Happy Gilmore (1996)

"...Sandler's best outing to date.  James Berardinelli's ReelViews
"...heady sight gags.  Mike Clark, USA Today
"...genial...self-contained performance by Adam Sandler  Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Editor's Note A would-be hockey player who unfortunately can't skate transforms his slap-shot into a 400-yard golf drive in this slapstick comedy. Joining the pro tour to win enough money to get his grandma's house out of hock, this unsportsmanlike sportsman enrages the staid establishment with his on-course shenanigans.

	Adam Sandler
	Bob Barker
	Carl Weathers
	Christopher McDonald
	Julie Bowen
	Kevin Nealon
	Richard Kiel
	Adam Sandler - Writer
	Arthur Albert - Director of Photography
	Dennis Dugan - Director
	Mark Mothersbaugh - Musical Score
	Robert Simonds - Producer
	Tim Herlihy - Writer

When Happy Gilmore, a would-be hockey player, hits a golf ball over 400 yards, he realizes that his true calling lies in that sport. So, to help his grandma regain her home from the IRS, he trades in his stick and puck for a 5-iron and a tee, and enters the PGA tour. To prepare for this new career, Gilmore hires Chubbs, an ex-golf pro. | Happy's "Generation X" status, and his wild, boisterous antics on the green, shake up the stuffy golf world -- particularly when groups of rowdy hockey fans show up at tournaments to cheer Happy on. This dismays Shooter, an arrogant pro who is exasperated with Happy... and will do anything to get rid of him. | Can Happy elude Shooter's conspiratorial clutches? And if so, can he win enough money to save his grandma? Entertainment Weekly
"Sandler literally throws himself into this tailor-made showcase..." 07/19/1996 p.84

San Francisco Chronicle 8 of 10
It may smell awful from a distance, especially if you have low tolerance for lowbrow humor, but this yarn about an unlikely golf star is fairly painless... Sandler has a brash, funky charm and a gift for funny voices that he uses to good advantage here. His basic shtick may be limited, but preteen boys, especially, should love this flick. - Edward Guthmann