Details from IMDB:
After his grandmother’s house is repossessed by the IRS, a bad tempered hockey player takes his talents to golf to earn the big bucks and get his grandmothers house back.
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Initial Thoughts:
I realized recently that my wife had never seen this movie and with the sequel coming out in May, it seemed like a great time to watch it again. While it’s completely ridiculous this is one of Sandler’s best comedies and has some really funny parts, I was looking forward to seeing it again. This was on Crave, Canadian streaming service, but it will soon be gone from there, so you’ll have to look elsewhere in Canada.
Main Points:
As always I’m not going through the plot, other than the fact that a wannabe hockey player ends up playing golf to save his grandmother’s house. Sandler is very funny here but so is everyone else, Carl Weathers in particular is fantastic as is Kevin Nealon (who is sadly barely in it). Some of the jokes and characters are problematic, I wasn’t offended but I would imagine some people might be, I think this is more it being a product of its time (the 90s) that any intent to offend anyone. For example one of the only female characters, played wonderfully by Julie Bowen, is mostly just there to fawn after Happy, look sexy and gets little to no character development.
For me most of the jokes still land and while Sandler’s comedy does get old as the similar movies pile up, for this one it was still pretty fresh. Ben Stiller’s character is mean to Happy’s grandmother and there is no repercussions! I hope this is addressed in part two. Pay attention at the end for an odd scene with Chubbs, an Alligator and Abraham Lincoln, wacky stuff for sure! Seeing Bob Barker in a movie is also a hoot, and yes I know how he treated women, it’s yet another example of shitty people in the entertainment business, but as he’s dead I think it’s ok to have a little chuckle at him now.
Final Thoughts:
Let’s be real, this movie is not high art and I find it amusing how IMDB gives it the tag “High-Concept Comedy”, I think that only counts if you are high when you watch it! That said I find it holds up fairly well and I enjoyed it almost as much as I did when I first saw it. I give it a solid 7.5 out of 10, mostly for the performances, physical comedy and oddball humor that I enjoy. Obviously not for kids, ages 14+. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone who is an Adam Sandler fan and a good idea to refresh your memory if you plan to watch the sequel.