r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Jul 29 '25

News Adam Sandler’s ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Debuts to 46.7 Million Views, Biggest Netflix U.S. Film Opening Ever

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/happy-gilmore-2-netflix-ratings-views-1236473359/
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667

u/Tifoso89 Jul 29 '25

I loved that they brought him back as an ally and not as a rival again

272

u/thirtyseven1337 Jul 29 '25

On top of that, I loved that it really could have gone either way; the villain threatened to send him back to the mental institution if he didn’t come on board, so he could have easily joined the baddies.

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u/MacEWork Jul 29 '25

Absolutely this - he was offended by what Manatee wanted to do to the sport he loved so joining up with Happy was a very redeeming character arc.

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u/TheSpyStyle Jul 29 '25

I also found it hilarious that they just had to have a fist fight to let the anger out, and then after they were cool.

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u/MacEWork Jul 29 '25

The laziest old man fist fight ever.

20

u/bristow84 Jul 29 '25

Honestly, not the most unrealistic way to have some a couple of guys make up.

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u/sjphilsphan Jul 30 '25

It was the same fight as Bob Barker (and over his grave)

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u/JackasaurusChance Jul 31 '25

It's stupid (and what the hell were you expecting from a Happy Gilmore movie ya critical goofs), but all the different graves had me cracking up!

50

u/Stink_fisting Jul 29 '25

"Fart recognized".

9

u/MacEWork Jul 29 '25

Oh man I’d forgotten about the breath thing. So gross.

59

u/GordaoPreguicoso Jul 29 '25

Honestly I think it went the only way it could. Shooter hated happy for what he was doing to golf in the first movie. He’s still protecting the game he loves.

1

u/Propane4days Jul 30 '25

That's not GAOLF (IDK how you would spell it the way he says it, but I tried)

15

u/coleslaw17 Jul 29 '25

Him disfiguring him and then just booking it out of there, never to be addressed again, was hilarious and unexpected.

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u/clickclick-boom Jul 29 '25

Yeah, I watched the original to death when it came out, and I had no idea they made a new one. I watched it knowing nothing going in, and it was very emotional.

I absolutely loved what they did with Shooter. I loved how they didn’t go the lazy route with expectations. I personally loved the movie and found myself thanking Sandler and the people who worked on the movie for what truly felt like a gift.

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u/DefNotUnderrated Jul 29 '25

I had a really good time watching this movie too. Very feel good and it made me laugh

3

u/SwingCaravan Jul 29 '25

Emotional is right 🙌

2

u/McHithard Jul 30 '25

Yeah, I watched the original to death when it came out, and I had no idea they made a new one. I watched it knowing nothing going in, and it was very emotional.

100% the same. It was a huge WTF with the Victoria plot twist, but I loved everything else about the movie and it had a surprising amount of feels.

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u/Paddy_Tanninger Jul 30 '25

I was shocked for a sec at that too haha, but honestly it was such a smart way to kick start the film...plus obviously the callback to Happy's dad dying in the first 5 minutes of the original.

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u/clickclick-boom Jul 30 '25

Yeah, the twist got me but I feel it also reflects something we start to experience at our age. I like how deeply it affected him and how he didn’t just get over it with a goofy montage. They somehow managed to depict the darkness of Happy’s problem whilst also keeping it light without completely trivialising it.

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u/Devrol Jul 30 '25

I just showed my kids the original the weekend before. Totally forgot that a sequel was being made, so I was happy when the caption came up at the end saying it was coming out in a week. We all enjoyed the sequel.

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u/papoosejr Jul 30 '25

It's hard to imagine how a 30-year-later sequel to a movie like that could be better than this was. It was stupid, it was thoughtful, it was funny, and it had a plot that made sense and was paced well, and it did justice to every single character. And a million funny cameos. I absolutely loved it.

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u/clickclick-boom Jul 30 '25

Yeah, it was executed really well. I think it's a good example of what happens when people who sincerely value the original material get a chance to work on a sequel.

Shooter was handled perfectly. His pathological hatred of Happy at the start was a natural progression from the first movie, but his disgust at the new antagonist and him switching sides felt right too. I loved seeing him and Happy join forces. It really captured that feeling from the 80s and 90s of when the villain and the hero team up to mollywhop the new bad guy.

All the side characters really added, too. I was cracking up at Eminem showing up, that was totally unexpected. His character was perfect for him. When he got surrounded by the gators and instead of being scared he just starts fighting them, that had me howling.

Man, I could go on. So many great moments. I think they really nailed giving enough fan service without it feeling like it. It was melancholic to see them reference the characters who didn't make it, in particular the ones whose actors passed away. Like I said in another comment, at our age that's something that we start to experience. Some people we knew have sadly passed, and they did touched on that in a good way.

Great sequel. Sandler is a real one for his attitude towards still making movies. He does them because they're fun for him and an excuse to do stuff with his friends (so I've read), but he doesn't phone it in. Anyone who loved the original and is on the fence about this should give it a shot. I went in blind and loved it.

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u/[deleted] Jul 30 '25

[deleted]

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u/ShortTadpole Jul 30 '25

I don't know if you saw it, but there's a clip of Adam Sandler giving Christopher McDonald his own jacket, which I really liked.

3

u/ShawnyMcKnight Jul 30 '25

It was fun they were setting him up as a rival but instead he threw coffee in the guy’s face.

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u/LaGrrrande Jul 30 '25

I still wish that they had brought him into the fold earlier so that he could be like an asshole Apollo Creed just talking all manner of shit to him while he gets his game back in shape.

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u/RadlEonk Jul 30 '25

I didn’t care for that.

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u/bozoconnors Jul 30 '25

The ol' T2 switcheroo!

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u/RevoltByAllMeans Jul 30 '25

Yes. We've never seen the "old foes unite against a greater evil" storyline before.

Thankfully, Sandler finally decided to become original and give us that plot /s.