Warning: this article contains spoilers for Happy Gilmore 2
Adam Sandler is continuing his very successful Netflix streak with his latest project,Happy Gilmore 2, a legacy sequel to one of the actor’s most iconic and beloved works,Happy Gilmore, released in 1996, about a hockey fan who is caught up in a golf tournament after discovering that he has a natural talent for the sport.
The original movie is often touted as one ofSandler’s best comedic works, and the fact that a sequel took so long to come out is somewhat surprising given Hollywood’s propensity for milking any successful franchise for all it’s worth.
While the original film did have a solid core message and some fun characters,the humor was the main selling point, and that trend hascontinued intoHappy Gilmore 2, with plenty of funny moments strewn throughout the movie that manage to uplift some of the more shaky storytelling decisions, with these being the absolute best.
10Happy’s New Happy Place
The Character Has Matured Quite A Bit
In the originalHappy Gilmore, one of the most memorable recurring moments was Happy going to his “Happy Place” whenever he needed to focus, which was very much focused on Virginia in lingerie holding up a pair of pitchers filled with beer, waiting for him.
While that scene reappears in Happy’s happy place,after he stops drinking, he needs to come up with a new one, which ends up being much more down-to-earth and understandable for a man in his late 50s as opposed to in his 20s, from having low cholesterol to fitting into medium-sized clothing.
This moment returning is not only a fun reference to the original, but it also works on its own, as, since the last time we saw this character, he was nearly 30 years younger, so his priorities would change a lot as he aged, similarly to how people who watched the original when they were kids would have also changed quite a bit.
9Screech From Saved By The Bell
The Screech In Happy Gilmore 2 Is Very Different
One of the reasons thatHappy Gilmore 2’s humor worked was because a lot of it was very absurdist, with a lot of non-sequiturs and moments where the humor was derived from how out of nowhere the moment was, and this scene, which referenced the classic 90s sitcomSaved by the Bell, was just that.
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Rebecca Quinn
While simply pointing out that Screech, one of the Maxi golfers, had the same name as one of theSaved by the Bellcharacterswouldn’t be all that funny on its own, the fact that there was a group of fans who had somehow confused the golf-playing, chainsaw-wielding maniac with a character from a sitcom made the moment worth mentioning.
8Stephen A. Smith Recommending The Electric Chair
One Of The Movie’s Most Relevant Cameos
One of the biggest recurring elements ofHappy Gilmore 2was the cameos, which were persistent across the entire movie, from characters from the original that made a short reappearance to some huge names just showing up as entirely new additions, andone of the funniest of these cameos was Stephen A. Smith’s showing.
Several other sports casters had cameos in the movie, including Chris Berman and Jim Gray, though their roles were very minor compared to Smith’s.
Smith is a sports analyst who has become very well-known in recent years for his over-the-top personality, which made him an excellent choice for a role in this movie, and the fact that he wanted Happy to face the electric chair for riding drunk in a golf cart is a very funny exaggeration of his regular television persona.
7Esteban Needs Money
And He’s Willing To Do Anything For It
Esteban’s recurring bit was that he was willing to let people do anything to him for the sake of earning a few bucks, which, while a relatively common side character trope in comedy movies, worked well here inHappy Gilmore 2, as the film took that premise to its limits.
The main scene where this came up was after the traditional golfers knocked him down with golf balls, and Happy began to demonstrate how they fight in hockey, before Esteban allowed himself to be knocked out by him for only 50 dollars.Marcello Hernandez’s delivery of his lines was hilariousand really sold Esteban’s undue excitement at getting some cash.
6Steve Buscemi Doing Ballet
He Wasn’t Allowed To Hit The Car
One of the most surprising cameos in this film wasSteve Buscemias Happy’s terrible neighbor, who spent the movie peeing on mailboxes and being a general nuisance,and was also very interested in learning ballet alongside Happy’s daughter, Vienna,and her ballet instructor.
Seeing this scene just escalate as it went on, ending with Buscemi doing some fake ballet as a distraction before sprinting off, was the main reason it was so funny.
His character culminated in a moment where Happy’s kids all began attacking his car because it had stopped working, andout of nowhere, Buscemi’s character joined in, leading to the kids leaving the car behind and going after him for doing the same thing that they were.
Buscemi’s character had appeared in the background of a few scenes prior, but this is where he was focused on for the first time, and seeing this scene just escalate as it went on, ending with Buscemi doing some fake ballet as a distraction before sprinting off, was the main reason it was so funny.
5All The Inmates Are Let Go
Happy’s Victory Helped Out A Lot Of People
One of the funniest random moments of the film came during theending ofHappy Gilmore 2, when, after Happy wins the tournament and finally beats Maxi for good, the warden of the psychiatric hospital that Shooter McGavin was kept in simply lets the rest of the inmates go, and they storm out of the hospital in a mad rush.
This was one of those moments that worked simply because of how unexpected it was to see. The hospital only really existed to serve as a way to reintroduce McGavin, and seeing it reappear only for the warden to let everyone leave because of a golf match was the kind of absurd joke that made this movie work.
4Nursing Home Lady
Easily The Darkest Joke In The Film
This was easily the darkest joke in the movie, where, after Happy and Shooter are done fighting each other in a cemetery, they hear a voice calling out from a grave, screaming to be let out, and the implication here is that the nursing home lady was buried alive.
Most ofHappy Gilmore 2’s humor is fairly tame and surface-level, not getting too deep, and while this moment also isn’t particularly deep,it was very surprising to see the film include such a dark moment just for the sake of humor, especially considering this is the only place where this kind of joke shows up in the film.
3Eminem’s Cameo
No More Mom’s Spaghetti
One of the best cameos inHappy Gilmore 2was the appearance of rapper Eminem, as, even though he doesn’t have much of a connection to the franchise outside his appearance here, he was a funny callback to the original, instead of just being a recognizable face.
Eminem played Donald Jr., who was the son of the heckler who shouted “Jackass” at Happyfrom the originalHappy Gilmore, and while Eminem initially just does the same thing, he quickly falls into a lake filled with crocodiles and is promptly killed.
This was a very fun role to see Eminem in, and he pulled it off quite well, acting angry and antagonistic even as he was being ripped apart, calling back to one of the most memorable bits from the originalHappy Gilmorewhile upping the ante for the sequel, as the best jokes in this movie did.
2Oscar’s Happy Place
Oscar Is A Bit Of A Maniac As Well
Similarly to Happy,Oscar went to his happy place in the movie, though it was quite different from Happy’s, as Oscar’s involved him slathering honey on his former boss, played by footballer Travis Kelce, before allowing him to be killed and eaten by a bear.
This joke speaks for itself, asit relied on the same absurd sense of humor that permeated the rest of the movie, as well as the first, but the random bear appearance, alongsideHappy Gilmore 2’s castingof Bad Bunny, turned out great, making this moment stand out as one of the funniest in the film.
1Happy’s Secret Flasks
They Could Be Literally Anything
The idea of Happy’s secret flasks was the best joke that escalated throughout the entire movie, starting relatively tame before eventually becoming completely insane. He started with a cucumber at his job at the grocery store, before transitioning into things like a pepper shaker and a golf ball.
This became even funnier when he revealed even more things, including his grandma’s cuckoo clock, a trophy, and the TV remote. However, this joke is also related to one of Happy’s main character traits, his struggle with alcoholism, and seeing him fall back into it with the flask that was somehow in his phone was funny while also striking to the heart ofHappy Gilmore 2.
