Happy Gilmore

Director: Dennis Dugan Dennis Dugan

Overview

Adam Sandler's second popular starring vehicle after Billy Madison is a goofy lowbrow paean to golf, hockey, and the comic hysterics of its childlike star. In Happy Gilmore, Sandler plays the title character, a raw, determined, but ultimately untalented hockey player who keeps trying out for the pros. When Happy discovers his grandmother (Frances Bay) will lose her home if she doesn't fork over 270,000 dollars to the IRS, he tries to figure out how he can possibly scrounge up the cash. An idea strikes during a game of one-upmanship with a couple furniture movers stripping his grandmother's home: On his first-ever swing, he drives a golf ball farther than the movers have ever seen. Before long, he has transplanted the foul-mouthed, aggressive persona of the hockey rink to the links, winning an amateur tourney that earns him a spot on the pro tour. Throttling everyone from a helpless caddy to game show host Bob Barker during the course of his 90-day quest to amass prize money, Happy also wins the sport a legion of new fans with his in-your-face style. Guiding him on his quest is a whimsical retired pro who lost his hand to an alligator (Carl Weathers) and an attractive public relations woman charmed by Happy's antics (Julie Bowen). Opposing him, however, is sneering hotshot Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), who will do anything to win his championship jacket and see Happy fail. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Product Details

Release Date:	06/13/2006
UPC:	0025193001726
Original Release:	1996
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Universal Studios
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Time:	1:32:00
Format:	HD
Sales rank:	69,577

Special Features

Closed Caption; Outrageous deleted scenes featuring At Grandma's House, Happy On Tour, Nursing Home and much more; Wacky, gut-busting outtakes

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Adam Sandler	Happy Gilmore
Christopher McDonald	Shooter McGavin
Julie Bowen	Virginia
Frances Bay	Grandma
Carl Weathers	Chubbs
Allen Covert	Otto
Bob Barker	Himself
Richard Kiel	Mr. Larson
Dennis Dugan	Doug Thompson
Joe Flaherty	Jeering Fan
Lee Trevino	Himself
Kevin Nealon	Potter
Ken Camroux	Coach
D.J. Jackson	Mover
Andrew Johnston	Crowd Guy (Waterbury)
Fred Perron	Waterbury Heckler
John Shaw	Daniel Lafferty
Stephen Dimopoulos	Italian Guy
Douglas Newell	Starter # 4 (Pro-Am)
Simon Webb	Doctor
Betty Linde	Elderly Woman
Ben Stiller	Hal (Nursing Home Orderly)
David Kaye	Reporter
Dave Cameron	Reporter # 2
Robert Smigel	IRS Agent
Verne Lundquist	Announcer
Jared Van Snellenberg	Happy's Waterbury Caddie
Rich Elwood	Assistant Coach
Nancy McClure	Terry
Helena Yea	Chinese Lady
Will Sasso	Mover
Ellie Harvie	Registrar
Ian Boothby	Guy on Green
Kimberly Restell	Crowd Girl (Waterbury)
Helen Honeywell	Crazy Old Lady
Paul Raskin	1st Starter (Waterbury)
William Samples	2nd Starter (AT&T)
Ted Deeken	Auctioneer
John Destrey	Zamboni Driver
Jim Crescenzo	Shooter's AT&T Caddy
Brett Armstrong	Shooter's Tournament Caddy
Peter Kelamis	Potter's Caddy
Stephen Tibbetts	Pro Golfer
Edward Lieberman	Pro Golfer
Donald MacMillan	Young Happy
Louis O'Donoghue	Happy's Dad
Lisanne Collett	Happy's Mom
Frank L. Frazier	Blue Collar Fan
Zachary Webb	Batting Kid
Mark Lye	Himself
Lou Kliman	Reporter
Brent Chapman	Official
Jessica Gunn	Signed Chest Woman
Phillip Beer	Cowboy Joe
Fat Jack	Jack Beard
Michelle Holdsworth	Babe on Green
Charles L. Brame	Abraham Lincoln

Technical Credits

Tim Herlihy

Adam Sandler

Dennis Dugan	Director
Arthur Albert	Cinematographer
Perry Andelin Blake	Production Designer
Bernie Brillstein	Executive Producer
Warren Carr	Co-producer
Joanna Colbert	Casting
Jack Giarraputo	Co-producer
Jeff Gourson	Editor
Brad Grey	Executive Producer
Richard Harrison	Art Director
Tim Herlihy	Screenwriter
Willie Heslup	Production Designer
Mark Lane	Set Decoration/Design
Peter D. Marshall	Asst. Director
Tish Monaghan	Costumes/Costume Designer
Mark Mothersbaugh	Score Composer
Rick Patton	Sound/Sound Designer
Adam Sandler	Screenwriter
Robert Simonds	Producer
Sandy Wernick	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

Adam Sandler plays more of a grown-up in Happy Gilmore than he did in Billy Madison, but only in the sense that his tantrums are laced with rage and obscenity rather than infantile brattiness. These brusque qualities will further irritate his detractors while giving his fans another generous dollop of the comedian's hyperkinetic schtick. But Happy Gilmore has pleasures beyond the golf-ball-to-the-noggin variety, because it works as a fairly sturdy sports movie that finds the tricky balance of simultaneously mocking golf and glorifying it. That golf and hockey might involve essentially the same skill set, applied quite differently, enables the agreeable premise that a transplant from that aggressive venue might achieve some success with its more genteel cousin, while still keeping the rink's head-butting mentality. Sure, this is mostly just an excuse for vulgar, bone-crunching comedy, but it allows at least one classic episode of absurdism, in which Sandler gets into a trash-talking brawl with Bob Barker, the surprisingly agile 73-year-old game show host. That Happy putts with his hockey stick and launches his golf balls like whizzing cruise missiles (cleverly shot from their accelerating perspective) makes for effective crossover, blending the subtle precision of golf with the electrifying force of hockey, and winning converts to both sports. Still, Sandler himself wouldn't win many converts outside his own fan base until he aimed for a more tepid middle ground in The Wedding Singer.

All Movie Guide