Happy Gilmore (1996)

A rejected hockey player puts his skills to the golf course to save his grandmother's house.

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers:

Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler

Stars:

Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Sandler	...	Happy Gilmore
Christopher McDonald	...	Shooter McGavin
Julie Bowen	...	Virginia Venit
Frances Bay	...	Grandma
Allen Covert	...	Otto
Robert Smigel	...	IRS Agent
Bob Barker	...	Himself
Richard Kiel	...	Mr. Larson
Dennis Dugan	...	Doug Thompson
Joe Flaherty	...	Jeering Fan
Lee Trevino	...	Himself
Kevin Nealon	...	Potter
Verne Lundquist	...	Announcer
Jared Van Snellenberg	...	Happy's Waterbury Caddy
Ken Camroux	...	Coach

Storyline

A Hockey player wannabe finds out that he has the most powerful golf drive in history. He joins the P.G.A. tour to make some money to save grandma's house. The downside is that his hocky player mentality doesn't really go on the P.G.A. tour. Especially with the favorite to win the championship.

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Plot Keywords:

golf | grandmother's house | golf ball | golf course | golfer | 

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Taglines:

He doesn't play golf... he destroys it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some comic sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore

Filming Locations:

Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$38,624,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Robert Simonds Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In real life, Adam Sandler is a terrible hockey AND golf player.

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Goofs

After Shooter McGavin invites Happy to the gold green at 9pm as a gag, he quickly looks at the camera for a fraction of a second when he turns toward it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[opening narration voice over]
Happy Gilmore: My name is Happy Gilmore. Ever since I was old enough to skate, I loved hockey. I wasn't really the greatest skater though. But that didn't stop my dad from teaching me the secret of smacking his greatest slap shot.
[Young Happy, hits a hard plastic ball into his father's forehead]

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Connections

Referenced in Anger Management (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Magic"
Written by David Paton, William Lyall
Performed by Pilot
Courtesy of EMI Records
Under License from CEMA Special Markets

User Reviews

To Be Remembered Forever: 'Happy' And Bob Barker Trading Blows

A "pro" golfer duking it out with veteran game-show host Bob Barker right in the middle of a tournament. That scene alone makes this one of the more memorable comedies of the last 30 years. Almost everyone I know has either seen or heard of that scene and everyone laughs at it.

It IS ludicrous and that's what makes it so funny. In fact, most of the movie is totally preposterous, totally unbelievable and totally wacky, which is Adam Sandler's trademark in these comedies. He's low key but violent, as he was in Mr. Deeds, Punch-Drunk Love and a few other films.

Here, Sander is even more vocal and violent than normal and definitely more crude, which is saying something since this actor usually doesn't play guys with a lot of class. "Happy" is a hot-tempered hockey player who can hit a golf ball 400 yards so he tries his hand on the PGA tour to help raise money for his grandmother. I just shake my head even writing that last sentence, it sounds so stupid....but this is a stupid movie with an incredibly stupid story but is hilarious, for the most part.

Anyone who is a golfer would appreciate this movie more than others, because Sandler says and does things we'd all like to do on the links at times but, thankfully, don't. In short: this is a crude but very funny movie.