJ.com. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  25. ^ a b c Gallotto, Tony. "NJ Goes 'Ga-Ga' for 'Happy Gilmore' Star Adam Sandler". TAPinto. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  26. ^ Ahmad, Manahil. "Here's where Adam Sandler is filming 'Happy Gilmore 2' in NJ". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  27. ^ Kiefer, Eric (September 30, 2024). "'Happy Gilmore 2' Films In Newark; City Adds To Its Hollywood Resume". Patch Media. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  28. ^ Ahmad, Manahil. "Latest Adam Sandler North Jersey spotting comes in Verona while filming 'Happy Gilmore 2'". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  29. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (December 10, 2024). "Adam Sandler Celebrates 'Happy Gilmore 2' Wrapping Shoot, Teases Possible Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  30. ^ "PGA TOUR stars hit red carpet for Netflix's 'Happy Gilmore 2' premiere at Lincoln Center". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  31. ^ Grobar, Matt (February 13, 2025). "'Happy Gilmore 2's Conor Sherry Signs With Anonymous Content". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  32. ^ "'Happy Gilmore 2' Makes Massive Netflix Debut While 'KPop Demon Hunters' Breaks All the Streaming Rules". TheWrap. July 31, 2025. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  33. ^ "Happy Gilmore 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  34. ^ "Happy Gilmore 2". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  35. ^ Roeper, Richard (July 25, 2025). "Happy Gilmore 2". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  36. ^ Miller, Liz Shannon (July 25, 2025). "Happy Gilmore 2 Is Soaked in Nostalgia and Cameos: Review". Consequence. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
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