It's far too hot in Armenia to be going outside often. While I'm utterly bored inside reducing my general sun exposure, I've been trying to find films to watch to pass some of the time. It came to no surprise that Happy Gilmore received a sequel recently, with some people here on Hive reviewing it as well as people online elsewhere discussing the film. Honestly, I think it's surprising that Sandler waited this long to get it going, and didn't just do so back when reboots and remakes were being funded from every angle imaginable. Especially with how Sandler is known for using his own production companies to hire his friends and make absolute nonsense while handing them fat paychecks (speaking of, note how the director of Happy Gilmore 2's name is Kyle Newacheck). Remember, Sandler was once one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood despite his films being box office and critic rejects. Anyway, I do admit that sometimes I miss these types of comedies. Sandler at one point was the last one standing. And it feels like it has been forever since idiotic slapstick humour was found on the big screen.
Despite wanting more films like this to return, there are some parts of it that I'm not happy about and would prefer to not see: AI used in film. Anyone paying a bit of attention to the opening scene would've noticed that it heavily relied on AI generated scenes, showcasing a younger Adam Sandler. There was no tricky editing here, no regular special effects. If you look closely you can see hands morphing, straight up missing, and that usual hiccup of AI just not managing to handle 3D shapes and environments all that accurately. It was disappointing to see the film industry go this route, though with Netflix being the soulless corporation it is, I'm not that surprised to see it. Particularly given they've openly admitted to recently using it elsewhere across their original catalogue. If AI stuff is something you'd rather avoid, then from the very start I'd just say don't bother watching this. I wasn't aware at the time, so I decided to stick with it.
Happy Gilmore 2 is your typical sequel bait: our protagonist is now washed up and struggling to get by. His glory days now behind him as he struggles to adapt to the modern world and its requirements. Now a father with many children, Happy is stuck in the routine of retail work and financial struggles. Having once capitalised on the fame, it's no longer working now he's in retirement. Now drinking constantly, Happy has very little motivation for anything, just getting by. Now he's worried about the futures of his children, and needs to raise cash to support their upcoming studies. A pretty simple setup, one that isn't too different from most sequels. Though here Happy isn't passing down the torch, it's still very much within his hands. With a new competition coming up, he figures it's about time he came out of retirement and tried to make some money again. About $300,000. Though Happy, having been retired for so long, has to learn golf from the ground up again. Though this is also met with the usual cameos and silly humour that we'd expect, but it did feel a bit more decreased than usual. More reliant on references to the first film if anything.
In the usual tiresome montage sequence, we see a series of references to the real world too and its pop culture. This is definitely where the film will never be timeless. So many sudden pop culture faces popping up as someone appears on numerous podcasts that do actually exist. I don't know why so many sequel titles insist on doing these, as if to attempt to find modern audiences through marketing with real life shows that have more relevance than the brand and actor does in the present. This is all to say that it is very much a soulless Sandler title. There's no reason for one to assume it'd be something of quality, just something that is a bit more visually appealing due to the more artistic people now roaming around Hollywood as the technology has improved. That is also to admit that the directing and cinematography isn't that bad. It looks like there was some preference from the cinematographer in which lenses to use and the effects given from them. It has a more cinematic look compared to the original, that's for sure.
I think the film would've been better if it wasn't so long. There was no reason for it to have the lengthy runtime it does, and I think that leads to some boredom, where the jokes aren't enough and there's too much filler in the story. This should be a comedy, but for something that struggles to take itself seriously, it really throws a lot of characters at you with plenty of little events that there's no need for. So little to care about. The setup is simple, the main character is there. There's a few cameos, and that should've been enough.