Happy Gilmore 2 is shaping up to be a very different movie than the classic original – and that’s a good thing, because it means it won’t just be a rehash of the first one. Nearly three decades after the original film was released in 1996, Adam Sandler is returning to his iconic role as a rage-filled golfer for a sequel to Happy Gilmore. The sequel is set up at Netflix, with Sandler reprising his role as Happy, Christopher McDonald reprising his role as Shooter McGavin, and Julie Bowen reprising her role as Virginia Venit.
They’ll be joined by newcomers Benny Safdie, Nick Swardson, and Bad Bunny, and Travis Kelce is set to make a cameo appearance. Kyle Newacheck, who previously directed Sandler in 2019’s Murder Mystery, is on board to helm the sequel. Sandler has co-written the script with his original co-writer Tim Herlihy and production on Happy Gilmore 2 is currently underway. As the sequel is starting to take shape, it’s becoming apparent that Happy Gilmore 2 will be a very different movie than its predecessor – and that’s a promising sign, because the worst sequels are afraid to try new things.
Happy Gilmore 2 Can’t Repeat The First Movie’s Underdog Story
It Doesn’t Make Sense For Happy To Be The Underdog Again
Like many great sports movies, Happy Gilmore is a classic sports underdog tale. Happy is a wannabe hockey player who consistently gets rejected at every tryout. When he finds that his rageful approach to hockey transfers to golf, he enters a golfing tournament in a bid to win enough money to buy back his grandmother’s foreclosed home. It has all the elements of a quintessential underdog story: a bid for a sporting championship against the odds, a player who’s seemingly outmatched by most of his peers, and a high-stakes reason to win the gold.
But given Happy’s success at the end of the first movie, it wouldn’t make much sense for him to be the underdog again in the sequel. In Rocky II, Rocky Balboa could continue to be the underdog, because he didn’t win his fight against Apollo Creed in the first film. Once Rocky became a successful boxer, the franchise let go of its underdog story and instead focused on Rocky grappling with the foibles of fame. The Happy Gilmore sequel needs to do something similar. Since Happy can’t be the underdog anymore, the sequel needs to find its conflict elsewhere.
Adam Sandler Should Give A Different Performance In Happy Gilmore 2
Happy Changed A Lot Throughout The First Movie
Although Happy Gilmore 2 is cashing in on the success and endearing popularity of the original movie, Sandler can’t just repeat his performance from the first one. He’s hilarious in Happy Gilmore, juxtaposing the white-hot rage of the hockey rink with the classy decorum of the golf course, but the character changed a lot throughout the film. As the first movie goes on, Happy mellows out a bit and learns to control his rage a bit more. After falling in love and taking the golf tournament seriously, Happy begins to mature and cool off.
Anger is one of Sandler’s go-to areas for comedy, and he’s great at playing temper tantrums for laughs, but almost 30 years later, is that really what the character should be?Happy Gilmore 2 should probably retain a bit of Happy’s rage and include a couple of his signature tantrums, so that it still feels like the same character. But overall, Sandler’s portrayal of Happy should be a little more nuanced in the sequel. Sandler has grown a lot as an actor in those three decades, so he can pull off a more multidimensional performance as Happy.
Happy Gilmore 2 Being Very Different Is Good For Adam Sandler’s Sequel
Happy Gilmore 2 Needs To Be More Than Just A Rehash Of The Original
Happy Gilmore doesn’t need a sequel, so as long as Sandler and co. are making one, it has to be more than just play-the-hits nostalgia bait. Sandler doesn’t do many sequels; outside of Grown Ups 2, Murder Mystery 2, and a couple of Hotel Transylvania sequels, he’s left most of his films alone. None of the movies he’s made sequels to in the past have been considered one of his all-time classics like Happy Gilmore is.
Sandler produced, but did not star in, previous sequels like
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
,
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
, and
Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser
.
So, for Sandler to be risking ruining one of his best movies by making a sequel, he needs a much better reason than just relying on the audience’s nostalgia. If Happy Gilmore 2 just rehashes the original, then it’ll be another underwhelming legacy sequel, tarnishing the reputation of a beloved classic. Happy Gilmore 2 needs its own identity separate from its predecessor.