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Happy Gilmore poster

Happy Gilmore

year 1996decade 90sdirector Dennis Dugangenre Sportsgenre Comedy

92 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Adam Sandler Happy Gilmore
Christopher McDonald Shooter McGavin
Julie Bowen Virginia Venit
Frances Bay Anna Gilmore (Grandma)
Carl Weathers Derick "Chubbs" Peterson
Allen Covert Otto (homeless caddy)
Richard Kiel Mr. Larson
Dennis Dugan Doug Thompson
Joe Flaherty Donald Floyd
Ben Stiller Hal (uncredited)
Robert Smigel IRS agent
Kevin Nealon Gary Potter
Lee Trevino Himself
Mark Lye Himself
Verne Lundquist Himself
Bob Barker Himself

Happy Gilmore | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyguest Josh Safdieguest Benny Safdie
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:00Read transcript
  • Ebert is called a little overrated and often wrong; another participant defends him as important to understanding film history.
  • Ebert gave the film one and a half stars out of four.
  • Ebert is quoted saying Sandler's character lacks a pleasing personality, seems angry even when he should not, and that pounding everyone he dislikes is tiring.
  • The review is called kind of right while being wrong, since the angry, psychotic yet warm persona is the point.
  • Ebert would have praised the same traits in an art film, such as a Hurtzog movie; he had many bad takes on 1990s comedies, including The Mask.
  • Ebert's review also listed the film's product placements, including Pepsi, Subway, Budweiser, Michelob, Visa, Bell Atlantic, AT&T, Sizzler, Red Lobster, Wilson, Golf Digest, ESPN and Top Flight golf balls.
  • The product-placement criticism is called totally unfair, though Ebert is still called a great critic even when wrong.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Opening credits; Kevin Nealon energy scene; unresolved: auction scene, batting cage with Chubbs, Bob Barker fight (one later switched to the opening credits; picker unidentified)

In the discussion (16)
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:17Read transcript
  • A coin flip settles that the opening credits count as their own candidate; they include the hockey footage, the skate line, Happy with his dad and the fake-penis rake and gas-pump sequence.
  • The opening origin story is called insane and dark: the mother moves to Egypt, the father dies at a hockey game, and Richard Kiel takes a nail in the head.
  • A child's first viewing of the gas-pump bit and the first documented "you think you better than me" are recalled; the credits are scored with Tuesday's Gone.
  • Tuesday's Gone is called the best Skinner song; it was also used in a 1993 film rendered 'days and confused' in the transcript, and the band got a bump from Sweet Home Alabama in Forrest Gump.
  • The girlfriend breakup is called a direct rip-off of Stripes, still amazing in execution.
  • The Waterbury Open double bogey with the shirt off and Jump Around is a candidate, along with the driving-range invitation and the batting cage.
  • The Chubbs alligator line is a favorite joke.
  • The clubhouse scene with the gold jackets and the ninth-green sprinkler trick is called the best.
  • The Bob Barker fight at the Pepsi Pro Am is a candidate; Barker's real boxing stance and the MTV Movie Awards best fight are recalled.
  • The happy place, tainted and pure, is a candidate, and Julie Bowen is called a rocket ship from that scene.
  • Joe Flaherty's Red Lobster subplot with Shooter, Frankenstein's foot, the auction scene and the Ben Stiller subplot are added as candidates.
  • The Bob Barker scene is called the best and most rewatchable, including Barker getting madder in the build-up.
  • The first picks named are the auction scene, the batting cage with Chubbs, and Barker.
  • One participant switches their pick to the opening credits, and another says they might do the same; who switched is not identified.
  • The Kevin Nealon energy scene is called a favorite and was a constant reference on the Uncut Gems set.
  • During a later category, one participant says the rewatchable went to Barker, and another asks whether they changed the rewatchable to the opening sequence; the question is not answered.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Bob Barker cameo's lost shock value

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:43Read transcript
  • Bob Barker being in the movie is said to have aged worst because the shock of seeing The Price Is Right host was so tied to its era.
  • The movie is said to have aged wonderfully; whether Chubbs had to die is questioned, but his death is defended as stakes, with Shooter's dedication enraging Happy.
  • Richard Kiel's casting is proposed because head trauma from a 1992 accident limited his movement; another participant cannot imagine the movie without him.
  • The movie is called inoffensive and still hilarious, watched as happily as 23 years earlier. — Sean Fennessey

What’s Aged the Best?

Happy swing; Kevin Nealon; ninth-green sprinkler trick; Tuesday's Gone; "go to your home" and "tap it in" lines; homeless caddy; Julie Bowen; Shooter McGavin; Ben Stiller's orderly; alligator fight; Subway commercial

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:57Read transcript
  • The Happy swing is athletic and hard to pull off; Sandler golfs but is not thought to be very good.
  • The Nealon scene is called the best use of Kevin Nealon in a movie, and he should appear in every movie.
  • Aged-best items include the ninth-green sprinkler trick and Tuesday's Gone.
  • The "go to your home" outburst is something everyone says when playing golf.
  • "Just tap it in" applies to a lot of life.
  • Alan Covert's homeless caddy is called the best; he is in every Sandler movie.
  • Julie Bowen is named; everyone had a crush on her, and her "Happy, look out" yell sticks.
  • Shooter McGavin is called perhaps the number one sports movie villain, with details like his phony Portland interview and turned back before introductions.
  • A real-life Shooter is compared to Brooks Kepka and Nick Faldo.
  • Ben Stiller's orderly, the air conditioner falling, the piano in the reborn happy place and the alligator fight are added.
  • Whether the role helped McDonald's career is questioned, since he worried about typecasting as a villain.
  • The Subway tie-in is called probably the best-aged thing and a legitimately good commercial.

Casting What-Ifs

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:11Read transcript
  • Kevin Costner was approached for Shooter McGavin and turned it down while doing Tin Cup.
  • Costner might have been too likable and overpowered the movie, though it might have grounded it for critics like Ebert; it would have been a fun career move.
  • Bruce Campbell lobbied hard for the part, and McDonald turned it down twice before doing it.
  • Ben Stiller is uncredited, and a deleted scene where Happy gets revenge on him is recalled.
  • Peter Gallagher's eyebrows would have made an interesting Shooter.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:18Read transcript
  • Nominees include Ben Stiller and Bob Barker.
  • Vern's silent partner Jack, identified as Sandler's New York University roommate Giaraputo, never speaks.
  • Bob Barker is called an all-time Dionne Waiters performance and gets a vote.
  • Joe Flaherty, Lee Trevino, Nealon and Alan Cover (as transcribed) are added as nominees.
  • Nealon is preferred by another participant.
  • The case for Barker: five memorable minutes like 21 points; Nealon is the coach who draws up the winning play.
  • A vote is cast for Bob, and another participant goes Nealon.
  • Vern is floated as a candidate for grounding the movie as a credible golf announcer.

Apex Mountain

Christopher McDonald; old-school Bruins jerseys

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:17Read transcript
  • Lundquist reportedly said in a 2016 interview that he still got a $34 monthly SAG check and that college kids say "who the hell is Happy Gilmore" to him.
  • Whether this or his 1986 Nicklaus "Yes, sir" call is Lundquist's apex is disputed.
  • Chris McDonald is called Apex Mountain; his Requiem performance is considered but conceded.
  • The hosts say that during a 2017 DUI stop a witness reported McDonald asking "Have you seen Happy Gilmore?", offered as confirmation.
  • Old-school Bruins jerseys are called Apex Mountain; Garnett nearly wore a throwback in Uncut Gems.
  • Dugan's Apex Mountain is questioned; Big Daddy is picked as his apex instead.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Predator hand joke; Mark Lye's gold-jacket claim; Lee Trevino's regret; deleted Stiller window scene

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:14Read transcript
  • Chubbs's missing hand was an inside joke between Sandler and Hurley about Predator.
  • The first draft reportedly had Happy winning the Masters until consultant Mark Lye suggested a fictional tournament with gold jackets; his telling is mocked.
  • Lee Trevino reportedly regretted appearing because of the swearing; called a bad take.
  • A deleted scene of Happy throwing Ben Stiller through a window is noted.

Recasting Couch

Kevin McHale in the Richard Kiel role; Betty White as Grandma

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:41Read transcript
  • Kevin McHale would replace Richard Kiel, who could not be physical, as a big, tall, scary guy.
  • Kiel's "you can count on me" line is defended as one of the most quoted.
  • Betty White is proposed as grandma, since a known actress was needed; Jessica Tandy had already died.
  • Another participant would recast nothing, and grandma wins her performance in the nasty happy place.
  • Julie Bowen reportedly said a cut part had her making out with a dwarf.

Picking Nits

Cars on the course; talking fans; Volkswagen hit; tower on the green; visible ball guide; Waterbury Open entry; missing cultural montage; final-round scoring

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:25Read transcript
  • You cannot drive a car onto a golf course; Augusta has no cars anywhere.
  • In the real PGA, fans are said to be barred from talking to golfers.
  • Happy is hit by a Volkswagen and can still drive the ball 280 yards.
  • The tournament would likely have stopped after the tower fell on the green with an explosion.
  • You can see the divot where the ball was guided into the hole.
  • Anyone can sign up for the Waterbury Open the day before and win a tour card.
  • A mock-ESPN bit with Patrick and Oberman and a cultural montage would have grounded the film in 1995; others are glad Leno was not in it.
  • The biggest nit: the final-round blowup should cost 10 to 12 strokes, but the leaderboard moves only one.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Lundquist's greatest call; Happy Gilmore in 2019 real life

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:38Read transcript
  • Was the Happy Gilmore shot the greatest Vern Lundquist ever called? Nicklaus, the Kick Six, Leitner and Tiger's 2005 chip-in are weighed; one picks Happy Gilmore and another Leitner.
  • If Happy Gilmore happened in 2019, he would be a social media phenomenon, or the twist is he gets signed to a hockey team.
  • An emergency backup goalie who shut out a team in Chicago is recalled, later identified as Scott Foster, an accountant.

Who Won the Movie?

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:53Read transcript
  • Adam Sandler won the movie.
  • Francis Bay is also named, met with "Come on."
  • This is the film that set Sandler up and made people obsessed with him, mixing Billy Madison craziness with naturalism and heart.
  • Dugan is raised and rejected as not an option.
  • Carl Weathers supposedly considered the film a huge game changer for him.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Adam Sandler

More from the conversation

Cold open of film audio and a trailer-style intro leads into the episode.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:03Read transcript
The episode opens on Happy Gilmore with Sean Fennessey and special guests the Safdie brothers, Benny and Josh; the guests requested the episode, wanting to do an Adam Sandler movie after directing him in Uncut Gems, and say it is not a promotional vehicle.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:32Read transcript
Happy Gilmore lines and Sandler's early comedy records were quoted constantly on the Uncut Gems set, including a parking-lot line used about counting takes.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:06Read transcript
The first meeting with Sandler was a basketball game; one host theorizes he made Grown Ups just for the basketball scene, and the guests say he has a good mid-range game.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:46Read transcript
Working theory: Happy Gilmore is the mid-1990s child of Stripes and Caddyshack, with the opening resembling Stripes before turning into Caddyshack.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:10Read transcript
Rewatchability case: maybe the most quotable Sandler movie with the most jokes per minute, and the best example of Sandler at his best as a likable sociopath.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:39Read transcript
Happy Gilmore trended on Twitter after an NFL player pulled off a helmet and hit an opponent, likened to Happy using his skate as a weapon.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:05Read transcript
Recollection of Sandler on a deep 1990s SNL cast; a talk-show sketch about a guy asking guests about his ex Denise signalled he would be a star; the psychotic Sandler is the funniest.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:33Read transcript
Sandler stays grounded so the insane scenes still feel real, though the foreclosure premise with Shooter McGavin buying the house is ridiculous.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:05Read transcript
Shooter McGavin is called one of the greatest villains of all time; Christopher McDonald's performance is compared with his role in Requiem for a Dream (ASR 'record for a dream').
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:40Read transcript
A YouTube story is relayed in which McDonald said he bet the crew he could sink the long putt, hit it on the second or third take, and his celebration was genuine; this is jokingly said to belong in Half-Assed Internet Research.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:40Read transcript
The 1994-96 comedy wave is listed (Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, Tommy Boy, Billy Madison, Kingpin, Happy Gilmore, Black Sheep) as the work of SNL's children, with one big star, silly, short, and not trying to do too much; the hosts doubt that era comes back.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:18Read transcript
Billy Madison is likened to Back to School and Happy Gilmore to Sandler's Caddyshack, with Dangerfield as his idol; a Dangerfield-style late comedy star is called impossible now, as is a culture-dominating comedy hit.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:10Read transcript
The film is said to have produced a ratings boost for The Price Is Right; it felt like Sandler's arrival and vindication after he was let go from SNL during a bad season that looks better in hindsight.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:03Read transcript
Sandler is called an absurdist, Jerry Lewis-like original; at a New York red carpet NHL Films asked a guest about his hockey tie, a reminder that it is a hockey movie first, and the hockey and golf communities claim it.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:52Read transcript
The Happy swing is called iconic, with one participant trying it at driving ranges; the ball-flight point-of-view shots are discussed as effects, and a grandfather's legend of a gorilla driving 400 yards but unable to putt is told.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:56Read transcript
The script is described as Sandler and Tim Hurley (ASR for Tim Herlihy) busting balls and throwing jokes in; on the Uncut Gems set Sandler kept things light despite a stressful production and had a basketball hoop on stage.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:30Read transcript
Jonathan Loughran (ASR 'Laughran') looked for lunchtime hoops on the Uncut Gems shoot; a scene with Sandler pitching Kevin Garnett from a back room ran about 15 minutes with fed lines.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:42Read transcript
Deep-cut 2012 Knicks references were fed for Sandler to say to Garnett, including a crude Mike Woodson nickname that confused Garnett.
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:20Read transcript
Happy Gilmore references kept coming on set, e.g. a 'Shooter' reply and a Red Lobster line when Sandler pushed for a dinner after shooting.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:06Read transcript
Uncut Gems is called an homage to the 2012 Celtics; Garnett was cast after Joel Embiid fell through, despite the Knicks-fan guests hating him; they asked Garnett about a Knicks game clock and reminisce about Knicks alternate timelines.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:32Read transcript
Embiid was attached for about eight months, but a push into the NBA regular season ruled out an active player; Embiid's manager plays Kevin's manager in the film.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:10Read transcript
Sandler's career is surveyed: a major comedy run, occasional strong serious roles (the first hour of Funny People), many kids and Netflix movies, and a reputation unfairly judged by his weakest work.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:12Read transcript
Sandler is called a classically trained actor whom filmmakers like the Safdies, PTA and Apatow can pull something new from; he is said to have the most variety of any comedy star of the last 25 years.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:54Read transcript
Jim Carrey is compared as another comic actor with absurdist range (Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine); Baumbach's Meyerowitz Stories tumbling scene with Stiller is said to reference the Bob Barker fight.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:31Read transcript
Some comic actors cannot go dark (Will Ferrell, Chevy Chase are named); Sandler goes there without abandoning his persona, so the audience doesn't feel betrayed.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:34Read transcript
On the Murder Mystery set Sandler improvised small moments to make scenes feel real; he works with friends and family on location, e.g. Just Go With It in Hawaii and Murder Mystery in Monaco.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:22Read transcript
Sandler's bad movies seem to bounce off him, likened to an athlete with a long career of good and bad seasons.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:14Read transcript
Origin story as told: after Sandler left SNL in 1995, he and Hurley (ASR), having written Billy Madison, came up with a hockey player who hits a 400-foot drive and built jokes around it; Judd Apatow allegedly did an uncredited script rewrite, said to have been discussed during the Zohan promotion.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:38Read transcript
The film is said to have earned $41.2 million on a $12 million budget, paving the way for the Sandler run in the 1996 home-video era.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:28Read transcript
A friend who ran a Philadelphia video store had it on constantly, having listened to it a thousand times; a rewatchable is defined by hearing the studio bumper and anticipating the first music cue.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:15Read transcript
The soundtrack (Tuesday's Gone, Exile's Kiss You All Over, Magic) is credited to Sandler's taste; Dumb and Dumber, Tommy Boy and Happy Gilmore are called the comedies everyone owned and that aired lightly edited on cable.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:52Read transcript
Uncut Gems has a John Amos cameo; Sandler told the guest that he and Hurley (ASR) originally wrote Chubbs for Amos, but the studio insisted on Carl Weathers; Amos later asked what happened to the golf movie; it is called good for the Recasting Couch.
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:39Read transcript
Dirty Work tangent: it is on the 2020 Rewatchables list; Norm Macdonald was greeted with a 'Mildred' and the film is called a beloved cult classic that never became iconic.
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:16Read transcript
The golf is filmed like a real televised exhibition with ESPN tie-ins.
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:28Read transcript
Sandler's movies are called anti-capitalist; a 2019 equivalent of the Barker shock is debated (Chris Harrison, Scott Van Pelt, Harvey Levin, Logan Paul, Doris Burke).
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:16Read transcript
Zohan tangent: the guests love it; a bar mitzvah boy only wanted to talk about it; Sandler was jacked in it.
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:07Read transcript
Zohan is credited to Sandler, Apatow and Smigel; Smigel's IRS agent in Happy Gilmore is noted.
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:59Read transcript
In passing during the That Guy discussion, asked whether Happy Gilmore can be remade, the answer is no, there is no reason to.
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:10Read transcript
A Happy Gilmore sequel is pitched instead of a remake: grandma is dead, Happy and Virginia are married, he is wealthy and corporate after 24 years on tour, and his hot-headed college-hockey son goes viral hitting 400-yard drives.
Approx. transcript time · 01:33:45Read transcript
Titles Happier, Happiest or Happy Gilmore Jr. are floated; asked whether they would be in with Sandler and Bowen, the answer is they would definitely see it; maybe the child is a daughter.
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:13Read transcript
Carl Weathers is said to have a secretly rewatchable career, with the first four Rockys, Predator, Happy Gilmore and The Mandalorian.
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:13Read transcript
Uncut Gems release: New York and LA December 13, everywhere on Christmas; Celtic Pride, The Fan and Knicks tangents; Porzingis ACL story; closing thanks.
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:37Read transcript
Closing ad and plugs: Elf on AMC Monday December 16 and Godfather Part II next week.
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:23Read transcript