After Rewatching Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore, I Have Only One Major Concern About The Netflix Sequel
Adam Sandler brought together the somewhat disparate worlds of golf tournaments and PG-13 hilarity with Happy Gilmore, which remains one of the all-time best ‘90s movies. So heads and clubs obviously turned when reports surfaced in March 2024 about Sandler penning a sequel. Now, Netflix has confirmed Happy Gilmore 2 is officially on the way, and while I’m generally more pumped than Shooter McGavin’s finger-guns about it, the project’s existence does leave me with a pretty big concern about some of its beloved characters.
Even though Happy Gilmore is unmistakably an Adam Sandler movie, for all intents and purposes, it works as well as it does because the SNL vet is surrounded by a bevy of talented cast members. Many of the movie’s best moments are delivered by characters other than the hockey-preferring golfer, and I can only imagine that the upcoming sequel will feature an equally stacked ensemble.
What it can’t do, however, is replace the four actors who have passed away in the years since the film was first released. Yet I can’t help but think that Happy Gilmore 2 will still make attempts to carry on everyone’s spirits and legacies, and that those attempts could very easily be awkward and bungled if not handled extremely well. Let’s take a closer look at each of the late legends who helped make the first film a hit.
Carl Weathers' Chubbs
As Happy Gilmore's ever-positive golf instructor Chubbs, Carl Weathers was a big chunk of the movie's heart and soul (though not part of its hand), and it's one of his best roles. He was a guiding light up to and through the very end, despite rathering harshly being killed off by falling out of a window. Unfortunately, Weathers passed away in February 2024, making any kind of return impossible.
Chubbs' on-screen death obviously indicates the character wouldn't have been a huge part of the story anyway, I cannot imagine Sandler would have left him out of the story altogether if Weathers was still alive and willing to return, whether through a dream sequence, as Happy's guardian angel, or another scenario. Hopefully any on-screen tributes are handled smoothly and without being too maudlin. I'm sure alligators will be invovled.
Frances Bay's Grandma Gilmore
Longtime David Lynch regular Frances Bay portrayed one of the most sympathetic characters of any SNL-flavored comedy as Happy's grandmother, whose housing issue was the crux for him trying to win money with his golf talents in the first place. Bay died at the age of 92 back in 2011, and was still working as a recurring character on The Middle at the time.
It would have been a little silly for Happy Gilmore 2 to also feaure a plotline revolving around Sandler's character doing something charitable for his granny. But considering she was such a huge motivational factor in the first film, her memory should definitely be honored in the sequel. I can only hope the plot doesn't revolve around Happy golfing again to pay for her funeral.
Bob Barker's Bob Barker
Happy Gilmore's most famous highlight is arguably his fistfight with Bob Barker, in which Sandler shoots one of the best movie lines possible at the legendary game show host: "The price is wrong, bitch." It's as classic a celebrity cameo as there ever was, and Sandler was one of many paying tribute to Barker when he died in August 2023.
The Law of Sequels states that huge celeb cameos in the first film deserves to be addressed in bigger ways for the follow-up. Obviously Barker won't be facing off against Happy Gilmore in a UFC octagon or anything like that, so fans can probably expect to see an appearance from Price Is Right's current host Drew Carey, or possibly one from Wheel of Fortune's soon-to-retire host Pat Sajak, or Jeopardy!'s Ken Jennings. All things told, though, I'd rather the creative team not attempt to replicate that golden moment at all.
Joe Flaherty's Donald
While not as impactful a character as others listed above, Joe Flaherty's workhorse heckler Donald is still a well-regarded piece of the pie, even if it's as "The guy who yells 'Jackass' at Happy all the time." Hired by Shooter for his distraction efforts, the character was more of an annoyance than a charmer, but such was the actor's caliber that he didn't need more than a single word to be memorable.
Flaherty passed away in April 2024, making him the one late Happy Gilmore vet who might have actually known about the sequel plans before he died. And even though the character of Donald isn't so vital, it's very likely that Sandler & Co. will pay respects to Flaherty himself through the upcoming movie, though I can't imagine how.
To be sure, I think Weathers, Bay, Barker and Flaherty all deserve feature-length tributes celebrating their lives and careers. But Happy Gilmore 2's runtime probably isn't the ideal place for all that to get stretched out, so I'm hoping a lot of thought goes into balancing looking back with whatever the new storyline will be. Hopefully by the time it comes out, I'll have no need to have worried about any of it, and Ben Stiller's orderly Hal can serve me up a warm glass of shut the hell up.
Happy Gilmore 2 doesn't currently have a release date, but it'll be available to watch with a Netflix subscription at some point in the next year or so. Check out all the upcoming Netflix movies and TV shows to watch while waiting.
