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Happy Gilmore (1996)

tomatometer

59

Average Rating: 5.5/10
Reviews Counted: 51
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 21

Those who enjoy Adam Sandler's schtick will find plenty to love in this gleefully juvenile take on professional golf; those who don't, however, will find it unfunny and forgettable.

36

Average Rating: 5.1/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 7

Those who enjoy Adam Sandler's schtick will find plenty to love in this gleefully juvenile take on professional golf; those who don't, however, will find it unfunny and forgettable.

audience

83

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 916,287

My Rating

Movie Info

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

PG-13, 1 hr. 32 min.

Comedy

Adam Sandler

Feb 24, 1998

MCA Universal Home Video

Cast

All Critics (52) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (30) | Rotten (21) | DVD (18)

[A] one-joke Caddyshack for the blitzed and jaded.

April 15, 2008 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment (1)
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There are about three minutes of funny material in Happy Gilmore, and pretty much all of them are in the trailer.

April 15, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment (1)
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It may smell awful from a distance, especially if you have low tolerance for lowbrow humor, but up close this yarn about an unlikely golf star is fairly painless.

June 18, 2002 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
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You don't feel that Sandler and director Dennis Dugan are trying for the kind of subversiveness that might just make Happy's brutal anarchy more effective.

February 13, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Los Angeles Times
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Happy's tantrums, which the movie pretends are liberating explosions of self-expression, aren't nearly maniacal enough to reach comic delirium.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The story has all the thickness of a well-trimmed green, but it's a decent excuse for some heady sight gags.

January 1, 2000 Comment
USA Today
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Adolescent humor at its best/worst. Lots of profanity.

January 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Sandler's serious moments are dramatically deadly, while a little of his comedy goes a long way.

April 15, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Fans of sport and brash, boisterous comedies will find a lot to love here.

April 15, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

At the end of the day, it's exactly what most spectators would really love to see on the fairway.

April 15, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

From beginning to end, there's not a slow moment in "Happy Gilmore," the Tiger Woods of gleefully idiotic comedy.

April 22, 2007 Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | Comment
Arizona Daily Star

This is a fun movie. I don't know how many times I've seen it now, but it never ceases to amuse me.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | Comment
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Superior disposable comedy.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Happy Gilmore provides Sandler with a perfect outlet for his character.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

A bigtime guilty pleasure for me.

September 12, 2005 Comment

Lame, unfunny stuff.

September 10, 2005 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | Comments (13)
TheMovieReport.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Happy Gilmore

Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) is a naïve, hot-headed man who has lived his entire life aspiring to be a professional hockey player. Upon playing golf one day, his peers come to discover that he can drive a golfball farther than anyone in the world. At first reluctant, Happy decides to give up his

June 28, 2011
spielberg00
Alexander Diminiano

Super Reviewer

There are a lot of memorable quotes in Happy Gilmore and a few scenes are quite....charming. It is very silly and it is the typical Sandler movie. It is however one of the better juvenille comedies out there and its premise is actually quite intriguing.

November 13, 2011
Michael M.
Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

    1. Happy Gilmore: I think I just killed that Mister Mister lady.
    – Submitted by Tom V (6 days ago)
    1. Grandma: Could I please trouble you for a warm glass of milk. It helps send me to sleep.
    2. Hal (Nursing Home Orderly): You can trouble me for a warm glass of SHUT THE HELL UP!! Now you will go to sleep or I will put you to sleep.
    – Submitted by Tom V (6 days ago)
    1. Happy Gilmore: Somebody's closer! [high-pitched voice]
    – Submitted by Tom V (6 days ago)
    1. Happy Gilmore: You little son of a bitch ball! Why you don't you just go HOME? That's your HOME! Are you too good for your HOME? ANSWER ME! SUCK MY WHITE ASS, BALL!
    – Submitted by Adam S (57 days ago)
    1. Happy Gilmore: [laughing] You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?
    – Submitted by Rick A (4 months ago)

Latest News for Happy Gilmore

September 19, 2011:
Frances Bay: 1919-2011
The TV and film veteran, known for her roles in "Happy Days," "Seinfeld," "Foul Play," and "Happy...

October 13, 2010:
Ten Movie Senior Citizens You Don't Want to Mess With
In honor of all the AARP-certified butt-kicking in this weekend's "Red," here's a list of other...

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