Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) is desperate to be a professional hockey player but he's horrible at skating and can't handle the puck. He does however have great intensity and the hardest shot. His grandma (Frances Bay) hasn't paid her taxes and they're confiscating her stuff including her house. He discovers that he can really hit the golf balls and starts hustling golf. Golf pro Chubbs (Carl Weathers) takes him under his wing to join the PGA tour. Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) is the arrogant star golfer. Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen) is public relations for the tour.

Adam Sandler is still funny at this point. There is something endearing about a young idiot who still has lots to learn. The compelling part is that his character grows. He's an angry dude and a hilarious one. His character is one that the audience can root for while at the same time laugh at. Sure it's stupid but that's the fun part.

I cannot say I am a fan of Adam Sandler, while I do find him irritating in general, he has done some decent movies. Happy Gilmore is one of his better movies, though I would personally put The Wedding Singer and Spanglish over this. But it is better than Little Nicky and the Mr Deeds remake, that I can tell you. The story is predictable and holds no surprises, the script is somewhat uneven and the ending struck a false note with me. However, while it is of no cinematic value, the cinematography and scenery are above decent, and the slapstick action and sports sequences do have its amusing moments and when I say amusing it was actually amusing. Adam Sandler is delightfully goofy and a lot less irritating than I usually find him and Julie Bowen is a nice romantic interest. Overall, not exceptional being a bit of a no-brainer, but it is an amusing knockabout sports comedy. 7/10 Bethany Cox

HAPPY GILMORE is a very shallow and formulaic film. Despite some odd twists (such as a hockey player somehow making a great golfer),the overall plot structure is very, very familiar. In many ways, this film is like CADDYSHACK combined with the typical "poor guy makes it big" film--with few major surprises. So, when Gilmore ends up having his big golf game at the end of the film, don't look for anything particularly novel or surprising.

So far, it sure sounds like I am not big on this film and that would certainly be correct. However, part-way through the film, there is one of the singularly funniest scenes I can recall seeing in a film in recent memory. DO NOT READ ON UNLESS YOU DON'T MIND MY SPOILING THIS FOR YOU!!! DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!! During a celebrity golf tournament where celebrities are teamed with pro golfers, Happy is paired with Bob Barker. Repeatedly, Happy makes a nuisance of himself. It becomes so bad that the usually nice persona of Barker disappears and they have a UFC-style fight that is very funny. After all, seeing a very elderly Barker in a fight is funny--at least in a silly and unsophisticated way. And sometimes I could use this sort of laugh.

So, while the film is far from great, there is enough to see and enjoy that I mildly recommend it. Plus, for parents it's one of the few films that kids like that you can watch without feeling your brain cells rotting away--like it would if you were forced to watch LITTLE NICKY!