Happy Gilmore (1996)

A lot of people say that it was Billy Madison (1995) that put Adam Sandler on the map.  Well, that may be so, but it was Happy Gilmore that was responsible for cementing him as an A-list star.

Happy Gilmore is about a wannabe hockey player (Sandler) who can’t hack it on the ice rink.  When his grandmother faces financial troubles, he turns to golf to make some money and hopefully save her house.

The film is written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler.  It is directed by Dennis Dugan.  Dugan also has a minor supporting role in the film.  The rest of the notable cast includes Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Frances Bay, Carl Weathers, Allen Covert, Joe Flaherty, Kevin Nealon, Bob Barker and Ben Stiller.

Sandler brought a level of craziness to his character that not many actors could come close to pulling off.  His character is angry, sarcastic, violent, funny, and charming.  He has a potty-mouth and a temper, but you root for him anyway.  He says what is on his mind and acts impulsively.  He is excellent as Happy Gilmore.

McDonald has been in tons of movies and TV shows, but I like his performance in this film the best.  When you hate a bad guy in a movie so much, you know that he did an awesome job.

Bob Barker’s cameo appearance in this movie is priceless.

Ben Stiller is almost unrecognizable in his very small, but humorous part in the film.

I think it’s funny how much the Subway Restaurant got its products and logo all over this film.  They must have spent a fortune.

“Tuesday’s Gone” performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd will forever remind me of Happy Gilmore every time I hear the song playing.  Adam Sandler made sure of that.  I’m sure that he had a lot of influence over the soundtrack of the film.  I have noticed that most of his movies have similar genres of music.

I saw Happy Gilmore for the first time shortly after it came out on VHS.  I have since watched it maybe 30 times.  I admit that I have a lot of the movie memorized.  The dialogue in the film is great.  I find myself quoting the movie randomly in my everyday life.  Does that make me crazy?  Probably, but I don’t care.

Happy Gilmore is without a doubt, my favorite Adam Sandler movie.  It is also one of my favorite sports movies.  The film is a comedy classic.  I highly recommend this movie to anyone who has not seen it, and to the people that have, well you know what I’m talking about.

I rate this movie a 10 on a scale of 1-10.

Buy, rent, or run?  BUY!