This article contains major character or plot details.
Happy Gilmore and its rowdy titular character have been embedded in the zeitgeist since the movie debuted in 1996. Now, nearly 30 years later, a much-anticipated sequel returns some of these fan-favorite characters to the screen, while also introducing fresh faces to the cult-following franchise.
Happy Gilmore 2 wouldn’t exist without Adam Sandler, who reclaims the golf club-wielding, Timberland-stomping, devil-may-care title role. Christopher McDonald also returns as Happy’s snooty nemesis, Shooter McGavin. Julie Bowen is Happy’s level-headed wife, Virginia, and Ben Stiller plays the mustachioed Hal. “It feels like there was an overwhelming ‘Yes,’ ” says director Kyle Newacheck of the roster who signed on to reprise their roles. “There was also an abundance of, ‘Hey, how can I get in?’ The love for this movie is — I’ll use a big word — unequivocal.”
A feast of golfers — many of whom took turns in the reality series Full Swing — musicians, other athletes, comedians, and actors also join the fun — including Bad Bunny, Eminem, Rory McIlroy, Steve Buscemi, Travis Kelce, Eric André, Benny Safdie, and many more. “People love it, and I get that, because I’m a fan of the first one,” adds Newacheck. “A lot of these guys, the golfers and people who are near and dear to Adam Sandler and the movie, they all wanted to come and say hi and play and be a part of it and contribute to the second one.” The entire creative team also returns: Tim Herlihy co-writes, Happy Gilmore director Dennis Dugan executive produces, and Jack Giarraputo and Robert Simonds also produce.
It’s hard to imagine that much star power on set. “We shot this big scene, and that was the most electric room I’ve been in,” Newacheck describes. “Even when people are sitting and chilling, you can feel the vibrations of the room. It was amazing.” For the Happy Gilmore actors who have since passed away, the sequel pays tribute to their characters in a few creative, trademark ways, including a graveyard wrestling match and a fairway fracas.
Happy Gilmore 2 is both a re-energized next chapter for everybody’s favorite golfer and an ode to a comedy that fans around the world can quote word for word.
Read on to meet the familiar and fresh faces teeing up in Happy Gilmore 2.
The Gilmore Family
Everyone’s favorite hockey-player-turned-golfer is back, but he’s a little rusty. It’s been 30 years since he saw the 1996 Tour champion and, these days, the only green he’s seeing is on the logo of the grocery store where he works. When he’s not at work, he’s wrangling his four rambunctious sons — who only received his hockey gene — and trying to make enough money to send his daughter Vienna to a ballet program in Paris.
The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy
Happy met his now-wife Virginia during his first PGA Tour, as she was the tour’s public relations head. She helped him up his game and keep some of his antics off the green — not to mention copped him a lucrative deal with Subway which helped him pay his Grandma’s taxes. 30 years later, she’s just as critical to his success.
Modern Family, Ed
Happy and Virginia had five children together — four rowdy boys and an aspiring ballerina.
The Gilmore kids have appeared in projects including Shameless, FBI: Most Wanted, and You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.
Who else is on the green?
Thirty years may have passed but one thing remains the same: Shooter and Happy clash like oil and water. Happy’s villainous nemesis on and off the green continues to trash talk Happy, as after all, he eats “pieces of sh*t like you for breakfast.”
Thelma & Louise, Harry’s Law
Follow Christopher McDonald
Oscar is Happy’s bus boy-turned-caddy, and he’s got a bit of a learning curve. When he stumbles with the unspoken rules of golf, he makes up for it with a can-do attitude and verve for the game.
Bullet Train, My Spy
Follow Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio
Hal L., the mustachioned abusive orderly from the first film, also returns to haunt Happy, but this time, in a new realm.
Tropic Thunder, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Golf legend John Daly isn’t as much help on the golf green in Happy Gilmore 2 as he may be in real life. Instead, he helps Happy out around the house, looking out for the five Gilmore kids and guzzling hand sanitizer.
Cheers, NFL Monday Night Football
Slim is the son of Happy’s old mentor Chubbs. Like his father, he offers Happy invaluable golfing advice, and also has a prosthetic hand.
Breaking Bad, American Ultra
This guy lives on the beach and offers some golf guidance to Happy, as well as a few laughs to the audience.
Rango, The Waterboy
This waiter serves the gold jacket-wearing golfers, offering up Tanqueray and tonics and blueberry jubilee desserts, and laughing at their “that’s what she said” jokes.
