Happy Gilmore 2 Swings For Redemption: At The Movies With Kasey
When we were kids, my brother and I annoyed our dad by bantering lines from Adam Sandler movies back and forth across the dinner table. It’s for fans like my brother that Happy Gilmore 2 was produced, and Sandler leans into that nostalgia in reviving the character.
Within the first five minutes of Happy Gilmore 2, I felt depressed. The movie picks up by describing how pro golfer Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) and his wife, Virginia (Julie Bowen), had five rambunctious children while his career continued to take off. As Happy considers retiring, Virginia convinces him to stay in the game, only to get killed in a freak accident at the golf course. That leaves Happy devastated, drunk, and the sole parent for Vienna (Sunny Sandler), Gordie (Maxwell Friedman), Bobby (Phillip Schneider), Wayne (Ethan Cutkosky), and Terry (Connor Sherry). When it turns out Vienna is a gifted dancer, Happy tries to stage an unlikely comeback so he can afford to send her to ballet school in Paris. Meanwhile, Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie) tries to reinvent the game of golf with the help of golfers Billy Jenkins (Haley Joel Osment) and Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald). Happy finds himself fighting for both the league and his family.
The movie lifts out of that initial depressing tone by pulling out some old tricks. Steve Buscemi, mirroring Vienna’s ballet lesson, helped too. Plot-wise, Happy Gilmore 2 follows a similar trajectory to Happy Gilmore. Happy needs a lot of money to help his family and channels his rage into golf. He’s an underdog again. The sequel throws in new villains alongside old foes and adds the twist of Happy representing the golf establishment. There’s also a lot of fan service via familiar faces such as Ben Stiller and Steve Buscemi, and nods to the late Carl Weathers.
Happy Gilmore’s rage is tinged with sadness in this iteration, trying to make the character more adult. There are also nods to Sandler’s work evolving, such as a throw-away line about how we “don’t objectify women anymore.” Although the movie is bloated with new characters and old friends, Sandler and Gilmore are best when surrounded by family, which, more than anything, shows how they have matured. His scenes with real daughters, Sunny and Sadie (who plays a young woman in Happy’s recovery program), are endearing. Sandler’s wife, Jackie, also appears as Vienna’s ballet teacher.
Sandler has made much better movies in his time with Netflix. You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah was a better showcase for the Sandler girls’ talents. Hustle delivered excellent storytelling and a great performance from Sandler. Happy Gilmore 2 was fun to watch during a summer of ‘90s trends and I do not begrudge Sandler for revisiting a character from his early career. Frankly, I’m relieved it wasn’t Billy Madison (yet?).
Happy Gilmore 2 was written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler and directed by Kyle Newacheck. It runs 114 minutes and is rated PG-13.
On Hulu, The Assessment takes place after climate change made much of the Earth inhabitable. A group of people splintered off and created their own, tightly controlled society, in which people need permission to procreate. Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) would like to have a child, so an assessor, Virginia (Alicia Vikander), is sent to their home to test their potential for parenting under increasingly triggering and bizarre circumstances.
The Assessment draws on themes that are common enough in science fiction, but this tense film excels through careful details. Mia and Aaryan’s home resembles the 1970s, full of orange tones, synthetic materials, and geometric stained glass as opposed to the sterile sets common to the genre. The writing also gives them jobs that speak to the troubles of their society. Aaryan works at designing simulated pets because all the companion animals were culled before those in power realized how important they were to humans psychologically. Mia experiments with plants to help sustain agriculture, and the need for her work is driven home by how foreign all their meals look.
The film also showcases powerful performances from Olsen, Patel, and Vikander. Elizabeth Olsen is a force as Mia. Given how much the story escalates, her human emotions and the sharpness of her responses keep the story grounded in something that feels real. Vikander’s oscillations between official detachment and acting like a naughty child, and some shocking turns between, are the most disturbing elements of the film. Her performance chillingly hits all the variations. Charlotte Ritchie and Minnie Driver also appear as inappropriate surprise dinner guests.
The Assessment is fairly disturbing and therefore not for everyone, but it thoughtfully digs into dystopian themes and human questions about what gives life meaning.
The Assessment was written by Neil Garfath, Dave Thomas, and John Donnelly and directed by Fleur Fortune. It runs 114 minutes and is rated R.
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