Adam Sandler is already planning his next movie—the long-anticipated Happy Gilmore 2—and after his last project got a 50% “Rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes, this sequel is likely the best way to go. The original Happy Gilmore movie was a great success and has since become a cult classic. Naturally, in the decade of reboots and sequels, a continued story for Sandler’s Happy has been in high demand. We finally have confirmation that the movie is in the early stages of development, which could mean an answer to the actor’s Rotten Tomatoes woes.
Happy Gilmore, released in 1996, follows the titular aspiring hockey player (Sandler) who enters a prestigious golf tournament to save his grandma from losing her house. Happy ultimately discovers that he has quite a talent for golf, but before he can use his putting skills to save the day, a great deal of Sandler’s unique brand of comedy has to happen first. Though Happy Gilmore didn’t impress critics, its 85% Rotten Tomatoes score demonstrates its cult following. Now, nearly 30 years later, Sandler could use another such win.
Given the beloved nature of Happy Gilmore, a sequel is likely to do nearly, if not just, as well. This would be precisely what the doctor ordered for Sandler, especially after the critical disappointment that was 2024’s Spaceman. The actor had been on a small Rotten Tomatoes streak leading up to the Netflix sci-fi movie’s release in March, with his previous two movies, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah and Leo, getting 91% and 82% critic score, respectively. Unfortuantely, Spaceman interrupted this with its 50% “Rotten” score.
Spaceman is a dramatic sci-fi directed by Johan Renck, based on the popular 2017 book Spaceman of Bohemia, written by Jaroslav Kalfař. Though Sandler’s performance has generally been praised by critics, the movie’s melancholy tone didn’t achieve what Spaceman set out to. The pacing and story have been heavily criticized, with much of what had made the source material enjoyable wiped away for the screen adaptation. In all, the 2024 sci-fi was far from Sandler’s best, but a return to Happy Gilmore could remedy this rotten fall from grace.
Given the nostalgia now associated with Happy Gilmore, a sequel will surely drum up significant interest. To make matters even better, the easy accessibility of a Netflix release is perfect for a sequel of this nature, so there is an excellent chance that Happy Gilmore 2 would result in some positive viewership data. Finally, Sandler’s words regarding the project are a great sign that the movie is being approached correctly. In an interview on the Dan Patrick Show (via Screen Rant), the Happy Gilmore star discussed the sort of creative attention he felt the sequel deserved:
It’s not lost on Sandler that there’s a lot of pressure to get Happy Gilmore 2 right, and he’s ready to rise to the occasion and make this happen. He knows that the goal is to create something that he and writer Tim Herlihy are excited to make, therefore bringing the project the right kind of energy. Sandler is also aware that Happy Gilmore2 needs to be about making audiences happy rather than just making money on a nostalgic sequel. Assuming that Sandler manages to figure out precisely what this will entail, this could turn out spectacularly.
Of course, even with Sandler’s good intentions, there’s no guarantee that Happy Gilmore 2 will be a success. The anticipation of a sequel to the 1996 movie has been high ever since the film achieved its cult-classic status, and such high expectations often mean an even greater fall. The flavor of Sandler’s movies is iconic to the time period, and a modern film containing all the quirky comedy of Happy Gilmore may be hard to pull off. It could quickly feel like the sequel is trying too hard.
Moreover, the fact that reboots and sequels are so common these days means that some have begun to feel burned out on returning to old stories. It’s often so difficult to live up to the legacy of a movie from the 1990s, and a sequel even has the power to tarnish what audiences already know and love. This means critics will be even harder to please with Happy Gilmore 2 than they were for a movie like Spaceman, thus establishing a negative Rotten Tomatoes streak for Sandler. Only time will tell, but if any movie were to make up for such disappointment, it would be this one.