Film

Happy Gilmore 2

Name: Happy Gilmore 2
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2025
Cast: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Ben Stiller

Comedy
Light-hearted

Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore swings back, trading retirement for one more shot at the pro tour—this time to fund his daughter's ballet dreams. It's loose, affectionate comedy built on Sandler's gift for finding pathos in absurdity, populated by the kind of ensemble oddballs who make these films tick. Pure comfort watching for anyone who loved the first one.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love Sandler's rambling, sweetly feral man-child comedy, slapstick golf set pieces, and a good-natured rivalry with McDonald's preening Shooter McGavin.

Skip it if you want sharp jokes or a tight plot, since this one leans on goofy, loose sketch-style bits and runs a little long at 114 minutes for its thin material.

What it asks of you: Just under two hours of easygoing, broad physical comedy, with gags arriving often and sentiment kept light, and little demand beyond letting it roll.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Happy Gilmore1996

The original that started it all. Sandler at his most likeable, genuinely funny slapstick golf comedy with surprising heart. If you loved the sequel, see where it came from.

But Nineties comedies don't land for everyone. Some of the peripheral characters are pretty broadly drawn in ways that haven't aged brilliantly.

Shooter2007

Mark Wahlberg learning to shoot competitively rivals Happy's golf obsession—same DNA of a normal guy becoming unnaturally good at one weird thing through pure rage and determination.

But It's a political thriller first and an action movie second. If you want comedy, you won't find much; the tone is genuinely grim in places.

Kingpin1996

Farrelly Brothers at their rowdy peak: underdog bowling comedy with similar energy, ensemble charm, and that blend of stupid and smart that makes Sandler's best work click.

But The humour is aggressively crude and the pacing meanders. Not for anyone who finds bodily-function comedy exhausting.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Happy Gilmore 2

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Air2023

Both are about the exact moment someone realizes their whole life is about to change because they're good at one thing. Same emotional engine, opposite register.

A middle-aged man learning he's obsessed with something and will do anything to win at it. But this is about Nike signing Michael Jordan—high stakes, ensemble cast, that same belief-fueled transformation, just in business drama instead of comedy.

But It's a prestige sports drama, not a comedy. Ben Affleck is stolid throughout. If you need laughs, this isn't where to find them.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby2006

Will Ferrell learning to drive obsessively while staying ridiculous, surrounded by a killer cast doing the same. Same vibe: American obsession as comedy fuel, real stakes underneath the chaos.

But It's very long and circles back on itself. If you don't buy Ferrell's commitment to absurdity, nothing lands.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby poster

The Waterboy1998

Sandler playing an outsider with a hidden gift, coached by a legend (Rob Schneider's Robert Langdon parallels to Rob Schneider here). Underdog sports comedy in his wheelhouse, just in a different arena.

But Dated representation of the South. Some jokes rely on stereotypes that sit uncomfortably now.

Caddyshack1980

The godfather of golf comedies. Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield in peak form. Loosely plotted but genuinely hilarious—the template Happy Gilmore built on.

But Very Seventies in pacing and sensibility. If you want tight narrative, you're not finding it here.

The Benchwarmers2006

Sandler, Rob Schneider, and David Spade as misfits entering a baseball competition against bullies. Similar heartfelt-stupidity blend and ensemble chemistry, if lower stakes.

But It's broad and sentimental in ways that tip over into cloying. Very much a middling Sandler project.

Necessary Roughness1991

Scott Bakula coaching an underdog football team. Earnest, funny sports comedy about belief and second chances—gentler than Happy but the same soul underneath.

But It's very Nineties TV-movie in feel, which means saccharine and predictable. The comedy is thin.

Happy-Go-Lucky2008

Both believe you can rebuild yourself through something silly and specific. But where Happy Gilmore shouts it, this whispers. Same truth, opposite volume.

A man—played by Mariel Hemingway—recovering from life's collapse discovers happiness through a weird obsession. It's gentle, thoughtful magic realism. Same healing-through-commitment DNA as Happy Gilmore, but infinitely quieter and stranger.

But It's arthouse cinema. Pacing is glacial, plot is deliberately vague. If you're looking for a narrative or jokes, you're not getting either.

Rocky IV1985

Both are about older guys convinced they've got one more run left in them. Comedy just lets Happy admit how silly that is, while Rocky asks you to believe it's tragic and noble.

An aging champion gets pulled back into the ring because he has one more thing to prove. Pure 80s melodrama and spectacle, but the emotional core—the comeback, the need to matter—is identical to what's driving Happy back to golf.

But It's relentlessly earnest and the politics are hilariously blunt. If you can't commit to Stallone fighting a Soviet robot-man, you won't make it.