Happy Gilmore is a 1996 sports
comedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by
Dennis DuganDennis Dugan is an American director, comedian, and actor. He is most famous for his partnership with comedic actor Adam Sandler, with whom he directed the films Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Grown Ups, Just Go With It, and Jack and...
and produced by
Robert SimondsRobert Bruce Simonds, Jr. is one of Hollywood’s most prolific and profitable producers of motion picture comedies. His over 30 features have generated in excess of $3.5 billion in world wide revenue. Simonds focuses on two distinct demographic markets...
for
Universal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. It stars
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a talent for golf. The screenplay was written by Sandler and
Tim HerlihyTim Herlihy is an American screen actor, film producer, screenwriter, and Broadway show author.Herlihy was born in Brooklyn, New York and is a graduate of the New York University School of Law. He frequently collaborates with Adam Sandler...
. This film was the first of several collaborations between Sandler and Dugan.
Plot
Happy Gilmore (
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
) is an aspiring
ice hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player who possesses a powerful and dangerous
slapshotA slapshot in ice hockey is the hardest shot. It has four stages which are executed in one fluid motion:# The player winds up his hockey stick by raising it behind his body, sometimes raising the blade to shoulder height or higher.# Next the player violently "slaps" the ice slightly behind the...
that his late father taught him as a child. However, Happy also possesses an overaggressive streak and lack of skating talent that consistently preclude him from joining a hockey team. His grandmother (
Frances BayFrances Bay was a U.S.-based Canadian character actress, best known for playing quirky, elderly women on film and television...
), who raised him after his father died, has not paid her
taxesAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
for many years. As such, she owes $270,000 to the IRS, and the house that Happy's grandfather "built with his bare hands" is about to be seized. Gilmore has only 3 months to come up with the money or else the house will be sold. Grandma Gilmore is forced to temporarily move into a retirement home, run by a sadistic manager named Hal (
Ben StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
in an uncredited role).
While repossessing Grandma's furniture, a pair of movers challenge Happy to hit golf balls, and his unorthodox hockey slapshot hits 400 yards three times, winning $40 as a result. This gives Happy the idea to go to the driving range to hustle golfers with his swing. When his prowess is noticed by former golf star and current club pro Chubbs Peterson (
Carl WeathersCarl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
), whose pro golf career ended when his hand was bitten off by an
alligatorAn alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
, he convinces Happy to enter a local tournament by telling him he can make the money to buy back his grandmother's house. Happy wins the tournament and earns a spot on the Pro Golf Tour (fictionalized golf tour based on the
PGA TourThe PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
). Chubbs advises Happy to hold off on joining the tour for six months, so that Chubbs can make him a better all-around golfer. Against Chubbs' advice, Happy joins the tour immediately.
On the tour, Happy makes an instant enemy of pretentious and arrogant star Shooter McGavin (
Christopher McDonaldChristopher McDonald is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore, Tappy Tibbons in Requiem for a Dream, and Mel Allen in the HBO film 61*.-Personal life:...
), who sees Happy as a detriment to golf and a threat to his career. In addition, Happy discovers that although he has a powerful drive, his putting is terrible, and his violent outbursts and lack of golf etiquette eventually prompt Shooter to ask Doug Thompson (Dugan), the commissioner of the tour, to expel Happy. But Happy's antics are garnering the tour's highest television ratings, increasing attendance and drawing more youthful sponsors, and Shooter's request is denied. To help Happy cool down and start acting more professionally, tour PR head Virginia Venit (
Julie BowenJulie Bowen is an American film and television actress. She played Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal. She is best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011...
) is assigned to him by the tour. In addition to a romance forming between the two, Happy tells Virginia the truth of why he entered the tour and she agrees to keep it between them. Happy begins to develop a cooler head while continuing to improve in tournaments much to the chagrin of Shooter, who decides to take matters into his own hands and hire Donald (
Joe FlahertyJoe Flaherty is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy SCTV, from 1976 to 1984, and as Harold Weir on Freaks and Geeks...
), a mentally unbalanced fan, to heckle Happy at the next tournament, the Pepsi Pro-Am, a tournament where tour pros team up with celebrities.
At the tournament, Happy is paired with
Bob BarkerRobert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
, then host/executive producer of the long-running
CBS DaytimeCBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS. It's the branding for the CBS Television Network's late morning and early afternoon programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows, and talk shows...
game show,
The Price Is RightThe Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
. Donald immediately starts taunting and distracting him, taking Happy's focus off his game so much that he plays terribly. Exasperated at Happy's poor performance, Barker even begins heckling him before they break into a full-scale brawl (which Barker wins). As a result, Happy is suspended from the tour and fined $25,000. All is not lost as Happy secures an endorsement deal with
SubwaySubway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, which gives him enough money to buy back Grandma's house and pay the fine.
However, Happy discovers that the house is to be sold at an auction – something he did not know before. Despite bidding the entire sum of his endorsement deal, Happy is summarily outbid by Shooter, who he angrily confronts. Shooter is willing to let Happy have the house back, but on one condition – that he quit the pro tour. Happy agrees to quit but is dissuaded by Virginia, who tells him Grandma would rather see him succeed at life than have the house. Happy then decides to make a bet with his rival based on the upcoming
Tour ChampionshipThe Tour Championship was historically the final event of golf's PGA Tour season. Since 2007, it has been the final event of the FedEx Cup, the competition for the first official championship trophy for the PGA Tour season. From 1987 to 1996, several courses hosted the event...
– if Happy places higher than Shooter, he gets the house back, but if Happy finishes behind Shooter he will leave the tour; Shooter agrees. Although Virginia is confident Happy will win, Happy is not as sure and seeks the help of Chubbs. Happy finally admits his own mistakes and agrees to work with Chubbs. Together they head to a
miniature golfMiniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
course so Happy can improve his putting, which he does. Pleased with Happy's progress, Chubbs gives his protege a modified putter, fashioned in the shape of a hockey stick, as a present to use for the tournament. In return, Happy presents Chubbs with the head of the alligator that took his hand (which Happy had killed in a previous tournament). Horrified by the sight, Chubbs reels backward and falls out an open window to his death.
Determined to win the tournament for Chubbs, Happy goes head-to-head with Shooter. Shooter is stunned that Happy has been keeping up with him, and by the end of the third day of the tournament, Happy is leading Shooter. In desperation, Shooter once again calls on Donald. The next day Shooter's plan comes into action, as Donald hits Happy with a
Volkswagen BeetleThe Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
, which he proceeds to ram into a television tower at the 18th hole. An injured Happy refuses to forfeit the tournament, but quickly discovers that he has lost the ability to hit the long drive and drops from the lead by several shots heading into the final holes. However, after applying a lesson from Chubbs, and receiving an important morale boost from Grandma, he is able to refocus and ties Shooter going to the 18th hole. After Shooter makes his shot for par, the TV tower collapses and blocks Happy's putt for birdie. Happy is forced to take his shot with the tower in the way, and once again uses what Chubbs taught him to make a trick shot to win The Tour Championship and the house.
Afterwards, a hysterical Shooter attempts to steal Happy's gold jacket, but is quickly beaten up by Happy's old boss, Mr. Larson (
Richard KielRichard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
), and an angry mob of spectators. The film closes with Happy being congratulated by the two-handed ghost of Chubbs,
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, and the alligator.
Cast
- Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
as Happy Gilmore, a young man who lives life wanting to be a professional ice hockey player. Due to his grandmother not paying her taxes, her house is repossessed, and is to be sold at auction. Happy intends to get the house back and starts playing golf in order to raise the money to do so. He is the main protagonist.
- Christopher McDonald
Christopher McDonald is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore, Tappy Tibbons in Requiem for a Dream, and Mel Allen in the HBO film 61*.-Personal life:...
as Shooter McGavin, an arrogant, cocky golfer who is the best on the "Pro-Golf Tour" (fictionalized golf tour based on the PGA TourThe PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
). After Happy joins, he becomes jealous of the attention Happy receives, and shows his dislike of Happy being on the tour. He is the main antagonist.
- Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen is an American film and television actress. She played Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal. She is best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011...
as Virginia Venit, a Public Relations Director for the PGT. She eventually becomes Happy Gilmore's love interest.
- Frances Bay
Frances Bay was a U.S.-based Canadian character actress, best known for playing quirky, elderly women on film and television...
as Grandma Gilmore; she took Happy Gilmore in as a child when his mother left him and his father died. She is adored by Happy, who would do anything to keep her happy.
- Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
as Chubbs Peterson, a pro golfer who was forced to retire early when his hand was bitten off by an alligator. He encourages Happy to take up golf and coaches him.
- Allen Covert
Allen Stephen Covert is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Adam Sandler.-Personal life:...
as Otto, a homeless man who becomes Happy's caddy. Covert reprises the role in Adam Sandler's 2011 film Jack and Jill.
- Kevin Nealon
Kevin Nealon is an American actor and comedian, best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995, acting in several of the Happy Madison films, for playing Doug Wilson on the Showtime series Weeds, and providing the voice of the title character, Glenn Martin on Glenn Martin,...
as Gary Potter, the eccentric PGT pro Happy plays with in his first tournament. Happy eventually beats him up due to his "bad advice".
- Richard Kiel
Richard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
as Mr. Larson, Happy's towering former boss, who was accidentally shot in the head with a nail gun by Happy and later became one of his former employee's biggest fans.
- Dennis Dugan
Dennis Dugan is an American director, comedian, and actor. He is most famous for his partnership with comedic actor Adam Sandler, with whom he directed the films Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Grown Ups, Just Go With It, and Jack and...
as Doug Thompson, the commissioner of the Pro Golf Tour. Dennis is also the director of this movie.
- Joe Flaherty
Joe Flaherty is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy SCTV, from 1976 to 1984, and as Harold Weir on Freaks and Geeks...
as Unruly Fan; known only as Donald, this fan of Shooter's is recruited by Shooter to heckle Happy at the Pro-AM, frequently calling him a "jackass". He later hits Happy with his Volkswagen BeetleThe Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
at the Tour Championship.
- Lee Trevino
Lee Buck Trevino is an American professional golfer. He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as "The Merry Mex" and "Supermex". He won six major championships over the course of his career.-Early life:...
as Himself; appears in five scenes, usually to express disbelief at something that has happened. He only has one line in the whole film, letting Shooter know that Grizzly Adams had a beard.
- Bob Barker
Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
as Himself, Happy's celebrity golf partner at the Pro-AM.
- Verne Lundquist
Merton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. is an American sportscaster, currently employed by CBS Sports television.-Early life and career:Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota...
as Himself, the main announcer for all of the tournaments shown.
- Mark Lye
Mark Ryan Lye is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.Lye was born in Vallejo, California. He attended San Jose State University, where he was a three-time All-American as a member of the golf team. He graduated in 1975 and turned pro later that year...
as Himself, appears as himself in one scene with Happy and Shooter.
- Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
(uncredited) as Hal, the retirement home manager that Grandma Gilmore moves to, and uses the residents for slave labor.
Critical response
Happy Gilmore received mostly mixed reviews from critics. On the film ranking website
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film received a score of 59% based on 51 reviews, as of 8 May 2011; the site's consensus states: "Those who enjoy Adam Sandler's schtick will find plenty to love in this gleefully juvenile take on professional golf; those who don't, however, will find it unfunny and forgettable."
Brian Lowry of
VarietyVariety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
stated that "The general tone nevertheless makes it difficult to elevate the gags beyond an occasional chuckle". Lowry only noted a few scenes he found inspired, including the fight scene with
Bob BarkerRobert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
and when Happy attempts to find his "Happy Place" which was described as "
FelliniesqueFederico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
".
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film one and a half stars out of four, stating that Adam Sandler's character "doesn't have a pleasing personality: He seems angry even when he's not supposed to be, and his habit of pounding everyone he dislikes is tiring in a PG-13 movie". Ebert also noted the film's
product placementProduct placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
stating that he "probably missed a few, but I counted
Diet PepsiDiet Pepsi is a no-calorie carbonated cola soft drink produced by PepsiCo, introduced in 1964 as a variant of Pepsi-Cola with no sugar. First test marketed in 1963 under the name Patio Diet Cola, it was re-branded as Diet Pepsi the following year, becoming the first diet cola to be distributed on a...
,
PepsiPepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
,
Pepsi MaxPepsi Max is a low-calorie, sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.It differs from Pepsi in that it contains aspartame, potassium benzoate, acesulfame potassium, calcium disodium EDTA and panax ginseng extract while it does not contain high fructose corn...
, Subway sandwich shops,
BudweiserBudweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
(in bottles, cans, and Bud-dispensing helmets), Michelob, Visa cards, Bell Atlantic,
AT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
,
SizzlerSizzler is a United States-based restaurant chain with headquarters in Culver City, California. The chain serves steak, seafood, and salad , as well as similar items.-History:...
,
Wilson- People :* Wilson * Woodrow Wilson , 28th President of the United States* Wilson Francisco Alves , often only Wilson, Brazilian footballer of Brazil and Vasco da Gama* Harold Wilson, UK Prime Minister 1964-70, 1974-6...
,
Golf DigestGolf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
, the
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
sports network, and Top-Flite golf balls".
Despite mixed reviews, the film has garnered a large cult following. The movie continues to enjoy widespread appeal among young adult audiences and is considered to be one of Adam Sandler's funniest films.
Box office
Happy Gilmore was a respectable box office hit, ranking #2 at the box office on its debut weekend with $8.5 million in revenue. In total, it made $41 million worldwide, with $38 million of that domestic.