Happy Gilmore 2

Directed by Kyle Newacheck, Happy Gilmore 2 follows Adam Sandler’s title character as he emerges from retirement to raise money for his daughter’s (Sunny Sandler’s Vienna) education. Filmmaker Newacheck, armed with Sandler and Tim Herlihy’s screenplay, delivers an erratic yet mostly entertaining endeavor that gets off to a rather rough (and far-from-promising start), as the picture, which runs an often palpably overlong 118 minutes, kicks off with a vaguely unpleasant opening stretch wherein Happy accidentally kills his wife (Julie Bowen’s Virginia) and sinks into an alcohol-fueled depression. It’s clear, then, that Happy Gilmore 2 improves demonstrably once Sandler’s protagonist makes the decision to take up golf again, as Newacheck does an effective job of littering the proceedings with agreeable celebrity cameos and bits of random silliness – with, for example, Eminem’s hilarious appearance as a golf heckler certainly as funny as anything within (the admittedly superior) first film. (And this is to say nothing of Christopher McDonald’s scene-stealing return as Happy’s nemesis, Shooter McGavin.) By the time the satisfying finale rolls around, Happy Gilmore 2 has cemented its place as a surprisingly decent followup that does, for the most part, fare a whole lot better than most comedy sequels.

*** out of ****