1045. Happy Gilmore (1996)

Starring: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen

Director: Dennis Dugan

Running Time: 98 mins

Happy Gilmore is an American film about a young aspiring hockey player who, after being rejected from the tryouts for numerous years in a row, finds his big-hitting ability will help him to become a pro-golfer.

Hallelujah! An Adam Sandler film that isn’t painfully horrific to sit through! Back when he made decent films, Adam Sandler was quite the funnyman, and this is the best of the best, with a fun story, an entertaining and not loathsome main character, and good comedy and laughs throughout.

Let’s just quickly talk about why Adam Sandler, nowadays, is such poison to good comedy movies. Apart from the fact that he himself overacts in his roles, the characters that he plays are always just too much. From the shrill Jill in Jack And Jill to the mean-spirited father in That’s My Boy, Sandler’s roles are always exaggerated, cartoonish idiots, who you just couldn’t care about, meaning that they’re neither interesting nor funny to watch.

However, Happy Gilmore is something much better than all of that. Yes, he’s a bit of a foul-mouthed ruffian, but he’s not a completely unrealistic and idiotic character that you couldn’t care less about him.

As a result, seeing him on screen doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, and you can actually support him and be entertained by his zany antics, and actually, an idiot messing up the golf scene is pretty funny.

Throughout, there are definitely good laughs, and whilst they’re not riotously funny, they give you a good chuckle on a consistent basis, with the whole idea never falling through.

In terms of the story, it may be you generic sports movie plot, but it’s still interesting and entertaining enough to keep you captivated. The main attraction may be the comedy, and whilst this may play it a little safe in the end with the story, it’s still a plot that you at least want to follow to the end, and support Happy through all his adventures on the golf course.

So, overall, I’ll give this a 7.2, because it’s a genuinely funny film starring Adam Sandler. That in itself must make you curious enough to watch it, right?