“Happy Gilmore 2” releases via Netflix on July 25. A trailer for the legacy sequel was released today. It might as well have been AI-generated. This will be a purely nostalgia-driven affair. Not a single original thought, or laugh, is hinted at in the footage shown.
In the trailer, we see a now-bearded Happy squaring off against old nemesis Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald). His main squeeze, Julie Bowen, briefly appears to cheer him on. Ben Stiller’s Hal makes a cameo. The footage falls flat. Not a single laugh can be found — unless you consider the image of an old man fondling his nipples to be the stuff of comedy gold.
Is it just me or does Sandler looks exhausted these days? It’s like he’s running on fumes — a broken man. I guess that’s what happens when you sign a multi-year deal with the devil …
Sandler is in the middle of a $250M Netflix deal, and he’s so far starred in 12 straight Netflix originals — the only watchable ones being “The Meyerowitz Stories” and “Hustle.” Everything else played like repackaged junk food.
Dennis Dugan isn’t returning to direct “Happy Gilmore 2.” Instead, it’s Kyle Newacheck who’s helming “Happy Gilmore 2.” Newacheck is no stranger to Netflix, or Sandler, as he directed “Murder Mystery”, in which Sandler co-starred alongside Jennifer Aniston. That movie, at one point, sat in Netflix’s most-watched movie list of all time, with 83 million views.
In the original ‘Happy Gilmore,’ Sandler introduced audiences to his failed hockey player who finds unexpected success on the pro golf tour. It only made $38M at the box-office, but ended up becoming a major success on home video and is now regarded, by many, as Sandler’s signature role.
“Happy Gilmore 2” has an ensemble that includes Sandler, Benny Safdie, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Bad Bunny, Nick Swardson, Margaret Qualley, Travis Kelce, and Ben Stiller.