Adam Sandler‘s Happy Gilmore 2 has received scathing reviews from some viewers after it was finally released by Netflix on Friday.
The original hit comedy film, which saw Adam as aggressive, failed hockey player Happy trying to make the PGA Tour and earn a cash prize to save his grandmother from financial ruin, was a cult hit following its release in 1996.
For the highly anticipated sequel, Modern Family star Julie Bowen returns as his love interest Virginia, along with Flubber actor Christopher McDonald as Happy’s rival, and Hollywood star Ben Stiller.
There’s also a host of cameos from famous faces including Northern Irish pro golfer Rory McIlroy, musician Bad Bunny, US football star Travis Kelce, the boyfriend of American pop superstar Taylor Swift and Eminem.
But despite the glittering array of stars, the film has failed to impress some audience members at home, with one person writing on X: ‘Happy Gilmore 2 is terrible.’
Another said: ‘Really hoping Happy Gilmore 2 picks it up a bit. Not great so far and I don’t want to see Sandler fail, he’s the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). Excited to see how Eminem does.’
Others wrote: ‘Happy Gilmore 2 was absolute trash’, and ‘Netflix sucks. Happy Gilmore 2 sucks’ and ‘Way too many athletes and celebrities just ruining lines… just hire actors.’
Adam and Tim Herlihy, who co-wrote the first movie, returned to pen the second one as Kyle Newacheck, known for his work on What We Do In The Shadows, returned to direct.
Adam Sandler ‘s Happy Gilmore 2 (pictured) has received scathing reviews from some viewers after it was finally released by Netflix on Friday
The original film, starring Carl Weathers, who died last year, became a cultural phenomenon in the 1990s and sparked lots of golfers referencing Happy’s running golf swing on tours.
In Happy Gilmore 2, Happy is a decorated retired golfer with four sons and a daughter (played by Adam’s daughter, Sunny Sandler).
But after a tragic incident and falling on hard times, he´s lured back into golf. This time, though, Happy is an insider, motivated to protect the sport.
Some viewers were left delighted by the sequel, with one person writing on X: ’30 minutes in and Happy Gilmore 2 is genius. Love to see it.
A second insisted: ‘I’m loving all the callbacks and cameos in Happy Gilmore 2’, while a third added: ‘Happy Gilmore 2 is great.’
On Monday, Adam, dressed in a comfortable summer ensemble walked the red carpet in New York City for the premiere of his new Netflix film.
The comedian was clad in a yellow Hawaiian shirt with purple blue and green highlights, peach shorts and blue-gray trainers with white socks.
Monday’s premiere was a bittersweet one, as the sequel to the 1996 sports film had to be rewritten following the death of actor Carl Weathers in February 2024.
Reaction: Despite the glittering array of stars, the film has failed to impress some audience members at home, with one person writing on X: ‘Happy Gilmore 2 is terrible’
For the highly anticipated sequel, Modern Family star Julie Bowen returns as his love interest Virginia , along with Flubber actor Christopher McDonald (pictured left) as Happy’s rival, and Hollywood star Ben Stiller
There’s also a host of cameos from famous faces including Northern Irish pro golfer Rory McIlroy , musician Bad Bunny , US football star Travis Kelce , the boyfriend of American pop superstar Taylor Swift and Eminem. Pictured, Adam Sandler, left, and John Daly in a scene from Happy Gilmore 2
Weathers portrayed the role of Derick ‘Chubbs’ Peterson in the original, and ‘had a massive part’ in the sequel, Adam told Collider.
Weather’s death paved the way for ‘a painful change’ in the script to keep the storyline sound.
‘I would talk to Carl, and we were excited, and then Carl passed away,’ Adam said. ‘We had to rewrite a lot of the stuff, and even what the story was.
‘We made a lot of nice references to how great Chubbs was in the movie. That was the biggest change.’
Adam said that Weathers’ role was expanded in initial drafts, and characters were added to bolster his presence in the sequel.
‘In the first version that we came up with, he had a son,’ Adam said. ‘He was coming back to me a lot in my dreams, and he had a son who was mad at Happy for causing the death of daddy.’
While Adam’s character was a hockey player turned golfer, Weathers’ character was a golfer who had to retire following an accident involving an alligator; and would go on to play with a wooden hand.
Adam paid memorial to Weathers via social media at the time of his passing, calling the football player-turned-actor a great man, dad, actor and athlete.
Reaction: Some viewers were left delighted by the sequel, with one person writing on X: ’30 minutes in and Happy Gilmore 2 is genius. Love to see it’
In Happy Gilmore 2 (pictured), Happy is a decorated retired golfer with four sons and a daughter (played by Adam’s daughter, Sunny Sandler)
He said Weathers, who also played Apollo Creed in the Rocky films, was ‘so much fun to be around always.’
He continued: ‘Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell. Loved his sons more than anything. What a guy!! Everyone loved him. My wife and I had the best times with him every time we saw him.’
The comedian added: ‘Love to his entire family and Carl will always be known as a true legend.’
Sadly, other original cast members who have died in the near-30 years since the release of the original include Bob Barker, who died at 99 in August of 2023; Frances Bay, who died in September of 2011 at 92; and actor Richard Kiel, who died at 74 in 2014.
