Review of Happy Gilmore (1996) by Stevenf — 09 Aug 2013

There isn no denying that the steam roller success story that is the career of Adam Sandler has had an impact on the comedy genre for the past 20 years. Whether loved or loathed, this guy has made a fortune attempting to make people laugh, Happy Gilmore, while juvenile, crude, promoting violence for laughs and being utterly brainless, is quite a hysterical and side-splitting story, for all its faults, one can't help but appreciate some of the hilarious scenes throughout the film.

Sandler stars as the titular character, a short-tempered and hockey player whose reckless behaviour lands him in many sticky spots, most notably not getting picked for his team for the next season. His stubbornness to play a game he isn't very good at, apart from a killer snapshot, puts him in the crosshair of a guy called Chubbs, who witnesses Happy and shot and sees a gleaming opportunity to stick him on a golf course, Happy sees the materialistic side of things after his grandmother has failed to pay her taxes and is placed in a nursing home, I suppose thats where the heart of the movie stems from.

This sets up what can only be described as ridiculous but also memorable scenes in comedy history. Happy of course receives a cold reception but immediately makes an impression, not to the amusement of the board. He curses, dresses casually and chats up girls cheering him on, and he also punches Bob Barker. With the shallow film though, there obviously comes the predictable nature of how things are going to play out, making for some rather senseless plot points and even characters. Happy himself is also quite a character who is difficult to relate to, his actions are often questionable and I can't help wonder, 'what was the point?" There is also a heavy basis of product placement, which sort of comes with Sandler territory nowadays, but when an actual ad, passed over as part of the film, actually appears in the running time, its enraging to say the least.

With all the flaws, Happy Gilmore certainly won't stick out to reasonable movie lovers, but it should maybe be known as a guilty pleasure for its hilarity in many moments, quite a talented cast including Ben Stiller running an OAP sweatshop and an array of famous faces does make quite a funny and long lasting film.